East Valley Tribune:  “Federal attorneys asked a judge on Monday to throw out a lawsuit filed by Gov. Jan Brewer seeking a ruling about the legality of the state’s medical marijuana law.  Deputy U.S. Attorney Scott Risner said there is no legal basis for the lawsuit. Risner told U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton in legal papers filed in her court that, absent some actual threat of prosecution under federal drug laws by his office, the question is purely academic and therefore not a proper subject for litigation.”

ACLU:  “The American Civil Liberties Union today asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit filed in May by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer that seeks to have her state’s medical marijuana law struck down.  In a motion filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, the ACLU charges that the lawsuit should be dismissed because, among other reasons, there has been no threat that state employees charged with carrying out the state’s law would be prosecuted by federal authorities.  ‘On the pretext of protecting her state employees, Gov. Brewer is simply seeking to thwart the will of Arizona’s voters and unconscionably block sick people from accessing their vital medicine’,””

Read the ACLU’s Motion to Dismiss.

PRWeb:  “Will Humble, the Executive Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) was served last Tuesday with a copy of a Special Action filed in the Arizona Court of Appeals (No. 1 CA-SA 11-016). The lawsuit was the first of two actions filed against ADHS seeking judicial relief. The second action (LC2011-000410) was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court. Both lawsuits are seeking a court order directing Will Humble and the ADHS to fully implement the licensing of the Medical Marijuana Dispensaries.”

Read the Complaint.

Verde Independent:  “State Health Director Will Humble turned away a request by doctors Wednesday to operate a marijuana dispensary, paving the way for a lawsuit.  Humble acknowledged that his refusal to even accept an application comes despite a voter-approved law requiring his agency to license about 125 dispensaries around the state. And it is directly contrary to the department’s own rules that say the first requests would be considered Wednesday.”

Sonoran News:  “On the heels of a lawsuit filed by the State of Arizona to determine the legality of the recently enacted Medical Marijuana Law, a legal defense fund, Don’t Let Medical Marijuana Die, has been established to protect the will of the voters and guarantee ill patients access to medication that relieves their pain and suffering.”

Arizona Daily Sun:  “Flagstaff attorney Lee Phillips has spent the last week talking to other lawyers from across the state on how to best respond to the state’s legal challenge to the voter-approved Arizona Medical Marijuana Act.  The consensus? Another legal action from either the American Civil Liberties Union or from the Marijuana Policy Project, the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the country, seeking to dismiss the suit.”

Arizona Republic: “From the political notebook: – I don’t know whether the legal action Gov. Jan Brewer and Attorney General Tom Horne took seeking declaratory judgment about the legality of Arizona’s medical marijuana law will result in any clarity. But I do know this: The ambiguity of the federal government regarding its enforcement policies about medical marijuana is grossly irresponsible.  The Obama administration has said that it probably won’t prosecute patients using medical marijuana under state laws for possession under federal law. But even that isn’t for sure.”

Arizona Capitol Times:  “Arizona’s medical marijuana law continues to pay out. The payoff isn’t so great for sickened would-be patients and convalescing recreational users, as it is for journalists and attorneys.  Last week, Gov. Jan Brewer and Attorney General Tom Horne announced they would ask a federal judge to rule whether Arizona’s voter-approved medical marijuana law is incompatible with federal drug laws. That question could be answered fairly easily by a classroom of seventh-grade civics students . . . .Brewer and Horne contend it was filed to make sure state employees aren’t subject to prosecution by Arizona U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke. A former chief of staff to Gov. Janet Napolitano, Burke was appointed to his post by the Obama administration, which to date has generally treated public employees as the highest life form in the universe.  In plainer English, the risk of state employees facing federal prosecution for undertaking administrative tasks demanded by the new state pot law is roughly one in 64 trillion.”

The story contains a quote from Richard Keyt, the creator of this website.

The Bugle:  “There has been a lot of interpretive work going on with Arizona’s medical marijuana law. Some of it is legal interpretation, and some is more theater-based. . . . The interpretations on both sides of the medical marijuana implement-don’t implement debate leave much to be desired. The voters would be better off with real government action rather than all of these dramatic readings.”

Arizona Republic:  “Arizona’s top health official refused Wednesday to accept an application from prospective operators of a medical marijuana dispensary, setting the stage for a possible legal challenge to push for full implementation of a voter-approved law.  Department of Health Services Director Will Humble met with members of a group that wants to establish a dispensary in Scottsdale, but he politely declined to accept a binder with their application papers. The month long application period for dispensaries was to have begun Wednesday under rules previously adopted by the department.”

