Medical marijuana users have no right to grow their own plants once a dispensary moves within 25 miles as the crow flies, a state hearing officer concluded Tuesday, as reported by Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services for Arizona Daily Star. But some rural residents may get to start cultivating again next year.
Hearing officer Tammy Eigenheer rejected arguments by Arlin Troutt that the 25-mile rule, part of the original 2010 voter-approved Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, violates his constitutional rights because it allows others living outside that zone to continue to cultivate the drug.
Troutt, who listed his residence as Gold Canyon in Pinal County, had no better luck with his claim that the closest dispensary did not count because it did not offer “naturally-grown marijuana product that had not been exposed to pesticides and other chemicals that made him sick.” Eigenheer said there are other dispensaries available that may have the kind of product he wants.
