One of our objectives as we developed the final set of Rules for Medical Marijuana was to ensure reliable access to medication in rural Arizona. That’s why we built in some incentives to encourage folks to apply for one of the rural CHAAs. First, we made sure that inventory could be transferred between dispensaries (and their cultivation facilities) by allowing for a wholesale market. That way, dispensaries in rural Arizona that may have a limited number of qualified patients can decide that a core part of their business plan is to cultivate for the wholesale market and sell their inventory to dispensaries in urban AZ.
Second, we added a provision in the final rules that allow rural dispensary owners to move their dispensaries anywhere in the State after 3 years (subject to local zoning approval, Department approval, and the $2,500 fee). This way, a rural dispensary operator could decide after 3 years whether they want to move to an area in the state with a higher density of qualified patients. In order to backfill the dispensaries in rural Arizona in out-years, the Department will determine how many additional licenses can be issued and will allocate the licenses to applicants with the following priorities: 1st to a county without a dispensary, 2nd to CHAAs without a dispensary, and 3rd using a formula that targets areas with higher density of qualified patients.
We don’t know where the qualified patients will be living 3 years from now since the program hasn’t started yet. But with this approach, we’ll encourage migration of future dispensaries to areas with a high density of patients while still providing access in rural access.
We’re hoping that prospective dispensary applicants decide to apply in rural CHAAs- recognizing that competition for dispensaries in urban AZ will likely be robust. By applying in a rural CHAA, they can increase their chances of successfully being awarded a Registration Certificate and keep their options open for moving to a part of the state with a high density of qualified patients after a few years. Likewise, if a prospective applicant has had a previous bankruptcy or lacks access to $150K in capital (which are part of our competitive screening criteria), they’ll be in a better position to compete for Registration Certificates in rural AZ.
We’ll begin accepting applications for dispensaries on June 1 and will continue to accept applications throughout June. We’ll indicate on our website when applications are received throughout the month on our CHAA map. That way, prospective applicants can see where applications have been received and determine where the competition for registration certificates is most intense. Some applicants may want to use that information to make strategic decisions about where they want to apply.
Thank you Mr. Humble for being on time and putting together a comprehensive package of rules and forms. I do not see the Patient Application Form online yet so when is that going to be available?
Also the CHAAs are poorly thought out since other than the metro Tucson, Phoenix and Flagstaff areas, there is no big areas of population. You have many cities that don’t even have a pharmacy located in them and you want to put a medical marijuana dispenary in their town? Why? This is the most head scratching part of the rules when you were provided with a matrix by me that outlines how many dispensaries a county would be eligible for based on population and number of pharmacies. Under my dispensary matrix (which you received a copy of in November 2010), Maricopa County would be able to have 74 dispensaries which based on over 800 pharmacies and a population of 4 million people would accomodate 70% of the eligible medical marijuana patients.
The first year there will approximately 30,000 registered patients, which will double to 50,000 – 60,000 patients the second year. In Southern Arizona we have over 110,000 patients diagosed with Alzheimer’s Disease which as you know is a disease with no prevention and no cure so how are you going to deal with potentially 5.6 million full blown Alzheimer’s patients in Arizona as this program moves towards maturity?
Putting video surveillance in dispensaries at the cashier stations pointing at the patient or designated caregiver is unconstitional by the way. Our citizens have 4th Amendment rights given to us by the Constitution and you as a government bureaucrat do not get to infringe on these. I will be filing a petition to the ACLU requesting they file a lawsuit against the ADHS for video surveillance cameras on our citizens. This is your worst sin in putting together the rules, your disregard for our privacy rights. Shame on you!
Michelle-
The physician form is online.
In my response above regarding the Alzheimer’s patients, the 5.6 million full blown cases are the national numbers not the state numbers. Sorry for any confusion.
Great work on the rules and regs! We look forward to submitting our dispensary applications now and thanks for the extra time taking it into June 😉
So to apply to be a caregiver, I also need to be a patient. And to apply to be a caregiver I need to have a medical history for the past 12 months??
Shaye-
You do not need to be a patient to apply as a caregiver, and yes, the physician will need to look at your medical history for the last 12 months.
Will- is that a typo? Caregivers will need to have a physician review their medical history? Or did you mean that patients need to?
Greg,
Designated caregivers will only need to have a physician review their medical history if they are also going to apply as a qualifying patient.
I am confused. If someone applies to be a caregiver but NOT a patient, they still need to have a physician review their past 12 months medical history?
