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…
Arizona Organix at 5301 West Glendale Avenue has become the first medical-marijuana dispensary to be approve by the state. Inspectors with the Arizona Department of Health Services checked the place out today and approved its certification to operate, says Will Humble, DHS director. The store can now begin selling marijuana…
A Glendale medical-marijuana dispensary will be inspected by state officials on Thursday, and is poised to be the first such establishment to open in Arizona. If all goes well with the inspection process, which could take two or three inspectors up to six hours, the dispensary could open as soon…
Gilbert police, under Chief Tim Dorn, have taken an intolerant view of the cannabis clubs that have sprouted up since voters approved medical marijuana two years ago. Gilbert PD carried out the first raid in the state, as far as we know, against a club, busting a small cooperative in…
Marijuana wasn’t on the ballot again in Arizona this year, but historic elections concerning the intoxicating plant could affect how it’s handled nationwide. Colorado and Washington have become the first states in the country to legalize the possession and use of marijuana for any adult 21 or over. Massachusetts became…
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a petition to re-hear arguments that medical marijuana is protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. In a split decision in May, a three-judge panel of the usually liberal court shot down the idea that the ADA allows sick or disabled…
Valley marijuana patients lost another over-the-counter source for their meds earlier this month when Gilbert police raided Arizona Natural Solutions in Mesa. The cannabis/compassion club at 1055 North Mesa Drive had been operating since at least February, when its principals began its Facebook page and incorporated as a non-profit business…
A Tempe cannabis club that was raided last year and has been under an ongoing investigation by police was the site of a shooting last night. At least three suspects, and possibly as many as six, are still on the loose after an employee at the club was shot at…
Medical marijuana in Arizona faces an important court decision in a case that local prohibitionists see as a weak link in the voter-approved 2010 pot law. Arizona Republic reporter and rapid-fire Tweeter Yvonne Wingett-Sanchez has been filing live updates from the courtroom this afternoon. The hearing’s over, but you can…
