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06-18-2018 10:54 PM |
For those in other parts, Arizona voters approved use of marijuana / cannabis for medicinal purposes only. Some other states (California, Oregon, Nevada) approved its recreational use, and drug tourism is occurring.
Cannabis is still illegal as far as the Federal government is concerned. The previous Federal Attorney General stated the Federal government would not prosecute people under Federal law in states that had legalized cannabis, if those people were following the State laws. The current Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, has stated he will abandon this policy, but nobody is sure what the Federal Justice Department is going to do.
Arizona permits licensed physicians to recommend cannabis use for patients with at least one of a list of diagnoses. They cannot use the word prescribe, because that invokes Federal law. Recommending cannabis to patients is still illegal under Federal law, but the Federal government has not been prosecuting physicians. This might change at any time.
Patients with a physician's recommendation apply to the State of Arizona for registration, and a card showing they are permitted to buy cannabis legally for their illness. These people must buy their cannabis at a State licensed and approved dispensary. People with a cannabis card are permitted to grow a limited number of plants for their own use only if they don't live within 25 miles / 42km of a dispensary. People with a card may not sell, nor give, their cannabis to anybody else. People without a card are not permitted to enter the dispensaries. Banks will not do business with the dispensaries, because taking drug money as deposits is contrary to Federal law. So there is a huge amount of cash sloshing around the dispensaries. They have heavily armed guards and very secure buildings.
Dispensaries are licensed by the State. The enabling regulations specify they cannot be located near churches nor schools, and must be a certain distance from each other. The map of where to put dispensaries was carefully drawn by the State Health Department so more than 90% of residents of Arizona live within the legal distance of a dispensary, and are not permitted to grow their own cannabis.
The community where Arizona Jeannie lives, like much of Arizona, has a lot of people belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, sometimes called Mormons. The church is strongly against using mind-altering substances, including cannabis and alcohol. Growing cannabis under lights in a small town full of LDS would very likely lead to a visit from the police. Jeannie is heading this off by letting the neighbors know she is not growing cannabis.
I don't use it, by the way. I have a professional license to maintain. I don't want to be impaired.
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