Lori,
The answer is no.
Well y’all…… After reading the Final Rules for AZMMA I’d have to say that although there’s a FEW I have trouble with, 95% of the rules SHOULD make AZMMA not only a Great Med Mar. program but also a “Model” for the other states to implement. Y’all have taken both good and bad from other programs to make ours FUNCTIONAL…..
Thanks for all the hard work y’all. Most of all though….. THANK YOU ARIZONA VOTERS!!! I think you’ll find that a Med MJ program is NOT from SATAN, not from the dregs of society as has been portrayed in numerous “Letter’s to the Editor”, articles etc…. Stupid, uninformed, comments from many people just because…. Arizona residents, I think you’ll find this law is NOT as big a deal as many think.
MMJ, SAVED MY LIFE!!! Would citizens of AZ rather have me taking MASSIVE amounts of Schedule II Narcotics, and performing my “Safety Sensitive” job, or allow me to rid myself of MANY pain pills by smoking a bit of Marijuana when I arrive home from work?
Wow, now you have to show you have 150K before you even apply for a dispensary?? This is all about MONEY, Not the patients who truly need this. 5k (4k of it non- refundable) just to apply, plus not to mention all the other expenses. Looks like all the dispensaries will be run by doctors/ lawyers/real estate dev. with all the money…… just so they can be richer. I was excited to see the Final draft come out today, HOPING it would be more condensed, more Fair. It’s only fair to people WITH money, creating More opportunity to make MORE money. Where does it say, that to start a new biz, you need at least 150K?? Last time I heard the U.S was the land of opportunity, Not in AZ!!!!
Anonymous-
$150K is not a requirement, it’s just a criteria we will use to select applicants in competetive CHAA’s.
5000 +150,000 and no guarentees. Who thought this up, the Godfather? This is pure discrimination.. the rich get richer. Oh yes, the 1000 I will get back you can keep. (Removed by editor).
Randy,
The 150 K is just a screening tool, not a requirement.
Will,
I don’t understand the Caregiver “FACT SHEET”….
Can potential Caregivers apply for the Caregiver card and look for our own patients?
Can we live within 25 miles of a dispensary and be a Caregiver?
Do we need a medical history for the past 12 months to be eligible to be Caregiver?
….Can you guys put together a packet making this easy for us potential Caregivers. It could list all the rules and stipulations and you wouldn’t need to do it again. It’s confusing having the patient/caregiver rules in the same area. I maybe confused…are patients and caregivers under the same rules???
Best Regards,
Shaye
Shaye,
Please refer to the rules, specifically R9-17-201 through R9-17-205.
I understand this is not the correct place to post this question, but I have looked everywhere.
Hello,
My question is Depression/Insomnia/PTSD considered a debilitating medical condition for Arizona (2011)? [Prop 203]
I am currently suffering through all three of these illnesses, and the wording for ”
14. A debilitating medical condition or treatment approved by the Department under
A.R.S. § 36-2801.01 and R9-17-106″ (http://www.azdhs.gov/prop203/documents/Medical_Marijuana_Final_Rules.pdf) really has me confused.
Google’ing has lead me no where other than ‘Stoner’ websites.
I do have roughly 2 years of documentation backing up my mental illnesses. I have tried all kinds of different medications, which nearly all of them have made my depression/Insomnia worse than it was before.
Please let me know. This is something that can help me greatly.
Thanks for your time,
Dylan
Dylan,
Please check with your physician first to evaluate your overall health, you may have a condition that qualifies.
PTSD is currently not one of the qualifying conditions but you may request an addition of a condition by submitting it to the depatment as specified in the rules. R9-17-106 of the rules explains the process.
So I have read through the rules and I have some questions regarding how things are supposed to happen.
How do I ask questions about the rules? Can I use this forum? Or is something else preferred?
My initial question is regarding a difference between draft rule 1 and the current rules. You initially defined want a dispensary physician was. Now it’s kind of vague. What exactly defines a Physician?
Tim C
A physician is an M.D., Osteopath, Naturopath or a Homeopath. Please also see 36-2801..
Will,
Sorry to ask so many questions. I have read over the new rules and they are not clear. My new question is where do I obtain a MMJ Caregiver fingerprint. I called DPS they told me they only provide Medical Caregiver cards for health professions not for Cannibis Caregivers. Do I need to wait until April 14th to start this process. Or can I set up things now so I’m prepared?