See “AZ turns away application for marijuana dispensary.”

Arizona Republic:  “Arizona will ask a federal court today to clarify whether its voter-approved medical-marijuana law conflicts with federal drug statutes, launching what probably will be a lengthy legal battle that could cripple the state’s fledging industry and spark more legal action.  Gov. Jan Brewer also will put a temporary halt to the state’s permit process for marijuana dispensaries, set to begin Wednesday, with an executive order issued by Tuesday, her office said. She does not plan to stop issuance of medical-marijuana user-ID cards.”

The article quotes U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke talking out of both sides of his mouth when he said:

“We have no intention of targeting or going after people who are implementing or who are in compliance with state law,” Burke said. “But at the same time, they can’t be under the impression that they have immunity, amnesty or safe haven.”

Arizona Republic:  “Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne will file a lawsuit by week’s end, asking a federal judge to weigh in on the legality of Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act and whether those who manufacture or distribute pot under the law are subject to federal prosecution. . . . When asked whether she intended to instruct DHS to not issue dispensary permits, Brewer said, ‘we are moving in that direction.’  Her spokesman, Matthew Benson, said later that the governor’s advice to DHS on the subject was ‘imminent, in the next few days’.”

See “Arizona: Your Votes Don’t Count on Medical Marijuana,” in which the Marijuana Policy Project said:

“We cannot think of a single  individual — aside from possibly illegal drug dealers — who would  benefit from Governor Brewer’s actions today.  She has done a disservice  to her state and its citizens. . . .  the only  decision on whether the licensing of dispensaries would be federally  preempted has also found it would not be. It looks like Jan Brewer is  having a contest with San Diego County to see who can waste the most  taxpayer money on a futile attempt to overturn the will of voters.”

See also “Lawsuit could put hold on Arizona medical marijuana,” which says

“Brewer sidestepped repeated questions of why the state is not mounting a vigorous defense of the law.”

What follows is the text of Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s May 24, 2011, press release.

Governor Jan Brewer today announced that she has directed Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne to file suit by the end of the week seeking a declaratory judgment from a federal court regarding the legality of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA).

“For the state employees charged with administering the medical marijuana program or the Arizonans who intend to participate as consumers, it’s important that we receive court guidance as to whether they are at risk for federal prosecution,” said Governor Brewer. “As explained in a recent letter from the U.S. Attorney for Arizona, the federal government considers marijuana a controlled substance. Arizonans deserve clarity on an issue with such dire legal implications.”

The Arizona Department of Health Services had been diligently implementing voter-approved AMMA provisions until it received a letter, dated May 2, 2011, from U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke. Burke’s letter warned that marijuana remains a Schedule I Controlled Substance, meaning that “growing, distributing and possessing marijuana, in any capacity, other than as a federally authorized research program, is a violation of federal law regardless of state laws that purport to permit such activities.” Burke declared that his office would “vigorously prosecute individuals and organizations that participate in unlawful manufacturing, distribution and marketing activity involving marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law.”

The U.S. Attorney’s letter raises significant questions about the legality of both the AMMA and related Arizona Administrative Code provisions. In particular, Governor Brewer is concerned for the vulnerability of state employees charged with administering the AMMA, including, but not limited to, the issuance of dispensary licenses and qualified-patient registration cards. If a federal prosecutor were to decide that such activities are contrary to federal law, state employees may be subject to federal prosecution.

Medical marijuana also presents uncertainty for state law enforcement. The U.S. Attorney’s letter calls into question the ability of the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) to maintain federal grant monies, the department’s enforcement activities and federal task force actions, and the employment status of DPS employees who could be in violation of federal law while participating as consumers in the AMMA.

For these reasons and others, a declaratory judgment action regarding medical marijuana in Arizona is necessary to determine whether AMMA violates federal law and, therefore, is void.

“The State of Arizona has worked to follow the wishes of voters,” said Governor Brewer. “But I won’t stand aside while state employees and average Arizonans acting in good faith are unwittingly put at risk. In light of the explicit warnings on this issue offered by Arizona’s U.S. Attorney, as well as many other federal prosecutors, clarity and judicial direction are in order.”

Will Humble said the following on his blog today about the Governor’s action:

“We understand that the Governor and the Attorney General are seeking a declaratory judgment in federal court regarding the implementation of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. When further information is available, ADHS will update you. Until then, the Department will continue to issue Qualifying Patient and Designated Caregiver Registry Cards on our website.”