JUDGE: BREWER ILLEGALLY DELAYED MARIJUANA LAW

PHOENIX - A state judge has ordered Gov. Jan Brewer to finally fully
implement the 2010 voter-approved Medical Marijuana Act, saying she
acted illegally in holding it up.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Richard Gama rejected the
governor's argument that she has the discretion to delay enactment of
parts of the law while she sought a ruling from another court about
the liability of state workers under federal drug laws.

"Defendants cite no authority for this proposition, and the court has
found none," Gama wrote in his ruling made public Wednesday.

"The voters intended the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act be implemented
within 120 days. This has not been done."

Gama also ruled that state Health Director Will Humble illegally
imposed some rules on who can - and cannot - have a license to
operate a marijuana dispensary. The judge said nothing in the
voter-approved law allows such restrictions.

The ruling removes the last roadblock Brewer has thrown up to
licensing dispensaries.

"What Judge Gama said in his order is that she's to implement the
act, period," said Ty Taber. He represents interests that sought to
force Brewer to finally comply with the law.

But gubernatorial press aide Matthew Benson said his boss has not yet
decided whether to comply, saying she could appeal.

"She's going to have to have an opportunity to review this decision
and decide where to go from here," Benson said.

Taber said, though, she does not have much time, with the law
requiring any appeal within 30 days. Absent any action by that time,
Taber said Gama's ruling takes effect and the state will have no
choice but to start licensing dispensaries.

The ruling is the latest in a string of setbacks for Brewer on the
issue of whether Arizonans should be able to purchase and use
marijuana for medical purposes.

Brewer opposed the 2010 initiative to allow those with a doctor's
recommendation to obtain up to 2-1/2 ounces of marijuana every two
weeks to treat a specified list of medical conditions.

It passed anyway. And the health department has processed and
approved about 18,000 individual applications since early last year.

The law also required the state to license about 125 nonprofit
dispensaries where cardholders could legally obtain the drug.

But Brewer blocked health officials from even accepting applications
for these after federal prosecutors refused to provide assurances
that the employees who handle those applications would not find
themselves facing federal charges. And she asked U.S. District Court
Judge Susan Bolton to say whether the workers have immunity.

Bolton threw out the lawsuit last month, saying there was no evidence
any public employee in any state with a medical marijuana law had
ever been prosecuted. Anyway, the judge said, it was not in her power
to offer immunity to anyone.

Last week Brewer agreed not to pursue that case. The governor said
she would allow licensing of dispensaries - but only after the
lawsuit in front of Gama about the legality of Humble's rules was resolved.

Now she has that.

In that part of the ruling, Gama agreed with would-be dispensary
operators that some of the restrictions Humble imposed are beyond the
authority voters gave him in approving the law.