Publication
Legal Alert: Arizona Department of Health Services Issues Final Medical Marijuana Rules
On March 28, the Arizona Department of Health Services (the “Department”) issued the final administrative rules (the “Final Rules”) for the voter-approved Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (the “Act”). The Department’s initial draft rules were issued on December 17 and revised draft rules were issued on January 31. Except for any technical, organizational or grammatical changes that need to be made, these Final Rules will be the Department’s final, official rules when the Department begins accepting applications for qualifying patients on April 14 and for dispensaries on June 1.
The Final Rules make several important changes to Arizona’s medical marijuana program as compared to the preliminary draft rules, including:
- A new “waterfall” of qualifying criteria for dispensary applicants (such as having $150,000 “cash reserves” for each dispensary location),
- Clarification regarding what it means for a dispensary to be operated on a “not for profit” basis, and
- New provisions that permit dispensary applicants to apply for up to five dispensary locations in Arizona and permit dispensaries to move locations under certain conditions.
Click the following link for a summary of some of the major changes included in the Final Rules.
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