Our preparation for the implementation of the AZ Medical Marijuana Act is on track. We’ve made a great deal of progress on all fronts over the last couple of weeks. The informal draft of the Administrative Code that we’ll release next Friday is really starting to gel. We’ve got the key elements hammered out and our Rules team will be doing the cross matching with the initiative as well as the internal rule indexing over the coming week. Once our Medical Officers team reviews the draft rule next Wednesday, I’ll check out their recommendations and we’ll put the finishing touches on the informal draft Rule.
IT has made tremendous progress on the “front end” of the database for the qualified patient and caregiver electronic application. They’ve started work on the “back end” and relational pieces. Our Webmaster and Marketing Committee helped polish the website for next Friday when you’ll see our re-vamped website including FAQs for the general public and Stakeholders. Out IT team has also finished development of the electronic tool that we’ll use to solicit electronic comments from the public from December 17 through January 7.
Vital Records and Environmental Health have begun developing workflow templates and resource needs assessments. Procurement and finance have done some background work on their pieces too. Communications has begun writing the media release for next Friday and is putting the finishing touches on the FAQ for the general public that we’ll post next Friday.
All in all, it’s been a very productive couple of weeks. Thanks for stepping up everyone!
Mr. Humble,
Thanks so much for your attention to this project. We’ve been asked by dozens and dozens of patients when the Doctor will be able to recommend Medicinal Cannabis. Do you have any firmer date as to when we might have the proper paperwork for patients?
Regards,
Dave
Physician’s Office Tempe
Dave-
We will be able to accept qualified patinet applications around the first week in April. Please visit our website at http://www.azdhs.gov for up to the minute information. Also, be sure to sign up for automatic email updates.
Thanks,
Will
That’s Awesome Dave. Keep up the great work.
Will,
What research is your staff doing regarding the implications of filing a Federal return as a Non-Profit dispensary? It seems to me that the IRS seeing that the source of income is Medical Marijuana could have a strong urge to “share” this information with the appropriate Federal enforcement divisions. Should it be part of the application verbiage (i.e., Medical Supplies or similar as the type of application being submitted) to avoid potential Federal Tax conflict for AZ residents? Can you share any resource that speaks to this issue for individuals to review?
Thanks for your efforts. I for one am impressed by you and your team’s efforts and expediency. It gives me hope that my government is not as dysfunctional as many would try to have me believe.
Guy,
Thank you!
Please refer to section 36-2806 Registered nonprofit medical marijuana dispensaries; requirements, in the proposition. This is all of the information we have at this time.
Several doctors are advertising that they can review your medical information and if appropriate write a recommendation now for the medical use of marijuana and that it would be a valid defense in the event of law enforcement interaction involving marijuana. So far as I can tell from reading prop 203, the only way that would be a valid defense is if the qualifying patient was registered with the state. Is this correct?
Jesse,
Please seek the advice of a lawyer.
In a word Impressive! Thank you everyone at AZDHS for your hard work.
Fingers and toes crossed that this will be fair and not just for the extremely wealthy, especially those who are coming here from out of state!
Anxious to see what you have put together.
-David
Thank you David!
Will
Hi,
Have I missed in prop 203 how AZ residency applies to being a qualified applicant for cultivation or dispensary incense?
thank you
Please refer to our website, http://www.azdhs.gov, we are going to post a draft copy of the rules December 17th.
Mr. Humble thank you for your work, I’m on Social Security Disability, but do not like taking pain pills.
I’m considering this as an option, and have seen only a few of the diseases that qualify but don’t see mine. would Congenital spinal stenosis (cage pedicle screws fixation) rebuilt shoulder, leg reconstruction, Tumor in back, disks out in neck and degenerative disk disease, also really bad headaches? .
My next question is are you taking financial hardship into consideration since medicare obviously won’t cover this, and I seen an article that you were considering giving the cards to the highest bidder.
Em-
Please refer to the proposition, section 36-2801 where it lists the qualifying diseases/dissabilities. Also, please visit our website at http://www.azdhs.gov, we are going to post a draft copy of the rules Friday December 17th.
Thanks,
Will
Hello Will,
Has there been any discussion on infusion for the dispensaries? Infusion facilities will enable patients who prefer not to smoke or vaporize medical marijuana to ingest the medicine via edible products. This is a very important issue to address. In order to ensure quality product and minimal transport of marijuana from facility to facility, infusion should be allowed at the cultivation center. That way edible products can be made where the marijuana is grown. Cultivation facilities will have fans and carbon filters to minimize the smell associated with growing and drying. By allowing cultivation centers to also infuse, it helps the dispensaries (which will most likely be in commercial areas) to not have a marijuana smell emanating from the location, possibly disrupting businesses surrounding the dispensaries.
Thank you for your time
Erica
Will, and everyone at AZDHS thank you very much for all your hard work and willingness to make this happen for the patients here in AZ. We all really appreciate it. I do find it funny that even I have now heard somebody say they know of someone on the List for dispensaries when I check the updates on your websites daily. I was more than willing to send them to your site to get the reality check that there is NO list for anyone PERIOD! (they replied oh, ok)
Thank you Charles!
Dear Mr. Humble.
Thank you and your team for all the very hard work they are doing on behalf of all the people with legitimate health issues that rely on medical marijauna for chronic pain relief. Pleae consider AZ residents first over the out of state MMJ corporations when reviewing dispensary applications.
Thank You,
James Baker
I hope this is NOT true. I attended the XXXX(removed by editor) seminar on Monday 12/13/10. I understand that XXXX(removed by editor) is a national PAC. I was surprised to learn that have formed an association of individuals who want to become dispensary owners. I was shocked to hear that they have been in contact with you and advising you on how to implement the rules for this program. I was stunned when they further claimed that they have offered to become the agency to review the applications and make recommendations to DHS who should be accepted. If this is true, it is an outragious conflict of interest. A group of applicants reviewing their own applications???? Please tell me this is NOT true. Have you been in contact/negoiations with them?
