Pubdate: Wed, 08 Dec 2010
Source: San Pedro Valley News-Sun (AZ)
Copyright: 2010 Benson News Sun
Contact:  http://www.bensonnews-sun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3639
Author: Shar Porier
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

STATE GETS ROLLING ON MEDICAL POT RULES

Now that Proposition 203 has been passed by voters, the Arizona 
Department of Health Services staff is in the process of setting up 
the rules that will apply to patients, caregivers and dispensaries.

According to the department's website, other states that have already 
passed such laws will be a resource for Arizona. By mid-December, 
Director Will Humble plans to have a working draft ready to go. Over 
the following three weeks, the department will be taking comments and 
suggestions on this first draft. By the end of January, he expects to 
have changes incorporated into a new draft ready for more public 
input and comment. Starting in mid-February, three public hearings 
will be held, two in Phoenix and one in Tucson, for more comment on the rules.

The department has the authority to write the rules without having 
them go through the process of review by the secretary of state.

Meanwhile, in Cochise County and the City of Bisbee, planning and 
zoning directors are developing recommendations for code revisions to 
determine where dispensaries will be permitted.

Carlos De la Torre, the new director of the Cochise County Community 
Development Department who oversees the Planning and Zoning 
Department and Highway and Floodplain Department, said work sessions 
with the planning and zoning commissioners and board of supervisors 
would begin soon.

"But we're going to see what rules the state defines," he said. "They 
are only permitting so many dispensaries in the state, so rural 
Cochise County may not have to worry about it. The permits may go to 
the larger cities."

The matter is more pressing in Bisbee, where one business owner and a 
longtime medical marijuana activist is already planning to set up a 
non-profit dispensary. Patricia Steward, owner of the historic Stock 
Exchange building on Brewery Gulch, has already been researching 
business operations and may be one of the first to apply.

"For 40 years, I've supported drug law reformations, particularly 
medical marijuana," she said. "Now that this has passed, people who 
can benefit from the effects of marijuana will have that organic 
option to help their illnesses."

The department is permitting just 120 dispensaries in the state, 
basically one for every 50,000 residents. She will be competing with 
others who plan to set up shop. There will be a nonrefundable fee, 
yet to be determined, for applications, but she said it's worth it.

She plans to set up dispensary operations and the marijuana gardens 
in the Stock Exchange, where her saloon is located. The dispensary 
would be on the ground floor of the building where there is easy 
handicapped access. Security of the premises is a stipulation of the 
new rules, and she has already begun developing a system to protect 
the marijuana. She also plans to grow plants on the top floor of the 
building to use in the business.

Steward has traveled to California to observe and learn how to set up 
shop from the businesses thriving there.

"I'm working mainly with the people in Oakland who are knowledgeable 
of dispensaries. They are the cream of the crop. We want our shop to 
be the most compliant, most compassionate shop in the state," she said.

Research has shown marijuana can be beneficial to patients with 
multiple sclerosis, cancer, Crohn's disease, HIV/AIDS, severe chronic 
pain and nausea, seizures and muscle spasms, to name a few maladies, she said.

In addition to helping patients, the dispensary would also bring 
needed revenue to the city, Steward said.

She appeared before the City Council Tuesday to ask members to 
support her endeavor and the medical marijuana rules in general.

The council does have a choice. It can accept the state medical 
marijuana rules or adhere to federal law that makes all of it 
illegal, as pointed out by Bisbee Community Development Director John 
Charley. He'll be presenting the subject at the Planning and Zoning 
Commission meeting scheduled for Dec. 16.

"We'll discuss the issue and determine what recommendations to make," he said.

City Attorney Mark Langlitz plans to review the Arizona League of 
Towns and Cities sample ordinance before making recommendations to the council.

"We'll take a look at it and will probably adopt some variation of 
it. Obviously, you wouldn't want a dispensary near a preschool, 
school or church," he said.

As for Steward's plan to grow it at the Stock Exchange, that might be 
a problem.

"Growing may be limited to agricultural districts, and Bisbee has no 
ag zones," Langlitz said.

And with only 120 permits to be approved, he expects them to go to 
more urban locations with a larger population than Bisbee.

But, he continued, nothing will happen until the state finishes work 
on the rules.

"Right now, there are a lot of questions to be answered. I can say 
that Bisbee will comply and implement the law when it's completed," he said.

If a dispensary does open in Bisbee, patients may see an added tax on 
the drug. City Manager Steve Pauken said a dispensary could bring law 
enforcement issues.

"This isn't like a regular pharmacy. We don't know what issues will 
arise," he said.

But these prescriptions will not be tax-free, he added.

"We're still in the process of determining what is available to us. 
Rest assured, we will levy the maximum tax allowable."

Laura Oxley, public information officer for the department, agreed 
there are many issues to be hammered out:

"We don't have answers to a lot of questions right now."

A state lawmaker from Tucson plans to propose during the upcoming 
legislative session a statewide ban on synthetic marijuana.

Democratic Rep. Matt Heinz is a physician and says the material is 
dangerous and unpredictable.

Heinz saw four college-age people come into an emergency room because 
one of their friends was experiencing side effects after smoking the 
material. Heinz says the student couldn't speak, his upper 
extremities were twitching and he had headaches and nausea.

The federal government last month began the process of putting the 
five chemicals used in herbal blends to make the synthetic marijuana 
in the same drug category as heroin and cocaine.

Timeline

Here's a look at what's ahead regarding the state's medical marijuana law:

Dec. 17: State posts an initial informal draft of the rules.

Dec. 17 to Jan. 7: Time for public comment on draft of rules.

Jan. 31: State posts official draft rules for public comment.

Jan. 31 to Feb. 18: State receives public comment on a revised draft 
of the rules.

Feb. 14 to Feb. 16: State holds three public meetings (Phoenix, 1 
p.m. Feb. 14 and 16, 250 N. 17th Ave.; Tucson, 1 p.m. Feb. 15, 400 W. 
Congress, Room 222).

Feb. 18: Deadline for comments.

Feb. 21 to March 18: Final changes.

Week of March 21: Effective date of rules.

March 28: State publishes the final rules that will be used to 
implement the act

April: State begins to accept applications for registry 
identification cards and for dispensary certificate.

Learn more

As listed on the Arizona health Department's Web site: 
www.azdhs.gov/prop203/index.htm .
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom