On Feb 20, a House committee voted for HB 2149, which will ensure that marijuana extracts remain available for sale at Arizona dispensaries, despite what decision the Arizona Supreme Court eventually comes to.
The House Committee’s 5-2 vote to help Arizona’s medical marijuana patients outweighed objections from Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, Tucson.com reported.
Rep. Tony Rivero, who proposed HB 2149, said, “Without this clarification some of Arizona’s most vulnerable patients such as children will no longer have access to alternative forms of medical marijuana needed to treat their debilitating conditions… We do not want patients to be forced to smoke marijuana or be subject to criminal penalties.”
HB 2149 would change the current law’s language for “usable marijuana” from “the dried flowers of the marijuana plant, and any mixture or preparation thereof, but does not include the seeds, stalks and roots of the plant” to:
- “All parts of any plant of the genus cannabis and the seeds of the plant.”
- “The resin extracted from any part of a plant of the genus cannabis, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of the plant or its seeds.”
- “Every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of the resin or tetrahydrocannabinol.”
- “Includes plant material from which the resin has not been extracted.”
- “Does not include the mature stalks of the plant or the sterilized seed of the plant that is incapable of germination.”
If HB 2149 passes it would definitively legalize marijuana extracts in Arizona and end the ongoing dispute that has persisted in the state due to the disagreement of the language in the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act regarding the legality of marijuana extracts.
How to Support This Bill
Arizonans can support this bill online by using the Request to Speak (RTS) system. It entails making a one-time visit to 1700 W Washington St. in Phoenix or 400 W Congress St., Suite 201 in Tucson and registering for RTS using the kiosks there. Once that step is completed, you can then individually support bills online. Learn more about RTS at www.azleg.gov/
Photo: WeedPornDaily/Flickr CC2.0 Modified
Petition to Reduce MMJ Card Fee in Arizona
– Sign the petition here