2011 Department Priorities Spotlight- Assurance & Licensing Services
I thought I’d do a piece each week between now and the end of the year that outlines our goals for the coming year. I’ll start with Licensing this week… We’ll continue on our quest to make the most of our time and effort during our surveys. We’re already doing a good job now, but as we press through 2011, I’d [...]
Vitamin D & Calcium
Calcium and Vitamin D are two essential nutrients long known for their role in bone health. Over the last 10 years there’s been a fair amount of controversy about how much people need to stay healthy. To help clarify this issue the Institute of Medicine (IOM) assessed the current data on health outcomes associated with calcium and vitamin D and [...]
Kids and tobacco
The Bureau of Tobacco and Chronic Disease sponsored their 2010 Youth Première Event to mobilize Arizona youth in the battle against tobacco. This event marked the first time youth from around the State were brought together to learn about establishing a comprehensive and sustainable statewide youth coalition on issues related to tobacco control and addiction. More than 240 youth attended [...]
Cholera in Haiti
There’s a big outbreak of cholera in Haiti, and health officials are working with international agencies to control the outbreak. Cholera causes severe watery diarrhea and can spread easily from person to person through contaminated food and water. The diarrhea caused by cholera results in loss of body fluids, which can cause severe dehydration and, without treatment, can kill. The best [...]
Fairness and Transparency are the Keys to Effectively Implementing the AZ Medical Marijuana Act
Throughout my career I’ve learned that a cornerstone of working with the community is to make sure you have a true partnership. Every partnership starts with trust. In order to establish and maintain trust throughout our implementation period, the ADHS needs to ensure that our process is completely fair, open, honest and transparent. Part of establishing these pillars that result [...]
Medical Marijuana (Cannabis) Dispensary Zoning
The AZ Medical Marijuana Act states that cities and towns may adopt "reasonable regulations" regarding the location and operations of medical marijuana dispensaries and growing operations in their jurisdictions. The ADHS still has the responsibility to issue the dispensary license- but any license that we ultimately issue would be contingent on the prospective facility being in compliance with local zoning [...]