Medical marijuana group forms new association

PHOENIX (November 23, 2010) – Supporters of Arizona’s citizen initiative approving the dispensing and use of medical marijuana are banding together on a permanent basis in order to protect the interests of patients, medical professionals, and the general public.

Medical professionals, attorneys, and prospective dispensary operators are joining with leaders of the successful campaign to form the Arizona Medical Marijuana Association.

Andrew Myers, campaign manager of the successful Yes on 203 campaign, said “The passage of Prop 203 is just the beginning. Now that the voters have spoken, it is the responsibility of all to carry out their will. The Arizona Medical Marijuana Association will be committed to do its part in meeting the needs of patients through strict adherence to the laws of Arizona and the highest level of standards.”

Arizona voters approved Proposition 203, The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, which will permit the dispensing and use of marijuana by patients with their doctor’s recommendation. Arizona becomes the 15th state in the nation to adopt a medical marijuana law, and the only state in the nation in which a medical marijuana ballot measure has been approved by the voters on three different occasions.

The Arizona Department of Health Services has begun the task of developing rules for the implementation of Prop 203, including detailed provisions regarding the licensing of dispensaries and issues of ID cards to patients who have obtained medical marijuana recommendations from their doctors.

Joe Yuhas, consultant to the successful campaign, said, “We have great faith in DHS Director Will Humble and his staff. The priority of the AzMMA at this early stage is to assist and support the agency in any way possible as it develops and implements the rules necessary to insure that the provisions of Prop 203 are carried out and the interest of the public is protected.”

Yuhas indicated that the association will support the establishment of program rules that, among others, will set strong standards for dispensary applications, a clear definition of the doctor-patient relationship, and a process that tracks the production of medical marijuana from cultivation to dispensing in order to eliminate any product diversion. “Given the limited number of dispensaries called for in the initiative, there is simply no reason why Arizona cannot have the highest of standards, and as a result, the best medical marijuana program in the country. Our goal needs to be to prove even the skeptics wrong, and that the program meets patient needs,” Yuhas said.

Association membership will include dispensary operators, physicians, attorneys, and businesses that will provide goods and services to medical marijuana dispensaries.

In the coming weeks, the AzMMA will evolve as a non-for-profit statewide professional association governed by a Board of Directors. AzMMA Founding Members are providing the early-stage funding for the association that will allow it to retain professional staff as well as legal and public affairs consultants.

AzMMA members will be expected to adhere to a code of conduct and ethical standards that will not only meet those called for in the initiative and the DHS rules, but more stringent provisions that association members will voluntarily impose on themselves.

Among its objectives, the AzMMA will seek to expand the knowledge and awareness of medical marijuana and operations of dispensaries among policymakers, the media, and general public, and contribute to the ability of its members to meet patient needs through education, training, legal compliance, and dispensary operations programs. The AzMMA will also serve to protect patient and physician rights.

Those interested in learning more about the AzMMA and keeping informed as the new association evolves can visit its website, AzMMA.org.