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Arizona's first wave of medical marijuana dispensaries is going to get more time to open its doors.
In a 15-page ruling Wednesday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner said state rules require those authorized to sell the drug must be operating within one year of getting approval. That year ran out in June but was previously extended by Warner until next week.
But Warner said there appear to be good reasons why some of 98 organizations given permission to sell marijuana have not been able to open their doors by the new deadline. So he blocked state Health Director Will Humble from rescinding the authorizations, at least for now.
One problem Warner noted is the lack of any process for a would-be dispensary owner to seek an extension, no matter how good the reason.
So the judge directed Humble to re-craft his rules to provide an appeals process for those who cannot meet the deadlines and ruled no authorization can be revoked until those rules are in place.
Warner said he is not ordering Humble to automatically give extensions to everyone, once the rules are in place. He said there may be circumstances where the delays were due to decisions made by the dispensary operators.
Wednesday's ruling most immediately affects 17 communities where those given dispensary authorizations have said they have run into trouble. They range from Dolan Springs in Mohave County and Show Low in northeast Arizona into Phoenix, Mesa and Chandler and down to Benson.
But the rules Humble has been ordered to adopt could come into play elsewhere as the state authorizes more dispensaries in the future.
Arizona voters approved a law in 2010 that says that people with certain medical conditions, and a doctor's recommendation, can get a state-issued identification card allowing them to obtain up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana every two weeks. The most recent figures show close to 40,000 applications have been approved.
That law also envisions a network of up to 125 state-licensed dispensaries to grow and sell the drug to cardholders and their caregivers.
Last year the state awarded authorizations for 98 areas - there were no applications for some, such as on tribal reservations.
But the rules also required them to be operating by June 7 to get the required annual renewal. Otherwise they lose the authorizations to someone else.
That brought complaints from some who said they just could not comply.
In some cases, local jurisdictions refused to provide the necessary zoning.
Attorney Paul Conant said his clients faced other problems.
"Maybe a landlord won't rent to you because they're worried about the law," he said, including the possibility federal drug officials could seize the property because marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
Although the injunction will halt the withdrawal of any approvals, how long it that will be the case remains to be seen.
State health officials say developing the new rules will take months.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: azstarnet.com
Author: Howard Fischer
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Pot dispensaries get deadline delay
In a 15-page ruling Wednesday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner said state rules require those authorized to sell the drug must be operating within one year of getting approval. That year ran out in June but was previously extended by Warner until next week.
But Warner said there appear to be good reasons why some of 98 organizations given permission to sell marijuana have not been able to open their doors by the new deadline. So he blocked state Health Director Will Humble from rescinding the authorizations, at least for now.
One problem Warner noted is the lack of any process for a would-be dispensary owner to seek an extension, no matter how good the reason.
So the judge directed Humble to re-craft his rules to provide an appeals process for those who cannot meet the deadlines and ruled no authorization can be revoked until those rules are in place.
Warner said he is not ordering Humble to automatically give extensions to everyone, once the rules are in place. He said there may be circumstances where the delays were due to decisions made by the dispensary operators.
Wednesday's ruling most immediately affects 17 communities where those given dispensary authorizations have said they have run into trouble. They range from Dolan Springs in Mohave County and Show Low in northeast Arizona into Phoenix, Mesa and Chandler and down to Benson.
But the rules Humble has been ordered to adopt could come into play elsewhere as the state authorizes more dispensaries in the future.
Arizona voters approved a law in 2010 that says that people with certain medical conditions, and a doctor's recommendation, can get a state-issued identification card allowing them to obtain up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana every two weeks. The most recent figures show close to 40,000 applications have been approved.
That law also envisions a network of up to 125 state-licensed dispensaries to grow and sell the drug to cardholders and their caregivers.
Last year the state awarded authorizations for 98 areas - there were no applications for some, such as on tribal reservations.
But the rules also required them to be operating by June 7 to get the required annual renewal. Otherwise they lose the authorizations to someone else.
That brought complaints from some who said they just could not comply.
In some cases, local jurisdictions refused to provide the necessary zoning.
Attorney Paul Conant said his clients faced other problems.
"Maybe a landlord won't rent to you because they're worried about the law," he said, including the possibility federal drug officials could seize the property because marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
Although the injunction will halt the withdrawal of any approvals, how long it that will be the case remains to be seen.
State health officials say developing the new rules will take months.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: azstarnet.com
Author: Howard Fischer
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Pot dispensaries get deadline delay
