Weekly Wrapup: AZ Dispensary Application Total + CA Cannabis Patients Lose Court Battle

Arizona hit another major medical marijuana milestone last week, wrapping up its official dispensary application period on Friday.

The state received nearly 500 applications during the 12-day submission period. That’s roughly quadruple the number of open slots, highlighting the level of interest in medical marijuana in Arizona. It’s extremely positive for the industry, as it shows people are still willing to invest time and money in medical marijuana despite the federal crackdown and some fairly sizable risks.

The deluge of applications, however, means several hundred hopefuls will be rejected. Here’s a map that shows the number of applications in each of the 126 community health analysis areas (the state will allow one dispensary in each area).

Hundreds of applications came in late last week as the deadline approached heading into the holiday weekend. We estimated on Thursday that the state would rake in at least $1 million through the process. At that time, state numbers showed that roughly 200 applications had been filed. With 300 more applications added to the total, however, our revised revenue estimate for Arizona is somewhere around $2.1 million – a fairly good haul.

Also last week, a court made a significant ruling on a case involving medical marijuana dispensaries in California. MMJ patients filed suit after two cities moved forward with a plan to close all dispensaries within their boundaries. The plaintiffs argued that the plan violated U.S disability laws. Unfortunately for the MMJ industry, the court sided with the cities. Had the ruling gone the other way, it could have made it difficult for cities and even the federal government to force dispensaries to close.

Other top stories in MMJ Business Daily last week:

- Marijuana Group Aims for 28 MMJ States by 2014

- Medical Cannabis Legalization Efforts Underway in North Dakota

- Guest Column: Looking Forward to Medical Marijuana in Mass.

- WeGrow Founder’s Legal Troubles a Setback for MMJ