Donna Purcell,
Please see the response I have given to Perry.
We were reviewing the fiscal summary and noticed that the # of dispensaries would be phased in thru 2013 and only 12 dispensaries are anticipated in 2010. Is this phase in accurate?
SR
ADHS hasn’t published a fiscal summary and therefore cannot comment on your question.
Thank you
Mr. Humble,
I have become very confused with the actual integrity behind choosing the 124 qualified dispensary license holders. There are multiple organizations available to assist the public with this process. While I see a quite bit of comments on these organizations good and bad, they are companies that are there to help and they should not be downplayed. I was at a seminar the other evening sponsored by the XXXX(removed by editor). It was a 4 hour seminar that brought a bit of panic to me and my son. We are individuals whom strive for success, compassionate about the medicinal marijuana program, secure with our finances and the whole time I felt like I needed to be part of the XXXX(removed by editor) before my application would ever be considered. The speakers at this seminar made SEVERAL suggestions that they are OFFERING info to you, MR. HUMBLE on regulation and implementation. I have read several publications from you stating that you would have no outside influence on the implementation of this program. I believe they said they may even be part of the people that review applications for potential dispensary license holders. Now this is wrong. An organization who helped write the initiative as well as put it on the ballots would have that type of control. I will be watching very closely. I am an attorney that specializes in corruption and would hope you put a sound program together to give all the qualified applicants a fair shot without the advice of the XXXX(removed by editor). Please let me know your thoughts.
Perry,
As I stated in my December 3rd blog post Fairness and Transparency are the Keys to Effectively Implementing the AZ Medical Marijuana Act, the ADHS has no affiliation with any outside organization and or person (and will keep it that way). We (the Department) haven’t even begun to decide how we’ll evaluate and approve dispensary applications. Our first priority is to develop responsible Rules. We will be posting a first draft of the Rules on our website (http://www.azdhs.gov) this Friday. We will encourage everyone (including those that voted against the Initiative), to voice their opinions/comments because it is a vital part in determining the final rules. We want EVERYONE to have an equal voice. I’m glad that you are “watching very closely”. I hope others do as well. We have been very open, honest and public with all of the information we have at this time, and will continue to do so throughout this entire process. By the way, I am a public health professional that specializes in effective and open government.
Thanks,
Will
Will-
My doctor says the clinics she belongs to (North Country Community Health Center) have a policy of not making marijuana recommendations. She says that she would recommend Medical Marijuana for me but that the clinics have a policy prohibiting their doctors from doing this. What am I going to do since I have been seeing her for many years? Do I have to go to some other clinic as a new patient to get a recommendation?
John-
We have released a draft of our rules today, and it is located on our website at http://www.azdhs.gov. We are seeking input from all Arizonans on the implementation of prop 203…everyone’s suggestions/comments are important to us in developing the final rules. Questions and concerns like your’s are very important, so please visit the electronic comment form and give us your input..I really appreciate it!
Thanks,
Will
Mr. Humble,
I appreciate your openness and transparency regarding the implementation of the Medical Marijuana Act. However I am concerned about the various groups and individuals giving you input on how to set up dispensaries. Especially the XXXX group in Phoenix which put together the initiative and now the campaign manager is charging $300 for a 4 hour forum telling everyone the rules are basically set up for the well funded syndicates like XXXX(name removed by editor) and XXXX(name removed by editor) big dispensaries that aren’t even located in Arizona.
I also talked to XXXX(name removed by editor) who seems to have your ear and are advising you. For the sake of transparency please list all the outside individuals and groups that are advising and talking to you. The little peons are told to post here and if you so favor us with a response great, but I don’t get to talk to you or your staff personally. You are on taxpayer dollars and it’s important we know who is talking to you especially when they are self-interested.
I notice you have no problem distancing yourself from XXXX(name removed by editor) so can you say the same for XXXX (group that funded Prop 203) and XXXX(name removed by editor)?
Thank you
Sally,
The draft of the rules coming out tomorrow is completely internally driven. We have received numerous documents and emails from folks on various aspects (including the blog stuff) but we don’t reply and do not use the information for our rule development. Everyone, absolutely everyone will have an opportunity to comment at the same time starting tomorrow morning through January 7th. We do not intend to give any organization special access.
Mr. Humble,
I just read the “input needed on medical marijuana rules” posted on your web site. As an employee of a physician’s office I must disagree with the initial rule of 4 visits before a Doctor can recommend cannabis. We see many patients who require several visits before coming to a conclusion on a treatment plan, but we also see a large number of patients where the doctor can come to a conclusion on a treatment plan at the initial visit. That’s why my boss went to school and residency for over 13 years, he’s the expert not our legislators. Leave the doctoring to the medical professionals. If a doctor feels confident in his/her recommendation then who are we to challenge their medical authority? I know you’re trying to prevent “pot docs” from opening 2 minute evaluation clinics but again, leave the evaluation to the doctor. They’re the ones who we rely on to make life and death decisions, to prescribe dangerous narcotics, and yes, to recommend the most benign of all medicines available…cannabis.
Thanks for listening,
Dave
Dave,
Thank you for your comment.
Will
the dispensarys need to have quality controls-i personally have lung cancer and the last thing i need is to get medicine that has mold or has been grown with pesticides.I feel it is very important to be able to grow my own medicine.The dispensarys are going to be charging such a high price that those who are on disability won`t be able to afford it.The fee 150.00 for a card should be adjusted for those who are on disability.I realize you have a lot of issues to address and would like to thank you for this oppertunity to express my concerns thanks Lanny