NEW POT RULES STILL UP IN AIR

Police, government still figuring out how to enforce medical marijuana
law

Law enforcement aspects of medical marijuana are still being aired out
and lawmakers are not quite ready to spell out just how police will
put the proverbial match to inevitable violators of Arizona's new law.

Lake Havasu City Police Chief Dan Doyle said determining standards for
driving under the influence of marijuana is one issue currently at the
forefront of the new law.

"There is no threshold for drugs," Doyle said. "We have a test for
alcohol. But there is no threshold for marijuana."

Another scenario is possession of the drug.

"What happens with a possession charge when the person says, 'I have a
medical marijuana card, but the card isn't on me?'" Doyle asked. "How
do we address (Arizona Department of Health Services) to check on the
status? There are logistics that have to be sorted out."

Because medical marijuana is directly linked to a person's medical
history, federal laws that protect an individual's medical history are
a looming factor, he said.

Doyle attended an Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police seminar last
week that centered on medical marijuana and law enforcement.
Representatives of Arizona DHS were also there, he said.

Also high on the list, is too much cash and too much marijuana at
dispensaries.

"There definitely are concerns," Doyle said. "There have been problems
in other (medical marijuana law) states."

Banks will not do business with dispensaries because the banks are
federally regulated. And at the federal level, marijuana is illegal.
This creates a potential liability of large amounts of cash at
dispensaries. Excessive amounts of marijuana at dispensaries or
home-cultivation operations also attract interest of potential law
violators, he said.

According to the California Police Chiefs Association website, studies
of medical marijuana dispensaries in that state have concluded their
existence to be linked to murder, armed robberies, burglaries, traffic
and noise complaints, drug dealing, organized crime, money laundering,
firearms violations and poisonings.

The study also showed adverse secondary impacts including unjustified
and fictitious physician recommendations and an increased number of
marijuana-grow houses in residential areas often resulting in related
home fires and mold threats.

In California, analysis of patients' records seized during search
warrants at several dispensaries showed that 52 percent of the
dispensaries customers purchasing marijuana were between the ages of
17 and 30 and primary caregivers purchasing marijuana were between the
ages of 18 and 30. Only about 2 percent of customers submitted a
physician's recommendation for AIDS, glaucoma or cancer, according to
the study.

Voters passed California's medical marijuana law in 1996. The CPCA, in
conjunction with the California State Sheriffs, Narcotics Officers and
District Attorneys Associations, and the California Highway Patrol,
formed the state's Medical Marijuana Dispensary Task Force to address
crime and quality of life issues surrounding dispensaries.

In comparison to other medical marijuana states, Doyle said he thinks
the Arizona DHS system will be more regulated.

For example, the checks and balances of operations and registry will
be funneled though one state agency versus separate counties in other
states. And doctor/patient relationship regulations are much more
strict, he said.

Lake Havasu City police officers will be trained through standardized
process, which is still in the works, at the hands of the Arizona
Peace Officers Standards and Training Board, Doyle said.

The video training for medical marijuana will be similar in format to
training officers underwent last year after the Arizona immigration
laws went into effect.

The state's first public comment period for medical marijuana ended
Friday, according to the Arizona DHS website. The 1,300 comments
received will be reviewed and another draft will be released by Jan.
31.

The issues garnering the most interest through the public comment
periods include the definition and requirements for patient-physician
relationship; the interest of adding mental illness, PTSD,
fibromyalgia and depression to the list of approved illnesses; fee
structures; geographic distances for caregiver/patient cultivation;
dispensary cultivation amount requirements; dispensary approval and
registration; dispensary medical doctor requirements; medical doctor
qualifications; and regulations surrounding dispensaries being
associating with cultivation facilities, according to the website.

The next comment period linked to the newly released draft will begin
that day and last until Feb. 18. After that, the final draft will
publish March 28 and the final public comment deadline is April 13.

The law is expected to go into effect in April. Sales will begin
mid-summer after dispensaries have had the opportunity to set up and
cultivate the marijuana, the website said.

According to the current draft, qualified caregiver/patient would only
be allowed up to two and one half ounces of marijuana at any given
time.

All dispensaries will be non-profit entities. Registry cards harbor a
cost $150 for qualified patients and $200 for qualified caregivers.
Dispensary fees are $5,000 initially, $1,000 for renewal and $2,500
for relocation of a grow facility, the website said.

The Arizona DHS is to establish a web-based verification system
available 24 hours each day to law enforcement and non-profit medical
marijuana dispensary personnel to verify registry identification cards.

Detailed security measures for dispensaries include an intrusion
protection, exterior lighting and electric monitoring that allows
24-hour, seven-days-a-week virtual monitoring by Arizona DHS. Arizona
DHS will not issue more than one non-profit dispensary for every 10
pharmacies in a community.

To participate in the public comment or for more information about
medical marijuana visit www.azdhs.gov .