30 Facts About Arizona’s New Medical Marijuana Law Mon, 15 Nov 2010 23:51:31 By: Russ Belville, NORML Outreach Coordinator Share This Article The votes are counted and Arizona’s Prop 203 – the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act – has passed by a margin of 4,341 votes (841,346 YES, 837,005 NO). We’re receiving many calls and emails from people interested in the details of the new law. Here are the highlights of the measure:
The allowable amount of marijuana for patients and caregivers is 2.5 ounces. IF a patient or caregiver is allowed to cultivate, the limit is 12 plants that must be grown in an “enclosed, locked facility”, defined as “closet, room, greenhouse, or other enclosed area”. Qualifying conditions: cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s), Crohn’s, Alzheimer’s, cachexia or wasting syndrome, severe and chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures (like epilespy), and severe and persistent spasms (like multiple sclerosis). Caregivers must be 21 years old and pass criminal background check for certain felonies. Caregivers can serve no more than five patients, must keep a card for each one Caregivers may receive reimbursement for actual expenses – not labor – from their own patients only. Patients’ and Caregivers’ medical marijuana cards last for one year and will contain their photo, name, address, birthdate, and indication whether medical marijuana is allowed to be cultivated at home. If the state has not issued a card within 45 days, a copy of the application shall have the same force as the card. Patients and caregivers must submit fingerprints to law enforcement and sign a statement that they will not divert marijuana to non-patients. Patients and caregivers may share marijuana with other patients for free, as long as they don’t knowingly cause the patient to exceed 2.5 ounces. Non-profit medical marijuana dispensaries are allowed. A patient who lives within 25 miles of a dispensary may not cultivate their own medical marijuana. Patients and caregivers may not possess medical marijuana on a school bus, school, or correctional facility. Patients may not smoke marijuana on public transportation or in any public place. Patients may not drive under the influence of marijuana; however, marijuana metabolites shall not be proof of impairment. Fees for non-profit dispensaries shall not be greater than $5,000 or $1,000 for a renewal license. Dispensaries must cultivate their own medical marijuana, which they can do onsite or at one separate physical address Patients and Caregivers may give marijuana to dispensaries, but not for any compensation. Neither the dispensary nor the cultivation address may be within 500 feet of a school. There can be no more than one dispensary for every ten pharmacies, except that there can be at least one dispensary in every county. The cards or recommendations for visiting patients from other medical marijuana states will be recognized in Arizona, but they may not shop at the dispensaries. Patients in assisted care facilities can be limited to non-smoking methods of use and only in certain areas; however, such facilities are not required to enact these limitations. Dispensaries must have a single secure entrance, a strong security system, and no medicating is allowed on the premises. Dispensaries must track patients’ acquisitions to ensure they receive no more than 2.5 ounces from any dispensaries within a fourteen day period. There shall be a secure, web-based confirmation system accessible by law enforcement and dispensaries, that reveals patients’ and caregivers’ names but not addresses and how much marijuana the patient received from all dispensaries in the past sixty days. Non-patients cannot be punished for being the vicinity of lawful medical marijuana use by patients or providing paraphernalia to patients. Schools and landlords cannot discriminate against medical marijuana patients and caregivers, unless they are subject to federal penalty. Employers cannot discriminate against patients and caregivers and a positive test for marijuana metabolites is not cause for disciplining or terminating a patient. Medical facilities and treatments, including organ transplants, cannot be denied to patients for their medical marijuana use. Parental rights of patients cannot be denied solely for their medical marijuana use. The full text of the measure can be found at http://stash.norml.org/azmedmj
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