Arizona voters narrowly approved a ballot initiative last November allowing medical marijuana, but the result has been confusion, says the New York Times. There have been police raids, surreptitious money transfers, and unofficial pot clubs, creating a chaotic situation not far removed from the black-market system that has always existed.
Police raided the home of Ross Taylor, who owns CannaPatient, a newly formed company that helps patients get medical certification to get state-issued medical marijuana cards. Gov. Jan Brewer, who campaigned against the law, said the state, which has issued more than 7,500 cards to medical marijuana patients, would delay issuing licenses to marijuana dispensaries, as the law requires. Instead, she sued in federal court seeking a ruling on whether the state's medical marijuana law conflicted with federal prohibitions on marijuana. Patients have cards permitting them to buy marijuana in Arizona, but no official place to do so.