BREWER SEEKING FEDERAL RULING ON ARIZ. POT LAW

PHOENIX - Saying she fears people could wind up in legal trouble, Gov.
Jan Brewer on Tuesday ordered the state attorney general to get a
federal court to rule on whether Arizona can implement its medical
marijuana law.

Brewer said it was always known there was a conflict between the law,
which lets Arizonans with a doctor's recommendation get a state-issued
card letting them buy and use marijuana, and the federal statutes that
make possession, sale and transportation a felony.

But she said a letter earlier this month from Dennis Burke, the U.S.
attorney for Arizona, to her state health chief appeared to be a
warning that anyone involved - from patients and dispensary operators
to landlords and even state health officials - could wind up being
prosecuted by his office.

"I believe in the will of the people," Brewer said, even though she
personally opposed the initiative.

"Unfortunately, with this piece of legislation, there are some pretty
serious consequences if we don't get them resolved," she continued.
"And I, as governor, am not willing to put those people at risk."

Despite that, the state health department will continue issuing
"qualified patient" cards to anyone who produces the required doctor's
certification that they have a medical condition that can be treated
with marijuana.

Gubernatorial press aide Matthew Benson said the state really has no
choice: The initiative approved in November says if the health
department does not issue a card within 45 days of a valid
application, the card is considered automatically issued. That
language was inserted to keep the state from thwarting the law.

About 4,000 Arizonans already have been certified by the health
department to be able to buy up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana every two
weeks. But Benson said it remains unclear whether the state will start
issuing licenses for dispensaries to sell the drug commercially while
the lawsuit, set to be filed Friday, progresses. The first
applications can be submitted this coming week.

The decision to sue drew fire from Ryan Hurley, an attorney who
represents dispensary owners.

Hurley said he understands why the governor and Attorney General Tom
Horne would want a federal judge to clarify whether Arizonans can be
prosecuted under federal law if they are following the state law.

But Hurley pointed out that Horne will not be asking the court to
uphold the law. Instead, the state is taking no position on the
validity of the Arizona law.

He said Horne and Brewer should be defending the right of Arizonans to
pass their own laws and decide which medicines should be available in
the state. Brewer sidestepped repeated questions on why the state is
not mounting a vigorous defense of the law. Horne said that unlike the
lawsuit he and Brewer are waging with the federal government over
Arizona's immigration laws, there is a clear conflict between the
goals of the state and federal drug laws that makes it inappropriate
to demand a federal judge rule federal prosecutors cannot enforce
federal laws in Arizona.

Joe Yuhas, spokesman for the Arizona Medical Marijuana Association,
which helped get the initiative enacted, blasted the lawsuit as "a
waste of state taxpayer money." He said that the federal government
has never moved to shut down operations in 16 other states that have
medical marijuana laws.

But Brewer said she saw something in Burke's message that made her
believe he would be more aggressive.

In his May 2 letter to State Health Director Will Humble, Burke said
he will follow department policy of not going after seriously ill
patients who use marijuana as part of a doctor's treatment program,
while noting even those who comply with the state law remain subject
to prosecution by his office - a warning that appeared to be aimed at
growers, dispensary owners, their landlords and property owners.

Among the questions Brewer said she is concerned about is whether
state officials who issue dispensary licenses can be prosecuted
because they are "facilitating" the distribution of marijuana. She
said she also fears the state Department of Public Safety could lose
federal grants by refusing to arrest those caught with the drug simply
because they are complying with state law.