We’ll wrap up our first week of accepting medical marijuana dispensary Registration Certificate applications today. We’ve received about 40 applications so far this week- and our team has been doing an excellent job of reviewing the applications for “Administrative Completeness” this week- so much so that we don’t even have a backlog (yet).
Any applications that are “Administratively Incomplete” (in other words, if they’re missing something) are being returned to the applicants so they can correct whatever is wrong. In June, we’ll be checking for “Substantive Completeness” (which is a more thorough, quality review), and the applicants will have another chance to make corrections. We expect to award all of the Registration Certificates on August 7. If there’s only 1 qualified applicant in a Community Health Analysis Area- that applicant will be awarded a Certificate. We’ll be holding a random drawing on August 7 to award Certificates in the CHAAs with more than 1 qualified applicant.
Prospective applicants can check out our Registration Certificate Application Checklist, Instructions, and the official Application on our Medical Marijuana Dispensary webpage. We’re refreshing our dispensary application page each weekday around the close of business to show how many applications we’ve received by Community Health Analysis Area. Applicants have until next Friday (May 25) to finish and turn in their paperwork.
Seems like this number (40) is extremely low. Could this be because of the federal War on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries. Seems like a lot of folks have backed out. Any word on the 25,000 patients that are registered to cultivate being grand fathered in the 25 mile rule???
AZ med patient,
Your card will still be valid (you can grow) until you renew your card. Then we won’t give an authorized to grow card to you if you live within 25 miles of an operating dispensary.
My card is renewed in June as of that point there won’t be any dispensories open yet so does that means I’m still able to cultivate till this time next yr?
Keaton,
we will likely allow a cardholder to cultivate (if noted on the application) for the remainder of the licensing term. If there is an “operating” dispensary within 25 miles of any applicant, during the time the applicant applies for an initial or renewal license, that cardholder will not be allowed to cultivate.
Is this also the case for caregivers.
Are the rules for continuing to produce medicine for themselves and/or their patients based on the expiration date on the cards that are authorized to cultivate. Were all trying to prepare for a smooth transition.
Highdromed,
The AMMA says that people are not allowed to cultivate when patients live within 25 miles of an operating dispensary. The same would be for a caregiver who cultivates for a patient that lives within 25 miles of an operating dispensary.
Will the “Dispensary Registration Certificate Application fee” be returned if there are multiple applicants in one area and you aren’t chosen? That seems like a lot of money to put and not get anything in return.
Interested Party,
Please see our FAQ’s.
Mr. Humble,
What will happen if no applications are received for a CHAA? Will you accept applications again next year? It seems that previously there was a procedure for awarding an open CHAA if the awarded dispensary went out of business, so I am assuming the same procedure would apply here.
AZ Native,
In Year 2, certificates may be issued first to applicants applying in a county without a dispensary. If all the counties have dispensaries, we may issue a certificate to an applicant applying in a vacant CHAA. If all the CHAAs have dispensaries, we may issue a certificate to an applicant for a dispensary that can provide mj to the most cardholders in a 10 mile radius. The official information is in R9-17-303(G).
There are several applications that will be
submitted next week. A lot of people are waiting to gauge the competition in the CHAA first.
Your application has what seems to be a typo in the Evauatioon Criteria section. It lists Savings and Loans associations and Savings Banks as options.
Yet those are pretty much the same thing and not really used here in AZ.
Can someone please clarify or update the applications for the folks who would like to apply? Exactly what financial institutions are accepted?
Your application has what seems to be a typo in the Evauatioon Criteria section. It lists Savings and Loans associations and Savings Banks as options.
Yet those are pretty much the same thing and not really used here in AZ.
Can someone please clarify or update the applications for the folks who would like to apply? Exactly what financial institutions are accepted?
Phoenix Medical Marijuana,
Please direct dispensary questions via email to: [email protected]
Will, please answer: who and by what method, will the 25 mile rule be measured?
Adam,
The 25 miles will be determined by ADHS as the crow flies
Thank you. And so from property line to property line?
