Will Humble's convoluted cockamamie definition of medical marijuana
I wonder if Will Humble was smoking some of the medical marijuana when he came up with these silly
imaginary rules that are allegedly in Prop 203.
Last while I think Will Humble is full of BS on this issue, you have to remember that Will Humble's thugs who are called police, have guns and will arrest and jail you if you don't obey the law in the convoluted, cockamamie way that Will Humble views it.
[Will Humble] warned Friday that medical marijuana soda pop or hard candy you bought may still land you ... in jail.
Humble cautioned that the law is crafted to require that the food products contain actual pieces of the marijuana plant [just where does it say that in the law Mr. Humble???]
he said the statute is very clear that only "useable marijuana'' is legally protected and not the extracts minus the plant [just where does it say that in the law Mr. Humble???]
possessing — the brewed [marijuana] tea in a bottle, with no plant material, could be a felony [could be??? It is, or it isn't Mr. Humble!!! Please give us some solid answers, not drug war propaganda designed to scare off medical marijuana patients.]
Humble said the 2010 law did not legalize cannabis [gee Mr. Humble, just what part of a marijuana plant isn't cannabis???? All my life I thought it was the same stuff!!!!! Of course under Arizona criminal law technically cannabis is hashish. But under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act I would say hashish is just another form of medical marijuana which is legal only for medical marijuana patients]
Hashish is ... not protected under the medical marijuana law [Again Prop 203 seems to say that any form of marijuana can be used by medical marijuana users which would include hashish, hash oil and other concentrated forms of marijuana]
Are Marijuana and Cannabis the same thing when it comes to Arizona Law? The short answer is no [Well Mr Humble that certainly is true. BUT!!!! I am sure that the folks that wrote Prop 203 intended for medical marijuana users to be covered by the definition in Prop 203, not the definition in the criminal code. After all, any form of marijuana is legal only for a person with a medical marijuana prescription or recommendation.]
An issue the Department has been wrestling with for some time is how the definition of “Marijuana” and “Usable Marijuana” in the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act and the definition of “Cannabis” and “Marijuana” in the Criminal Code fit together. [Again Mr. Humble if you weren't so busy trying to flush Prop 203 down the toilet with lame excuses such as in this blog, it should be perfectly obvious to you that the definition of marijuana in Prop 203 applies to people with medical marijuana prescriptions or recommendations. And the definition of marijuana in the criminal code applies to people who DON'T have a medical marijuana prescription or reccommendation]
Marijuana regulations might not cover all food products
SourceMarijuana regulations might not cover all food products
By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX — You may have a state-issued card allowing you to buy and use marijuana for medical purposes. But the state's top health official warned Friday that medical marijuana soda pop or hard candy you bought may still land you — and the dispensary owner who sold it to you — in jail.
State Health Director Will Humble said the 2010 voter-approved law clearly contemplates that those
authorized to sell and use marijuana for medical reasons need not smoke it. Food products are
legal.
But Humble cautioned that the law is crafted to require that the food products contain actual pieces of the marijuana plant. He said anything that contains only an extract remains a felony in Arizona.
Humble said he's not an attorney and cannot define exactly when preparing marijuana for brownies, sodas or lollipops crosses the line. But he said the statute is very clear that only "useable marijuana'' is legally protected and not the extracts minus the plant.
What that means, he said, is someone with a medical marijuana card could legally make, sell or possess a tea bag with marijuana. But selling — or even possessing — the brewed tea in a bottle, with no plant material, could be a felony.
Attorney Ryan Hurley, whose clients include dispensary owners, acknowledged that Arizona law does make a difference between marijuana as defined in the 2010 law and what he called an “archaic” definition of marijuana extracts that are illegal under the criminal code. And he conceded the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act does not include extracts.
But Hurley said he believes it was always the intent of those who crafted the law to allow food products made from extracts.
That's also the contention of Morgan Fox, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project which crafted the Arizona law. He said the statute allows use of not only marijuana but also any “preparation” of the drug, which he said includes extracts.
“I have no doubt that the state will be challenged if it tries to exclude edible marijuana products from protection,” he said.
By contrast, Jeffrey Kaufman, who also represents dispensary owners, said the issue may come down to how the THC — the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana — was extracted.
On one hand, he said it's illegal to make hashish or hash oil, the concentrated resins containing the THC, using a butane extraction process. And that would make any food products made with those items illegal.
But Kaufman said he believes there's nothing wrong with extracting THC through a freezing and filtering process and then using what's produced in recipes.
Humble isn't ready to make that kind of distinction, calling it one of the “gray area” in the law.
But he said state health inspectors will soon be taking a closer look at the recipes of the food
products being sold at marijuana dispensaries and advising operators when they think the items are
not protected by the law.
The 2010 laws says those with a doctor's recommendation can get 2 1/2 ounces of “useable marijuana” every two weeks. And the law defines that as being the plant, minus the stems and seeds.
But the criminal code has two definitions.
The first is for “marijuana” which includes the plant “from which the resin has not been extracted.” But there is a separate definition of “cannabis” which includes the resin extracted from the plant.
And Humble said the 2010 law did not legalize cannabis.
“You can produce edibles,” he said. “But you'd better make sure it's made of 'useable marijuana' as covered under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act and not extracts and resins,” which remain illegal under the state's criminal code.
