Upstart Business Journal:  “Dustin Johnson isn’t your average drug dealer.  Despite a rigorous religious upbringing and an early career in real estate, he found his true calling as president of Monarch Wellness Center, Scottsdale’s only medical marijuana dispensary.”

CBS New York:  “When it comes to sick pets many owners will go to great lengths to help them feel better.  Now, some have started to take matters into their own hands and have turned to a remedy that isn’t even legal in some states, CBS 2′s Maurice Dubois reported Friday.  Rowyn Capers’ dog, “Luna,” was suffering from late-stage lymphoma and was put on an intense schedule of chemotherapy. The treatments came with devastating side effects. . . . Capers gave Luna medical marijuana to help ease her suffering.”

CBS5AZ:  “Data from the state Department of Health Services show nearly half of the recipients of medical marijuana cards in Arizona are younger than 40. . . . ‘About 90 percent of our qualifying patients have cards because of severe and chronic pain,’ said Will Humble, the director of the Arizona Department of Health Services.”

In this video a reporter for CBS5AZ goes undercover and visits a chiropractor and a doctor and obtains a medical marijuana patient card from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

CBS 5 – KPHO

azfamily.com:  “Vince Borinski says he generally smokes about one joint every day. . . . He is a medical marijuana card holder, and is legally authorized to use and cultivate medical marijuana in the state of Arizona. . . . Borinski was smoking and growing marijuana in his apartment at the Country Park Villas from April 2011 to October 2011, when he was evicted.”

Phoenix New Times:  “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 over the place in the past couple of weeks, giving a glowing review of medical marijuana.”

httpvh://youtu.be/WkeUPmzg6Cw

Arizona Republic:  “Inside the suite of a nondescript industrial park in west Phoenix, an armed security guard in a bulletproof vest guards dozens of tents filled with lush plants that supply medical-marijuana patients throughout the state. . . . When they need pointers on yielding the best harvest, they go to Bruce Barnes, a 32-year-old “master grower” who works for the center and specializes in growing highly potent marijuana that patients use to treat ailments ranging from cancer to chronic pain. Barnes helps patients and caregivers grow high-grade marijuana using sophisticated techniques to manipulate the plants with light, nutrients and air.”

Arizona Republic:  “Dispensary owners, patients and advocates of medical marijuana are asking state lawmakers to reconsider an attempt to repeal the 2010 law that legalized the drug to treat certain medical conditions.  Instead of taking the medical marijuana issue back to voters, they urged the Legislature Thursday to clamp down on unregulated marijuana clubs — often called ‘compassion clubs,’ — to ensure patients receive their recommended drugs within the guidelines of the new law.”

Arizona Republic:  “Medical-marijuana patients and advocates are decrying state health officials’ interpretation of a rule that bans growth of the plant within 25miles of an operating dispensary.  Authors of the state’s medical-marijuana law intended to limit home growers by forcing people to buy at dispensaries. But amid prolonged legal battles over the law, no dispensaries opened and home-growing flourished.  But the opening of four medical-marijuana dispensaries in Phoenix, Tucson and Cochise County have brought the 25-mile rule to the forefront.  Over time, the vast majority of patients who live within 25 miles of dispensaries will not be permitted to legally cultivate pot”

Phoenix New Times:  “Arizona Organix at 5301 West Glendale Avenue has become the first medical-marijuana dispensary to be approve by the state. . . . The store can now begin selling marijuana to qualified patients legally, under Arizona law.  Unfortunately for Arizona’s 30,000-plus qualified patients, though, the store has no plan to open immediately.”

Will Humble, Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, posted the following on his blog on November 15, 2012:

“Our team just returned from a field inspection for a dispensary applicant in Glendale.  There were no major deficiencies, and we awarded the dispensary an “approval to operate” late this afternoon.  This is the first dispensary approval to operate we’ve issued in the State.  By law, we’re not allowed to publicly disclose the address.

The fact that a dispensary is now licensed in the Valley also means that the “self-grow” part of the law will change on Friday.  Beginning tomorrow we’ll be declining new “requests to cultivate” among new cardholders in most of the metro area…  because self-grow (12 plants) is only allowed when the patient lives more than 25 miles from the nearest dispensary.  The vast majority of the Valley is within 25 miles of this new dispensary.

We’re also adding a new feature to our website to help people figure out if they live within 25 miles of a dispensary.  Because of the changes to the system, we’ just took the it offline.  We’ll work on it over the weekend and most of the application process should be up and running on Monday.”

See also “Medical pot dispensary gets AZ’s first approval to open.”

CBS 5 – KPHO

AZCentral.com:  “Police are searching for three men after a shooting left one injured at a Tempe medical-marijuana co-op [called AzGoGreen Co-op] Thursday evening, authorities said. . . . Tempe police on Friday said the co-op had been under investigation prior to the shooting. Police were investigating whether the dispensary was selling marijuana before it was authorized to do so by the Arizona medical marijuana law”

Sally Guarino’s June 20, 2012, video interview of the director of the Arizona Department of Health Services Will Humble on the topic of Arizona’s medical marijuana laws.

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