Best Regards,
Shaye
Shaye-
You will go through ADHS when applications are available.
Hi Will! Thank you so much for the valuable information. I’m wondering if there is a more detailed process of what steps need to be done to apply for the dispensary license. Which type of business license is required? I’ve noticed there are several options, but understanding which falls into this category seems unclear. Can you shed some light or guide me in the direction where I can find a more comprehensive list of the steps needed to even apply for a dispensary license. Note: I’ve pilfered the website to no end!!
Future Dispensary,
Applications will not be available until April 14th 2011. Please check our website then.
Under the “AZ residence” requirements, do I qualify as an “AZ resident” if I have a second home and business in AZ, a primary home in another state, spend about 1/4 of my time in Tempe. If I filed a “part time resident” tax return for three years would that qualify? I generate my income by a job in NY and my AZ business has been negative for the past 3 years – though we pay sales tax, employees, rent, product, etc.
Mr humble
How many dispensarys will be allowed in CHAA’s for pho,gilbert , Mesa or Chandler? I’m a little confused. Your latest rules imply only one dispensary per CHAA? Pho. AZ republic reported 3-26-11 that 5 dispensary permits from city of Pho.had been handed out..???
Mike,
1 per CHAA for the first 3 years.
Mr. Humble,
Two minor questions for you:
What happens if the dispensary agent is a single individual and passes away or becomes incompacitated? Will the certificate revert back to the state if there were no partners, board members, officers etc.? Does it become part of the decendent’s estate? Could the estate assign the certificate, despite the language in 306(A).
If there are other principal officers and/or board members, would they retain the certificate? Would the entity simply file a change of agent form with DHS?
I hope my questions are clear and that you will be able to provide som guidance and clarity.
Thanks.
Adam,
The dispensary application would not be able to be renewed if the owner is deceased..If partners are involved they would be able to renew..you may want to consult legal advice about other options.
Mr. Humble,
It appears you have a concern about a statewide distribution of dispensaries to limit the amount of home growing. You have also set minimum criteria to ensure serious business people will be managing these dispensaries. All of which I agree with. However to ensure each dispensary will be viable during the start up years there needs to be enough patients coming through the doors. Do you have any estimates as to how many registered patients will be approved in the first year? Or the percentage of applicants that might be approved? These numbers are crucial to forecast the amount of business these dispensaries will get and need…to stay open.
Best regards,
Jason
Jason,
We have no way of estimating this yet.
Is there a better forum for people with questions about what determines a qualifying patient?
I am still uncertain if my depression or insomnia is considered a debilitation condition. Or is that something I leave for my psychiatrist to determine and they fill out the proper forms if Medical Marijuana seems applicable?
Thanks again.
Dylan,
What medical conditions will qualify a patient for medical marijuana? Cancer, Glaucoma, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Hepatitis C, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Crohn’s disease, Agitation of Alzheimer’s disease.
A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or the treatment for a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition that causes:
o Cachexia or wasting syndrome;
o Severe and chronic pain;
o Severe nausea;
o Seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy;
o Severe or persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis
What if my medical condition is not listed?
State law allows a person to request the addition of other conditions to the list of debilitating medical conditions.
How can I request the addition of a medical condition to the list?
In January and July of each calendar year, the Department will accept written requests to add a medical condition to the list of the debilitating medical conditions. The requirements for completing a request to add a medical condition include: The name of the medical condition or the treatment of the medical condition the individual is requesting be added; A description of the symptoms and how they make it hard to do daily living activities. The availability of conventional medical treatments to provide therapy or comfort for the condition; A summary of the evidence that marijuana will provide therapy or comfort for the medical condition; and Articles, published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, reporting research on the effects of marijuana on the medical condition or the treatment of the medical condition supporting why the medical condition or the treatment of the medical condition should be added.
Greetings Will as one of your Emts do I fall into the realm of contractor? If we apply for a dispenary?
Peter,
The answer is no.
Mr Humble,
The final rules still leave me a bit confused about the role of caretakers. Is a caretaker simply someone who can pick up and deliver MMJ to a designated patient, or can they clutivate? How many patients can 1 caregiver be responsible for? I am not seeing any of this detail in the regs. Am I missing something, or looking in the wrong place?
Lori-
All of this information is listed in the rules..yes they can cultivate, yes they can deliver, and they can only care for no more than 5 qualifying patients.
