arizona medical marijuana act

Recently, I was asked to comment on the reasons why your case needs a medical marijuana expert. It’s a great read and incorporates plenty of other experts in the field.

Those who know me will tell you I always advocate for hiring the best expert you can find. It holds true when you build a home, have your car repaired and especially when you’re facing a criminal conviction. In a court of law, you can’t afford to go it alone. That’s why we’re here – to provide the best legal defense possible for you and your family.

So why do you need a medical marijuana expert? Here’s why:

A medical marijuana expert understands impairment.

In Arizona, our firm has seen landmark cases in which the expert’s opinion was a crucial deciding factor for the jury. Arizona is creating legal precedent with cases like Darrah v. Hon. Mcclennen/City of Mesa where we, as lawyers, are literally breaking new ground every day in the defense of individuals charged with marijuana possession or driving under the influence.

As with any new battleground in the legal field, the quality of your case can many times rely on the quality of the experts you choose to support your case. Experts on the effects of marijuana are commonly retained for DUI cases in order to first determine if the drug was present in the defendant’s system, and secondly, to quantify if the percentage found in the defendant’s blood was significant enough to prove impairment.

Experts responsible for supporting arguments involving impairment are typically highly educated criminalists and doctors who specialize in internal medicine – professionals well versed in the effects of marijuana and with extensive experience testifying in court.

A marijuana expert can bolster your defense – and weaken the prosecution’s case.

Typically, the prosecution has no problem seeking a conviction for drug possession if they’ve proven the individual was in possession of marijuana. In this case, a marijuana expert can’t do much to bolster the defense. However, the defense can argue the individual legally obtained a medical marijuana card, and should not be convicted for drug possession based on state laws. Depending on the prosecutor and judge however, this argument won’t necessarily be impactful.

If a DUI is involved, the situation becomes much more complex, and the support of an experienced marijuana expert is crucial. Unlike alcohol, marijuana traces, or metabolites, remain in the system for longer periods of time. An expert is needed to discuss how metabolites affect the body and whether these trace amounts of the drug resulted in impairment.

Drug identification “experts” aren’t doctors.

Unlike marijuana experts such as criminalists and internal medicine doctors who defense attorneys call upon to help with a case, drug recognition experts (DREs) or drug identification experts typically focus solely on proving that drugs were present in the defendant’s system at the time of the arrest.

DREs aren’t nearly as qualified as doctors to speak on impairment, and aren’t highly educated on the medical aspect of whether the driver was impaired. They have undergone training and courses to “recognize” impairment based on their previous experiences as well as a person’s behavior and actions. That’s why highly qualified drug experts are so crucial if your client is ultimately charged. For us, science trumps what a DRE might see on the side of the road.

Colorado lawmakers are reviewing recreational marijuana taxes after sales from the past fiscal year did not meet early predictions.

The official estimated revenue that recreational marijuana was predicted to bring in $33.5 million through the fiscal year, which ended this summer.

Tax collections from Colorado reveal that the actual amount came in 60 percent lower than predicted, at a little over $12 million, according to The Denver Post.

Lawmakers, such as State Rep. Dan Pabon, the leader of a special legislative committee on marijuana revenue, say that existing medical marijuana tax laws, which are lower than that of recreational pot, may be a part of why recreational tax revenue didn’t meet expectations.

David Blake of the Colorado attorney general’s office suggests that medical marijuana’s continued success and recreational marijuana’s disappointing revenues are driven by the avoidance these higher taxes, The Denver Post said.

Despite the presence of recreational marijuana dispensaries, which are popping up all around the state, medical marijuana sales continue to hold a top place in the marijuana market.

It seems as though recreational marijuana hasn’t taken consumers away from medical marijuana businesses but instead has appealed to tourists and others who may have previously purchased pot illegally.

However, recreational tax revenues are projected to increase as the field grows and matures over time.

Some are especially optimistic, such as Dorinda Floyd from the Department of Revenue, who believes recreational pot will eventually surpass medical sales, The Denver Post reports.

In Arizona, medical marijuana is just getting settled in the market as Proposition 203, The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, was passed by voters in 2010.

Medical marijuana sales in Arizona are expected to have a significant place in the state’s economy as dispensaries continue to receive licenses and open.

A total of approximately 126 dispensaries are anticipated to exist in the state since 2012, give or take a few depending on the number of traditional pharmacies existing in Arizona at any given time.

For reference, one dispensary may open in accordance with every 10 pharmacies in the state the Arizona Department of Health Services explains explains.

A study published by Arizona State University Professor Timothy Hogan predicts that dispensaries will support 1,500 full-time jobs and pay out $74 million a year in wages in 2016.

After including additional businesses and spending as a result of direct wages, those numbers increase to 6,500 jobs for Arizona workers, $315 million in income payments and $990 million in overall economic activity, the Phoenix Business Journal reports.

Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) opened the door to medical marijuana years ago, but will not budge on opening it any more in 2014.

ADHS rejected a proposed expansion – adding illnesses to the list of approved marijuana-treated conditions – of the state’s medical marijuana program more than 3 years after approving the Act which allows the use of medical marijuana, with a 50.13 percent approval.

The state’s current policy on medical marijuana is protected by Proposition 203, which was passed in November 2010 and put into effect in April 2011. The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act removes state-level criminal penalties on the use of marijuana for qualifying patients who have received “written certification” from their physician to alleviate symptoms of chronic conditions and illnesses.

Among these illnesses, include cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), Crohn’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease; any medical condition producing cachexia or wasting syndrome, severe or chronic pain, and severe nausea or seizures.

A recent petition in 2014 suggested adding post traumatic stress disorder, migraines and depression to the list of medical marijuana approved conditions, but it was shot down by the state’s Department of Health Services Director, Will Humble.

Current medical marijuana cardholders are permitted to purchase, and have on their person, up to 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana in a 14 day period.

According to the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, usable marijuana consists of “the dried flowers of the marijuana plant, and any mixture or preparation thereof, but does not include the seeds, stalks and roots of the plant and does not include the weight of any non-marijuana ingredients combined with marijuana and prepared for consumption as food or drink.”

Although the qualifying patients are protected under Arizona law, they must adhere to the rules set by the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. The law prohibits driving or operating a motor vehicle, boat or aircraft while under the influence, ingesting marijuana in a public place or on public transportation, and cultivation of more than 12 marijuana plants in a “locked and enclosed facility” only if the patient is not within 25 miles of a dispensary.

The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act does not require employers or landowners to allow the ingestion of marijuana in the workplace on on their private property, but it does protect against discriminatory acts that affect the hiring, leasing or treatment of a qualifying patient.