The Arizona Dispensaries Assoc. Starts Legal Defense Fund to Protect AMMA

Dan Kingston July 2, 2018 AZ Cannabis News

The Arizona Dispensaries Association (ADA) has formed a legal defense fund to “protect the medical marijuana patients and dispensaries in Arizona” from the Arizona Court of Appeals’ June 26 ruling regarding the illegality of medical marijuana extracts.

This is a statement released by the ADA on July 2:

On Tuesday, June 26th, 2018, the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, in State v. Jones, affirmed a conviction of a medical marijuana patient in possession of “hashish” “under the circumstances presented” in that case. Due to the potential implications to the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA), the Arizona Dispensaries Association (ADA) is moving fast to clarify this legal matter.

In response, the ADA has formed the Legal Defense Subcommittee and the Legal Defense Fund. The purpose of this committee is to protect the medical marijuana patients and dispensaries in Arizona.

The ADA is interviewing legal counsel to represent the entire medical marijuana industry on this matter and to correct this issue once and for all. The ADA Board and the newly formed Legal Defense Subcommittee are working hand-in-hand with other Arizona based cannabis organizations to address this issue in a unified manner. We intend to clarify the conflict in the Arizona criminal code for the Arizona medical marijuana community.

With this announcement, the ADA and the other organizations hope to curb the rumors and misinformation spreading throughout the Arizona patient population and industry.

Additionally, the Arizona Department of Health Services (the regulatory body overseeing the AMMA) has confirmed through an official statement that the ruling does not appear to impact the medical marijuana program, including medical marijuana prepared and sold through dispensaries in Arizona. If the ADA receives any information from ADHS that is contrary to the foregoing, we will take the appropriate action immediately.

Together we will work to correct this recent ruling and ensure Arizona patients continue to have lawful access to their medicine.

If you would like to contribute to the Legal Defense Fund and learn about the different membership options within the Arizona Dispensaries Association, please contact info@arizonadispensaries.org for more information.