I found the caregive FAQ’s and am understanding the caretaker role much better now. However, I still have one outstanding question. If I, as a qualified patient, designate a caretaker to cultivate Marijuana for me before any dispensaries open up does that mean that once a dispensary opens within 25 miles of my home then my caretaker can no longer cultivate for me? Or will those of us who designate caretakers to cultaivate be able to keep that service once dispensaries start opening?
Lori,
As long as the patient lives 25 miles from a dispensary, the caregiver can continue to grow.
Will,
Thank you for all the attention to detail in the final rules.
A comment & a then question: I am part of a group trying to secure a building and or property for a dispensary, and it is of course difficult to do, what with all the different cities having different zoning requirements. I am reviewing city zoning maps, some detailed, some not… and it is frustrating going back and forth between all the zoning maps, the CHAA map — which I wish would expand to full screen, and the Google map to compare the areas that are zoned to, looking for what is located on the properties, AND THEN checking the Maricopa County Assessor map to discover who owns the property, call the owner and hear “NO, we are not interested in Medical Marijuana”– this takes a tremendous amount of time and energy. And of course some CHAAs boundaries overlap into different cities and visa-versa.
Now for the question: If we can secure a property with a physical address (required by the final rules), but there is no building on that property, will this be enough to secure a license provided no other applicants have applied for a license in the particular CHAA we are applying in?
Thank you.
Dan,
Applicants do not need a certificate of occupancy with the initial application, but for the final application you will need to submit documentation issued by local jurisdiction authorizing the dispensary to operate/occupy in the building. You will need to be in operation within one year of application acceptance.
Thanks Will, much appreciated.
So essentially the “turn-key” date for operations is one year. What Is the Final Application date that you refer to? …is it the application that is due by June 30th? If I read correctly, the decision process is 45 days by the Dept of Health, so approximately Aug. 15 the licenses would be handed out, is that correct? And finally, if there are not 124 dispensaries that meet final approval, will those licenses for the respective CHAAs be available for applications after this current process is completed?
Thanks again.
Dan,
June 30th is the deadline. The dispensary applications will be awarded mid August, we don’t have a specific date. There will not be another application process for dispensaries for another year.
Mr. Humble,
As a potential dispensary owner I see the definitional difference between “marijuana” and ‘usable marijuana” and the prohibition against receiving usable marijuana from anyone except other dispensaries, caregivers, or registered patients. When it comes to seeds (falling under the definition of marijuana) may they be acquired from out of state or out of country sources? Is a dispensary required to report where seeds come from?
I apologize if you have already answered this question as I have been unable to find any reference.
Best regards,
Jason
Jason,
We don’t have anything to do with the “how to” or the “where” the seeds come from so I am not sure if seeds will be tracked.
Thank you for the quick response. Do you have any advice on who (agency) I should ask this question to?
Jason,
This can’t be estimated by any agency as of yet.
Hi Will,
Thanks for all your hard work. Quick question on what’s acceptable to meet the 150K capital investment availability.
Aside from cash in a bank account, what other liquid instruments can count towards the 150K. For example, could an applicant include marketable securities, savings bonds, 401K, lines of credit? Will some instruments carry more weight than others if it came down to comparing two competing applications? Also, what if one applicant has 150K in cash and the other has 200K in cash. Would the 200K applicant win or would the random selection event be triggered because both had at least 150K.
Thanks again.
Mike,
You need to show at least 150k line of credit from a financial institution..as to the last two questions, the answer is no.
Can a qualified patient also be an applicant for a dispensary license?
There are some specific qualifications for dispensary applicants, but they do not mention having a Qualifying Patient card.
Will, is there or will you provide an up to date count on the total number of issued card holders?
We plan to have a report every week on teh number of cards issued. We’re also working on a way to post the number of qualified patients by CHAA. We think we’ll be done with this next week.
Will, Fantastic! And will it be posted here on the web site or will we need to formally request the reports?
The reports are now available at http://www.azdhs.gov/medicalmarijuana/reports/
Hi Will,
R9-17-305(A)(6) states that we submit “Documentation from the local jursidiction where the dispensary’s proposed physical address is located that: a)There are no local zoning restrictions for the dispensary’s location, or b)The dispensary’s location is in compliance with local zoning restrictions. Certain cities have published maps online that show zones where a dispensary can be placed. If it can be proven that the address falls within this published document (map), will that suffice for the purposes of applying for the Dispensary Registration Certificate, or will we need something signed by the local jurisdiction?
You will need something from the city. Please note we won’t require a special or conditional use permit to issue the registration certificate.
