There’s been a lot of talk lately about the 25-mile rule for medical-marijuana patients.
The rule, which says no patient can grow for himself unless he lives more than 25 miles from a dispensary, will finally kick in this summer when dispensaries open. It seems to be pissing off a lot of people and causing a spate of arm-waving, foot-stomping and righteous indignation.
Through the end of May, about 25,000 patients had asked to grow statewide. Assuming even that half of them did, there are roughly 13,000 Arizona bedrooms or garages or corners of dens blossoming with hardy green flowers with little white hairs on them. It was a beautiful accident of Gov. Jan’s decision to halt dispensaries. Thousands upon thousands of tiny grow operations popping up all over the state for the past year, spreading joy and love and kindness in the form of cheap medication.
I’m guessing most patients won’t pack up the compact fluorescents next month. A lot of these folks waited many, many years to grow pot, and now they feel like they have a right to keep going after dispensaries open. There is a nascent effort to change the rule, to make growing an option for all patients. But until then, most patients will be forced to choose between affordable meds and legality.
It seems unfair and forces a huge expense on patients. I smoke about an eighth of an ounce a week, which isn’t much by most standards. A lot of people go through twice that much, meaning they are smoking or eating or vaporizing about an ounce a month. At the going collective rate of more than $300 per ounce, that’s a killer medication bill. Carol, a patient in her late 50s who is growing three plants, agrees. So she intends to keep right on growing after the dispensaries open.
“It’s not like I’m out there selling it,” she said. “I’m just going to keep a low profile and continue doing it. I don’t think the Sheriff’s Department is going to be going door to door looking for people growing medical marijuana.”
Unlike urban patients, some caregivers won’t have to stop growing—even if they’re next door to a dispensary. Harold, a caregiver who lives on the eastside, is among them. As long as his patients live more than 25 miles from a dispensary, Harold can grow at his house.
“I went out of my way to find patients outside the 25-mile limit,” he said.
He converted a spare bedroom, adding $3,000 worth of lights, trays, ventilation and CO2 equipment. He does not plan to let that investment sit idle.
For the record, I agree we should all have the right to switch out the home office for a grow room full of Blueberry and O.G. Kush and Tropicana Gold. We should have the right to set aside a corner of the living room where we could cultivate to our hearts’ content a flowery bunch of Jack Herer or Banana Kush.
But for now, it’s a moot point.
So Mr. Smith kinda wishes some of the 25-mile rule naysayers would STFU a little, drop the sprayer and back away from the hydro trays when the time comes. I’m grateful for the chance to buy meds somewhat legally in a dispensary. Yes, I would like to grow my own meds, and I hope sometime that rule changes so I can.
But in the meantime, I hope those 25,000 patients try their best to stay within the law. I would hate to see a string of arrests of MMJ patients illegally growing their meds.
Would that really help matters?
This article appears in Jul 12-18, 2012.
Pursuant to dispensaries to be (or not to be), what’s the update on Green Halo? KVOA says they got busted — http://www.kvoa.com/news/four-arrested-in-illegal-marijuana-dispensary-investigation — and — http://www.kvoa.com/news/care-center-allegedly-a-smokescreen-for-pot-shop — with four people arrested (possession, possession with intent to sell), and the interwebs are strangely silent (or I’m not looking down the right newsholes). Any new news? Keep cool out there, peeps!
Dude your columns are getting more insipid every week. Are you not tuned in to what is really going on in the world of weed? Come on at least do your homework and the 25 mile rule is currently not enforceable because there are no dispensaries and they won’t be “operating” for still quite sometime and if you have your card it is good until the renewal regardless of where dispensaries open up. The question of grandfathering in the 30,000 cutlivating patients is still on the table with a lawsuit filed on this very issue over six months ago by Bill Hayes. Why didn’t you give Mr. Hayes a call and get a comment from him.
Also there are raids going on the police are harrassing and haranging the patients and not one word from you about is this a good use of our limited resources? Tucson arrests over 4,000 of our citizens a year for simple possession (usually under an oz) and paraphernalia charges. Once you are arrested and charged with a Class 6 felony you are shifted over to the claws of Barbara LaWall and that’s where the injustice really hits home. Barbara LaWall is a raging prohibitionist that is a lapdog for the drug rehab centers. All the younger offenders (mostly college age) that get caught plead guilty to a lesser charge and are sent through diversion and even drug rehab. The drug rehab places (The Haven & The Compass) get big bucks everytime LaWall and her minions send over one of the “offenders” into their clutches and our taxpayer dollars are going up in smoke. Cover this story and it is rotten to the core and the Tucson Weekly might get back to the old fashioned journalism that seems to have been missing lately.
Well the Governor needs to keep her private prison system full. There are a lot of people in that system for none violent crimes like have some marijuana and a pipe.
This state is totally backwards when it comes to the law on growing MMJ.
Im a prop 203 patient . I WAS ARRESTED ON JULY 12TH ..I recieved 2 felonies. the police told me that card is meaning less. i paid $350 i have med problems . im not a criminal and still recieved 2 feloine charges. they had 6 other patients they arrested that day in court . the guy who shot his girlfriend in the face . in front of there 2 year old son . he got released with 0 bond . he even had prior weapons violations . all 6 of the patients got 10k bond and all there property seized cars , house , bank accounts. you tell me what is the purpose of prop 203 ? my opion of prop 203 is i paid $350 to get 2 felonie charges for donating 19grams of medical marijuana. law enforcement wants the public to believe they are only targeting noncomplying patients . thats false. just a horrible outrage for arizona and our voters.
i like your articles mr smith im the problematic pipe guy got arrested for possion of paraphanelia presented the officer my card at the scence he never called it in comes back and say your under arrest for the pipe and left it out of his report another officer at the scene says why ru arresting him if he has the mmj card ?ignores her say i was acting animated on his report aND figures out a way to arrest me for dwi they get you on this slightest degree law dui task force sgt deoste shows up i tell her i was falsly arrested for the pipe i got a current license she ignores italso my adivise is it is not leagl to have any weed in ur system and be behind the wheel despite the statue that sayys diffeent they dont even have to prove driving imparment the bottom line is im gonna end up bankrupt and going to jail and have a crimnal record for the rest of my life now my life is ruined for something it thought was totally legal thanks danielson 51776