Implementing Medical Marijuana Law

Residents of Arizona are among the few in the country to be exempt from the state's controlled substance laws if they have certain medical conditions. Until the Arizona's Proposition 203, goes into effect, the use of marijuana is illegal in the federal government's eyes. Like any new law, there is a multi-step implementation process to Proposition 203.

After the first draft of the rules regarding medical marijuana in Arizona is released, they will be on display for the public to comment on them. Once the first draft commenting deadline has passed the comments will be reviewed and the rules will be revised. The revised rules will then be made public. Additionally, there will be more public hearings in a formal setting after which the final set of rules for the release of medical marijuana will be submitted to the Secretary of State and made public on the website for the Office of Administrative Rules. It won't be until April 2011 that the rules regarding medical marijuana Arizona. Medical marijuana dispensaries will be in effect.

There are some key points to be made about the effects of Proposition 203. Keep in mind that physicians may only prescribe medical marijuana Arizona for patients who have certain medical conditions. These physicians may also be certain licensed osteopaths, naturopaths, or homeopaths. Only they can prescribe or recommend the use of medical marijuana for patients who have a "debilitating medical condition," which may include cancer, glaucoma, being HIV positive, AIDS, Crohn's disease, Alzheimer's disease, hepatitis C, among many other diseases and treatment of those conditions.

In addition to who can partake of the medical marijuana, the rules governing Proposition 203 also direct the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries. Here are a couple of the rules for these facilities:

- They can only be nonprofit. Medical marijuana dispensaries must establish bylaws which preserve its charitable nature.

- Operating documents governing medical marijuana dispensaries must provide for supervision and accurate record-keeping of the facility.

- Cultivation of medical marijuana can only take place at a secured facility that has a physical address that is registered with the Department of Health Services.

These are just a few of the draft regulations that are being established for medical marijuana dispensaries, along with the obvious one of the prohibition of the facilities using, cultivating, delivering, or anything else with the medical marijuana for purposes other than what it was intended for.

In preparation for the ability of nonprofits to help ease the suffering of patients who have medical conditions covered under Proposition 203, a group of people formed Kind Clinics. Their goal is to provide alternatives that are less dangerous. Addictive than the medications that are currently prescribed. Additionally, Kind Clinics wants to promote the idea of freedom. Since they operate in a country that was based on the freedom of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, Kind Clinics promotes the idea that people have the right to make decisions that are different from other people around them.