Zatch
05-28-2011, 03:06 PM
By Jon Johnson
Assistant Editor
Published on Friday, May 27, 2011 12:00 PM MST
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
That appears to be Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's mantra in her efforts to suppress voter-approved Proposition 203 – otherwise known as the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act.
Brewer, who openly campaigned against passage of the act, announced Tuesday that she directed Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne to file suit by the end of the week to seek a declaratory judgment from a federal court regarding the legality of Arizona's new medical marijuana law.
This is not the first time the state's lawmakers went against the will of the people regarding medical marijuana. In 1996, voters passed Arizona's first medical marijuana measure – Proposition 200 – by a 2-1 vote, but the State Legislature was able to stop it from being implemented. Two years later, the Voter Protection Act was passed, and that prohibits state legislators from changing a voter-approved initiative without a three-quarter supermajority.
In her press release, Brewer said she is ordering the lawsuit to protect state employees who are charged with issuing medical marijuana patient cards and dispensary licenses and questions the Arizona Department of Public Safety's ability to maintain federal grant monies due to the law. Brewer cites a letter from United States Attorney for the District of Arizona Dennis Burke to Arizona Department of Health Services Director Will Humble on May 2 as the reasoning she is seeking clarification from a federal court...
Read more: http://www.eacourier.com/articles/2011/05/27/news/breaking_news/doc4ddff4c410831373959545.txt
Assistant Editor
Published on Friday, May 27, 2011 12:00 PM MST
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
That appears to be Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's mantra in her efforts to suppress voter-approved Proposition 203 – otherwise known as the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act.
Brewer, who openly campaigned against passage of the act, announced Tuesday that she directed Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne to file suit by the end of the week to seek a declaratory judgment from a federal court regarding the legality of Arizona's new medical marijuana law.
This is not the first time the state's lawmakers went against the will of the people regarding medical marijuana. In 1996, voters passed Arizona's first medical marijuana measure – Proposition 200 – by a 2-1 vote, but the State Legislature was able to stop it from being implemented. Two years later, the Voter Protection Act was passed, and that prohibits state legislators from changing a voter-approved initiative without a three-quarter supermajority.
In her press release, Brewer said she is ordering the lawsuit to protect state employees who are charged with issuing medical marijuana patient cards and dispensary licenses and questions the Arizona Department of Public Safety's ability to maintain federal grant monies due to the law. Brewer cites a letter from United States Attorney for the District of Arizona Dennis Burke to Arizona Department of Health Services Director Will Humble on May 2 as the reasoning she is seeking clarification from a federal court...
Read more: http://www.eacourier.com/articles/2011/05/27/news/breaking_news/doc4ddff4c410831373959545.txt