Adam,
R9-17-202(H) states: “For purposes of this Article, “25 miles” includes the area contained within a circle that extends for 25 miles in all directions from a specific location.” This is what ADHS will use when determining whether or not a QP’s home is located within 25 miles of an operating NMMD.
Mr Humble,
There have been a lot of rumors lately about large entities or corporations using multiple applicants in the same CHAA to strengthen their odds in the lottery based system.
What is DHS’s official stance on corporations who submit multiple applications, using different dispensary agents? Obviously this gives a huge unfair advantage to smaller, less financially backed organizations.
Bryan,
How many dispensary registration certificates will one entity be able to obtain?
A person may be an applicant, principal officer, or board member on only one dispensary registration certificate application for a location in a single CHAA and on no more than five dispensary registration certificate applications for locations in different CHAAs. An applicant must be prepared to operate every dispensary applied for.
So, if 10 individuals formed a joint venture agreement with each to enter into the dispensary business, then each one of them could potentially submit 1 application on that 1 location in that 1 CHAA, correct?
Then that same group could potentially do that same activity in up to 50 CHAA’s, if each member of the J/V agreements was only using one name as a dispensary agent per group of 5 applications to AZDHS, correct?
Bryan,
That’s not actually the case. There is a rule about ownership of dispensaries:
R9-17-304. Applying for a Dispensary Registration Certificate
A. An individual shall not be an applicant, principal officer, or board member on:
1. More than one dispensary registration certificate application for a location in a single CHAA, or
2. More than five dispensary registration certificate applications for locations in different CHAAs.
Looking at how other states have implemented their MMJ programs it is clear that Arizona’s dispensaries are being set up to fail because our state leaders (Governor Brewer, Tom Horne) as well as our federal law enforcement officials (Attorney General Holder, the DEA) will not allow for any large scale cultivation of cannabis because it is a Schedule I drug.
All Arizona MMJ cardholders that renew or are new to the program this year just have to flip their green card over and they will be shocked at what Mr. Humble has put on the back of your card. I quote:
“Possessing marijauna [typo is on the card] may be in violation of local, state or federal laws. Possession of this card does not provide legal protection.”
So my question is why would anyone spend money to open a dispensary that is going to have surveillance cameras showing your illegal activities? I would Mr. Humble to address these questions that have been asked multiple times with no satisfactory answers.
Question 1: What are you going to do to protect the patients, caregivers, dispensary agents who participate in growing marijuana on a large scale? You do know that growing over 99 plants is a federal offense and could bring you a five year mandatory prison sentence?
Question 2: Why did I pay $150 for a card that offers me no legal protection when the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act passed and was to provide an affirmative defense for using cannabis in limited circumstances?
Question 3: By what legal authority do you assert that the Grandfathering in of the approximately 25,000 MMJ patient cultivators will not happen? If you are cultivating currently you have invested hundreds of dollars and more for your grow equipment and to be told once a dispensary moves into your growing area you will have to stop seems cruel and unusual and not in the spirit of the law.
Question 4: How will you insure that the dispensaries once granted a dispensary license will only supply cannabis that is grown from Arizona seeds, Arizona clones or Arizona cuttings? Several dispensary applicants already are in the cannabis business and they supply medical marijuana brought in from other states. Is this a loophole in our law that Arizona patients will be purchasing cannabis that is not originally grown in our state?
Thank you.
Michele,
You raise a lot of points, some of which do not have an answer from us and may be addressed more appropriately by an attorney. ADHS is charged with carrying out the voter-initiated Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. We are only authorized to do only what it says in the Act (1,4) and we are required to do what it says in the Act (3). Only you can answer question number 2.
We have corrected the spelling of marijuana on the cards.
ADHS has a large mission, of which AMMA is a small part. Please take time to look over the public health entries in my blog and on our website azdhs.gov for really important information.
Thanks
What is the current total of dispensary applications received?
Terry,
Please visit our dispensary web page and follow the link labeled Registration Certificate Application Report. We update it at the end of each day.
when will the next patient application report be issued?
e reisdorf,
Please check our website , the reports are updated every few weeks.