Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk announced in dramatic fashion last July that federal authorities would shut down every medical-marijuana dispensary in Arizona “as it opens.” Polk made the bad prediction in a letter she penned and sent to the governor after getting several other county attorneys to sign it. We…
State Senator Kimberly Yee’s plan to let cops seize and destroy medical-marijuana at their whim appears dead, a political consultant for the dispensary industry says. Jason Rose, previously a PR guy for the likes of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas, now counts among his clients the Regulated Dispensaries of…
The state-regulated medical-marijuana dispensary industry that Arizona voters approved in late 2010 is becoming a reality, with three new retail shops opening this week. Two dispensaries were slated to open today: One in Glendale (the city that already supports the only medical-pot facility in the Phoenix metro area), and another…
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery has been shot down by the Arizona Supreme Court in his attempt to expedite a decision about Arizona’s medical-marijuana law. Today’s decision by the state’s highest court to reject Montgomery’s petition represents a lost battle for the conservative lawman’s crusade against the voter-approved law, but…
Former anti-drug crusader U.S. Attorney Mel McDonald, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, appears to be very serious about defending Arizona’s medical-marijuana law as a citizen and father of a patient who uses medical marijuana.You may have seen the video McDonald recorded a couple months ago, giving a glowing…
On the list of people we’d probably never expect to come out in support of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, we’d probably put an anti-drug crusader U.S. Attorney who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan somewhere near the top of the list.However, we’ve seen that man, A. Melvin McDonald, all…
Arizona police would have the right to destroy medical marijuana seized in investigations under a proposed law — even if the police seizures were made improperly or illegally. State Senator Kimberly Yee, R-Phoenix, hasn’t actually introduced a bill yet at the State Capitol, apparently preferring to introduce her legislative ideas…
A new poll that shows high support by Arizona voters for medical marijuana is unlikely to be challenged by anti-pot lawmaker Representative John Kavanagh: The political consulting firm used by Kavanagh and his wife, Fountain Hills Mayor Linda Kavanagh, conducted the survey. Kavanagh still hopes to pass a bill that…
James Chaney, the owner of a Tempe medical-marijuana club that was the site of a shooting last year, was arrested today in a raid of the club and two alleged Tempe “grow houses.” In a news release that invites the media to talk to cops about the raids at, hilariously,…
A group of medical-marijuana dispensary owners at the State Capitol yesterday afternoon urged authorities to shut down unregulated cannabis clubs. Meanwhile, up the road in a small, west Valley strip mall, medical-marijuana patients toked up openly in a “lounge” that has the look, feel, and scent of a Dutch coffeeshop…
An increased number of Arizona voters support the 2010 Medical Marijuana Act, and most would vote to end marijuana prohibition, a new poll shows. The poll of 600 Arizonan residents was conducted on January 9 and 10 by Public Policy Polling on behalf of the National Cannabis Industry Association. The…
John Kavanagh, the Republican State Representative from Fountain Hills, doesn’t want any exceptions in a proposed medical-pot repeal for patients with cancer, AIDS, or any other serious disease. Verifiable illness or not, they would be booked into jail under Arizona’s felony possession law like any of the hundreds of people…
Don’t you hate when you park near Mexico for a few minutes and end up with 35 pounds of weed in your car’s spare tire? That’s what Daren Rucker, 51, of Tucson says happened to him on Tuesday, according to federal court records. When Rucker pulled up at the northbound…
Apparently fresh out of a screening of Reefer Madness, Republican state Representative John Kavanagh wants voters to now vote to repeal Arizona’s medical-marijuana law, which voters approved in 2010.As the first bills are being submitted for the upcoming legislative session, Kavanagh submitted a bill that would put medical marijuana back…
The 2010 Arizona Medical Marijuana Act exempts qualifying patients from prosecution, but most Arizonans are still subject to arrest for felony possession of any amount of marijuana. Phoenix police alone arrest an average of about 10 people a day on suspicion of possession of marijuana. Phoenix police arrested 2,972 adults…
People who thought teens would be using marijuana more because of Arizona’s 2010 medical-pot law are wrong, a new study shows. Combined, the percentage of 8th, 10th and 12th graders who reported using marijuana at least once in their lives went from 29.9 percent before the law passed to 28.7…
According to several Valley reporters, a new survey shows that some Arizona teenagers have obtained marijuana from people who can legally possess marijuana.”No shit,” say the rest of us.See also:-Medical Marijuana in Arizona a “Charade,” and What’s Wrong with That, Exactly?-Arizona Organix Steps Out as the State’s First Authorized Medical-Marijuana…
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery is worried he’s being forced to violate federal law by implementing Arizona’s voter-approved medical-pot law. Meanwhile, President Obama said today that federal law enforcement officials have better things to do then prosecute adult use of marijuana by anyone in Colorado and Washington, considering that voters…
Arizona’s first licensed medical-marijuana dispensary, Arizona Organix in Glendale, opened today.See also:-Arizona Organix Steps Out as the State’s First Authorized Medical-Marijuana Dispensary-Arizona Medical Marijuana Law Is Constitutional, County Judge Finds…
Maricopa County can’t block a medical-marijuana dispensary from opening just because of a federal prohibition on marijuana, a county judge has ruled. This is a big court ruling for the 2010 Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, and the one would-be operators of dispensaries have been waiting for. The decision by Superior…
Allan Sobol, the brash medical-marijuana marketer who got himself busted last year for opening a compassion club, has pleaded guilty to selling pot along with three former club employees. We profiled Sobol earlier this year in a feature story (see link below), chronicling his fights with other members of the…
No need to put away the fluorescent bulbs just yet: It turns out that Arizona first state-authorized medical-marijuana dispensary won’t trigger a ban on patient and caregiver grow-rooms, at least in the short term. The state Department of Health Services has granted a “short delay in the effective date for…
