Unexpected Ally for MMJ? Governor Rejects Request to Halt Arizona Medical Marijuana Program

2 Comments:

1. 

   Spiderwoman

   July 31st, 2012 at 9:40 pm
   That’s quite a leap you made in that last paragraph. Do you even have a copy of what the U.S. Attorney said to Governor Brewer in February? If so, you can’t possibly think “that indicates dispensaries should open as planned.” The February 16, 2012 letter of the U.S. Attorney to Governor Brewer said, “The USAO will continue to vigorously enforce the Controlled Substances Act against individuals and entities that operate and facilitate large marijuana production facilities and marijuana production facilities involved in the cultivation, sale, and distribution of marijuana , even if purportedly for medical purposes.” The U.S. Attorney also said “state employees who conduct activities authorized by the . . . ["medical" marijuana act"] are not immune from liability under the CSA.” That seems to indicate dispensaries should NOT open.
2. 

   chrisw

   July 31st, 2012 at 10:14 pm
   It’s anyone’s guess what will happen anymore in this industry. But we don’t feel it’s as big of a leap as you think. The letter you reference is similar in nature to the ones sent to other states as well, including Colorado, where there are still some 650 dispensaries. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the government’s crackdown, but we haven’t seen U.S. attorneys in other new MMJ states shut dispensaries as they open. Thinking that the U.S. attorney is going to shut down each and every one as they open in Arizona seems to us like a bigger stretch, though of course anything is possible. The county attorney in Arizona (Polk) who said the dispensaries could be shut down didn’t even cite her source, and no one has said anything publicly that would back her claims. On the contrary, the U.S. Attorney’s Office even seemed to brush aside the idea:

   From the Arizona Republic: “U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Bill Solomon told The Arizona Republic late Monday that Polk’s representation of the U.S. attorney’s position on medical marijuana is inaccurate. He said the agency’s position has not changed since February, when then-Acting U.S. Attorney Ann Scheel told Brewer the agency would follow Department of Justice policy on the issue and would focus efforts on significant drug traffickers, not people who use marijuana as treatment.
   ‘Specifically, the Department of Justice is focusing its limited resources on significant drug traffickers, not seriously ill individuals and their caregivers who are in compliance with applicable state medical-marijuana statutes,’ Solomon wrote in a statement.”

   This is why we think dispensaries should open as scheduled in Arizona.