By Yvonne Wingett Sanchez
The Arizona Republic
Dispensary owners, patients and advocates of medical marijuana are asking state lawmakers to reconsider an attempt to repeal the 2010 law that legalized the drug to treat certain medical conditions.
Instead of taking the medical marijuana issue back to voters, they urged the Legislature Thursday to clamp down on unregulated marijuana clubs — often called “compassion clubs,” — to ensure patients receive their recommended drugs within the guidelines of the new law.
There are no provisions for such clubs in the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, and they are not regulated by the Department of Health Services, which oversees the medical marijuana program and regulates dispensaries where patients and caregivers can legally buy marijuana.
The compassion clubs typically ask patients to pay a fee to obtain marijuana even though the law does not allow people to exchange anything of value for the drug except in dispensaries. However, the clubs popped up statewide as patients waited for the opening of dispensaries, which were delayed because of prolonged legal battles between medical marijuana advocates and state and county officials. In a few known instances, law enforcement has taken action against the clubs. In the two most high profile cases, police raided the clubs and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office prosecuted the operators under existing drug laws.
Ryan Hurley, an attorney specializing in medical marijuana law, said the law should not be repealed, but that police, prosecutors and lawmakers, should target the unregulated clubs to ensure patients receive their medication in a controlled and secure environment.
