Arizona

It’s, so far, been a banner year for hemp policy as Alaska, Kansas, Arizona, and Oklahoma each passed industrial hemp legislation during their respective sessions while two other states – New York and South Carolina – expanded their programs; while one state program, Wisconsin, came online. Illinois, too, is just one Senate concurrence vote away […]

Beth Stravola is a serial cannabis industry entrepreneur who owns dispensaries in Arizona and Nevada; she is also the founder and CEO of Stavola Medical Marijuana Holdings and CBD For Life, and is a member of the New Jersey Cannabis Industry Association‘s Board of Trustees. Beth recently joined our podcast host TG Branfalt to talk about […]

The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that the state cannot criminally charge public college students for possessing and using cannabis on campus if they have a medical cannabis card, according to an AZCentral report. The court ruled that the 2012 Legislature-approved law violated the state constitution’s protections for voter-approved laws. The court also tossed the […]

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has signed the bill allowing the state Department of Agriculture to license institutes of higher education, private businesses, and individuals to grow industrial hemp. The measure requires that hemp growers, harvesters, transporters, and processors all obtain a license from the Agricultural Department. “This bill opens Arizona to the possibility of a […]

Arizona’s House Land, Agriculture and Rural Areas Committee has approved a measure to legalize industrial hemp cultivation in the state, according to a report from Arizona Public Media. The measure has already been approved by the Senate. Sen. Sonny Borrelli, the Republican bill sponsor, indicated the measure would help boost the state’s agricultural economy, noting […]

Arizona’s Senate has approved a measure to test medical cannabis products in the state 27-3. The testing regime, which is required in all other states with medical cannabis laws, would require testing for both impurities and THC content. The legislation would also require that medical cannabis products sold in the state are labeled correctly and […]

A measure introduced in Arizona’s Senate would require medical cannabis testing for mold and agricultural chemicals and reduce the annual fees paid by cardholders from $150 to $50, and just $25 for a renewal. The measure, introduced by Republican Sen. Sonny Borrelli, would use $2 million from the state’s medical cannabis fund to test the products. […]

Arizona attorney Sean Berberian is asking the state Court of Appeals to force the Department of Health to reduce the $150 identification card fee patients must pay to access the state’s medical cannabis program, according to a Capitol Media Services report. Berberian argues that the fee is more than the Health Department needs to administer […]

Montel Williams and Montel Williams Enterprises Inc. are suing three Arizona-based CBD-marketing entities and one Scottsdale resident, Timothy K. Isaac, over their claims that the former talk show host endorsed their CBD products. The lawsuit claims that the defendants repurposed contents of a Forbes article on websites and social media, misappropriating Williams’ name and likeness, […]

Arizona’s first drive-thru medical cannabis dispensary open tomorrow in Sun City as a convenience service for the elderly and disabled, according to an AZFamily.com report. The dispensary, All Greens, will utilize the old drive-thru teller window of a remodeled bank to sell to its registered patients. Anthony Harrington, CEO of All Greens, said that the […]

A ruling by Navajo County Superior Court Judge Dale Nielson could force Arizona dispensaries to stop selling vape cartridges, cannabis oils, and edibles, according to a Phoenix New Times report. Nielson’s ruling comes in the case of a 26-year-old registered medical cannabis patient who was arrested for cannabis possession after officers discovered the processed products. […]

Israel-based medical cannabis company Panaxia has partnered with Canada’s Bioceutical Corporation to set up four medical cannabis production plants in Arizona, Nevada, Maryland, and Massachusetts, according to a report from Globes. Last year, Panaxia set up a similar production facility in New Mexico, which went online in March. The agreement will see Bioceutical Corp., which […]

The attorney for an Arizona registered medical cannabis patient charged with possession after officers discovered less than a half gram in his Arizona State University dorm room is urging the state Supreme Court to void the conviction, arguing that lawmakers have no legal grounds to outlaw legal cannabis possession on college campuses, the Arizona Daily […]

Arizona-based medical cannabis operator Harvest has merged with cannabis cultivator and supplier Modern Flower, making Harvest the largest medical cannabis operator in the state by giving them more cultivation facilities and dispensary licenses than anyone else in Arizona. Steve White, Harvest CEO, said the deal “allows Harvest to meet the demand from an increasing number of seriously […]

A drug rehabilitation facility in Scottsdale, Arizona is using cannabis to treat people addicted to opioid-based painkillers, ABC15 reports. Physicians at Blue Door Therapeutics are recommending cannabis pills and patches to help with nausea from opioid withdrawal and help stabilize the patient’s underlying condition. Doctors at Blue Door, however, are not encouraging their patients to […]

In an interview with NBC News, a former Insys Therapeutics sales rep turned whistleblower alleges that she was instructed to get the opioid-based drug Subsys to patients who should not have had access to it. Insys donated $500,000 to Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy – an anti-cannabis legalization group – during last November’s General Election. […]

The first Imperious Expo of 2017 is coming to the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona this April 12-13. The Imperious Expo is one of the nation’s leading business-to-business cannabis conferences with an emphasis on the medical and industrial cannabis industries. Each conference boasts a unique array of cannabis industry speakers, and this year’s Phoenix, […]

Safer Arizona has filed an initiative with the Secretary of State’s office seeking to legalize adult-use cannabis in the state after the measure was narrowly defeated by voters during November’s General Election, according to a report from Cronkite News. Arizonans would have another chance at legalization if the advocates can collect 152,000 valid signatures from […]

Arizona’s Senate Committee on Commerce and Public Safety voted 6-1 to approve industrial hemp production, processing, manufacturing, distribution, and commerce by licensed growers and processors in the state, according to a Capitol Media Services report. The measure must be approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee before moving to the full Senate for a vote. The […]

Voters in California, Nevada, and Massachusetts have legalized adult cannabis use. Ballots are still being counted in Maine, and it looks extraordinarily tight, but the Yes On 1 campaign declared victory early this morning. Arizona voters turned down their recreational cannabis initiative. Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota, and Montana each voted for either allowing medical cannabis […]

Arizona is making its first attempt at cannabis legalization this year in hopes of catching up with other western states. Under Proposition 205, Arizona adults would be entitlted to the possession, use, and cultivation of up to six cannabis plants for personal use. Arizona’s cannabis advocates have faced steep opposition to their bid to legalize […]

A trio of Colorado lawmakers have sent a letter to Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy calling the information in their anti-Proposition 205 campaign commercials “highly misleading” and “wholly inaccurate.” The letter, published by AZ Central, says that Colorado citizens are “confused” by the claims made in the ads and provided a factsheet to dispel the […]

Danielle Keane is the Political Director of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. She recently joined our podcast host TG Branfalt for a discussion about the upcoming election season and the unprecedented opportunity that it presents for the cannabis legalization movement. In the upcoming election season, nine states will be voting […]

Another player in an industry that would be negatively impacted by the legalization of cannabis is pouring money against a state ballot initiative as Services Group of America donated $80,000 to the prohibitionist campaign in Arizona, the International Business Times reports. Services Group of America counts Food Services of America among its subsidiaries – the […]