It would be very helpful to the cities if you could elaborate on “something.” Otherwise, as a precaution, they will require Special Use Permits to ensure that they are not bound under their letter. Is this requirement strictly to protect the cities, and what is the recourse against the city if they give a letter that turns out to be incorrect? Please advise. Thank you.
Dave,
We are working with the cities and will have a form that they can use.
My inquiries are as follows:
If an individual or entity intends to file multiple, three to five, applications for Dispensary Registration Certificates (in three to five CHAAs), can the applicant utilize a single letter of credit in favor of such applicant which totals $150,000 times the number of applications tendered? Stated otherwise, for example, will a single letter of credit from a national banking institution for $750,000 in favor of the applicant and issued 30 days prior to the applications, suffice for the applicant to file five (5) applications in different CHAAs and meet the criteria under Section R9-17-304.D.1.f.ii?
A similar question: Will $750,000 in the bank account of an entity suffice to allow that entity to file five (5) separate Applications for Dispensary Registration Certificates (in five (5) different CHAAs) and be in compliance with R-19-17-304.D.1.f.ii?
A similar question: If the principal officer is the holder beneficiary of the letter of credit or has the funds in a bank account will that suffice for R9-304.D.1.f.ii?
Hello,
We’re running a little late in getting answers posted this week. I’ll post an answer soon.
Will,
I have a few quick questions
1. How many members are required for a valid application? Is there a preferred number? How many board members and/or principle officers can/should there be?
2. Does the 150k line of credit that is recommended need to be established by the actual applicant, or does only one principle officer/board member need to show proof of financial capital.
For example, If there is a team that has one member who meets these financial recommendations but the others do not. Must he be the one who is the applicant. Also, if the 150k is shared amongst the board members and principal officers, is that valid?
3. Also, who is the certificate awarded to: an individual or a group of individuals (the entity)?
4. Lastly, can the medical director serve as a principle officer or board member.
Thanks,
Rick
Hi – we’re running a little behind because my helper is out this week. We’ll get an answer as soon as possible.
what is considered a rural area when you refer to go rural.
CHAAs outside of the urban part so of the state – generally, the CHAAs with a large geographic area.
Dear Mr. Humble:
Thank you for your dedication to answering the questions presented on this board. All of us sincerely appreciate the time you are taking for us.
Overview:
I want to submit an application in a CHAA without proper zoning, or the application does not meet the local zoning ordinance: The site we have chosen is on an Indian Reservation.
(1) If a CHAA does not provide a letter of zoning compliance…. will the application be denied if no other applications are submitted? (2) Even if the Indian Reservation disclosed a cumbersome zoning requirement yet NO parcel or property within that CHAA meets the requirements …. will the application be denied?; and (3) What if there is a CHAA that requires C2 zoning for a dispensary yet there are no C2 buildings or parcels…and someone submits an application …. will that be denied?
For tribal land you will definitely need permission from the tribal government. Number 3 is a questions for local government zoning offices.
Will:
We previously submitted our application to a local city ordinance and they had approved our application, in writing, based on our LOI for the property and meeting the zoning requirements.
However, we are now being informed (today) that a church has leased a property (as of YESTERDAY) adjacent to our proposed dispensary (again, our dispensary was approved last week)….And our application is now being denied even though we submitted the application first? Why does the church get preference? What rules cover this?
I heard a similar story today that a state programn (Head Start) also elliminated several dispensary sites even though they had applications submitted. Please explain…thanks!
Pain Releaf
Thanks,
Pain Releaf
Local zoning trumps according to the language of the law the voters passed (as opposed to the rules we developed.)
Will,
I have a few quick questions
1. How many members are required for a valid application? Is there a preferred number? How many board members and/or principle officers can/should there be?
2. Does the 150k line of credit that is recommended need to be established by the actual applicant, or does only one principle officer/board member need to show proof of financial capital.
For example, If there is a team that has one member who meets these financial recommendations but the others do not. Must he be the one who is the applicant. Also, if the 150k is shared amongst the board members and principal officers, is that valid?
3. Also, who is the certificate awarded to: an individual or a group of individuals (the entity)?
4. Lastly, can the medical director serve as a principle officer or board member.
Thanks,
Rick
Rick,
Please see our faq’s.
Great work on the rules and regs! thanks for the information
what I think people need to start fighting for is to get MJ listed as a preventative medicine. Once we achieve ‘preventative’ status this opens the door to complete legalisation.