By Yvonne Wingett Sanchez
The Arizona Republic
A court ruling that Arizona’s controversial medical-marijuana law does not conflict with federal drug laws cleared the way Tuesday for dispensaries to open and allows patients to legally obtain marijuana from the facilities.
The long-awaited decision by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Gordon rejected arguments made by Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne that the voter-approved law should be shut down because marijuana is illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act and that state employees would be facilitating federal crimes if they issued licenses to medical-marijuana dispensaries.
The first dispensary, Arizona Organix, is scheduled to open at 10a.m. Thursday in Glendale, with another to follow in Tucson later this month.
“This means that dispensaries are going to be able to open and start serving patients in Arizona,” said attorney Ryan Hurley, an expert in the state’s medical-marijuana law.
“And it means patients are finally going to have the access voters intended them to have to medicine that makes them feel better.”