The problem is where to draw that line.
“Hashish is clearly a resin or extract,” Humble said, and not protected under the medical marijuana law. But he said that, in making food products, there be “a shade of gray that's up to somebody's interpretation of the law.”
“What we're trying to do is to let folks know to stay away from those shades of gray because it could be problematic for them,” Humble said.
“Avoid using extracts in your recipes and stick to what you believe is 'useable marijuana' as defined under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act,” he continued. “If you can do that, you're probably going to be OK.”
Humble said the initial offerings at the approximately 80 dispensaries now open were pretty much limited to various varieties of the flowers and leaves of marijuana plants.
“What we're starting to see is more diversification in the product mix,” he said.
Humble said inspectors will now start to take closer looks at the various food products being sold. If they conclude the items were made with extracts, they will advise dispensary owners of the possibility of winding up facing criminal charges
At the very least, he said dispensaries that do not come in line could eventually face having their licenses to sell marijuana revoked.
Will Humble's blog at the Arizona Department of Health Services
This is Will Humble's blog at the Arizona Department of Health Services web sites.Marijuana v. Cannabis
August 30th, 2013 by Will Humble
Are Marijuana and Cannabis the same thing when it comes to Arizona Law? The short answer is no- and the distinction may be an important one for Qualified Patients.
The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act provides registry identification card holders and dispensaries a number of legal protections for their medical use of Marijuana pursuant to the Act. Interestingly, the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act definition of “Marijuana” in A.R.S. § 36-2801(8) differs from the Arizona Criminal Code’s (“Criminal Code”) definition of “Marijuana” in A.R.S. § 13-3401(19). In addition, the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act makes a distinction between “Marijuana” and “Usable Marijuana.” A.R.S. § 36-2801(8) and (15).
The definition of “Marijuana” in the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act is “… all parts of any plant of the genus cannabis whether growing or not, and the seeds of such plant.” The definition of “Usable Marijuana” is “… 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 and does not include the weight of any non-marijuana ingredients combined with marijuana and prepared for consumption as food or drink.” The “allowable amount of marijuana” for a qualifying patient and a designated caregiver includes “two-and-one half ounces of usable marijuana.” A.R.S. § 36-2801(1).
The definition of “Marijuana” in the Criminal Code is “… all parts of any plant of the genus cannabis, from which the resin has not been extracted, whether growing or not, and the seeds of such plant.” “Cannabis” (a narcotic drug under the Criminal Code) is defined as: “… the following substances under whatever names they may be designated: (a) The resin extracted from any part of a plant of the genus cannabis, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of such plant, its seeds or its resin. Cannabis does not include oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any fiber, compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of the mature stalks of such plant except the resin extracted from the stalks or any fiber, oil or cake or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination; and (b) Every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of such resin or tetrahydrocannabinol.” A.R.S. § 13-3401(4) and (20)(w).
An issue the Department has been wrestling with for some time is how the definition of “Marijuana” and “Usable Marijuana” in the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act and the definition of “Cannabis” and “Marijuana” in the Criminal Code fit together. This confusion, which appears to be shared by dispensaries and registered identification card holders alike, is not easy to clear up and has resulted in the Department receiving numerous questions regarding the interplay between the protections in A.R.S. § 36-2811 and the Criminal Code. While we can’t provide legal advice as to whether a certain conduct is punishable under the Criminal Code (only an individual’s or entity’s legal counsel can do this), “Cannabis” is defined as the “resin extracted from any part of a plant of the genus cannabis” and “Cannabis” is listed as a narcotic drug according to the Criminal Code in A.R.S. § 13-3401(4) and (20)(w).
In other words, registered identification card holders and dispensaries may be exposed to criminal prosecution under the Criminal Code for possessing a narcotic drug if the card holder or dispensary possesses resin extracted from any part of a plant of the genus Cannabis or an edible containing resin extracted from any part of a plant of the genus Cannabis. If you’re concerned that your conduct may expose you to criminal prosecution, you may wish to consult an attorney. We’ll be providing some specific guidance for dispensaries licensed by the ADHS next week.
Laws from the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act
This is the Arizona medical marijuana act.SNIP
8. "Marijuana" means all parts of any plant of the genus cannabis whether growing or not, and the seeds of such plant. [And that should included hashish, hash oil, marijuana pollen and other concentrated forms of marijuana]
SNIP
15. "Usable marijuana" means the dried flowers of the marijuana plant, and any mixture or preparation thereof [again usable marijuana seems to mean any part of the marijuana plant which contains the THC - for anybody who is not making a living using the war on drugs to jail people that should include hashish, hash oil, marijuana pollen and other concentrated forms of marijuana]
Laws from the Arizona Criminal Code
This is the Arizona criminal code. I think a reasonable person who does not have a financial interest in locking marijuana users in jail would say this only applies to people who DON'T have a medical marijuana prescription or recommendation.4. "Cannabis" means the following substances under whatever names they may be designated:
(a) The resin extracted from any part of a plant of the genus cannabis, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of such plant, its seeds or its resin. Cannabis does not include oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any fiber, compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of the mature stalks of such plant except the resin extracted from the stalks or any fiber, oil or cake or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination.
(b) Every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of such resin or tetrahydrocannabinol.