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Arizona's medical-marijuana law takes effect

110 apply for Arizona marijuana card on 1st day

by Mary K. Reinhart - Apr. 14, 2011 05:36 PM

The Arizona Republic

There was mostly "chronic pain" among first-day applicants for an Arizona medical marijuana card.

The state Department of Health Services received 110 electronic applications - nearly 60 percent of them for chronic pain - and authorized at least 44 people to use marijuana as treatment. Their cards will be mailed today, allowing them to possess up to 2 ½ ounces of pot every two weeks and grow up to 12 plants.

About one-third of the applications were rejected for various reasons, including problems with physician forms certifying that the patient has a specific debilitating medical condition and could benefit from marijuana. DHS officials said one physician listed "problems" as the patient's medical condition.

Eighty-two percent of the applicants were men and their ages ranged widely. There were no applications on behalf of children.

Voters in November approved the use of medical pot to treat certain ailments, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and Alzheimer's disease. Applicants are required to submit a photo, a copy of their driver's license and the physician certification.

Arizona's medical-marijuana law takes effect

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Arizona's medical-marijuana law takes effect

by Mary K. Reinhart - Apr. 14, 2011 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

Arizona's medical-marijuana law takes effect Thursday, but patients already have been lining up to pay hundreds of dollars in some cases for pot recommendations from clinics that opened in recent weeks for just that purpose.

Health officials are concerned that so-called certification mills could quickly turn a medical program into a recreational one, but they have limited recourse.

Starting today, people can apply with the state Department of Health Services for permission to use marijuana to treat debilitating medical conditions, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and Alzheimer's disease.

The online-only application requires a photo of the patient, a copy of his or her driver's license, a signed statement promising not to give the marijuana to anyone and certification from a physician that the patient would benefit from using pot.

State rules finalized last month by DHS require a health professional licensed by one of four Arizona boards - allopathic, osteopathic, naturopathic or homeopathic - to conduct a physical exam, review one year of medical records, confirm a debilitating diagnosis and check the patient's other prescriptions through an online database.

While much of the attention in the marijuana debate has focused on dispensaries, which won't go online until later this year, a small industry has sprouted to help patients qualify.

DHS Director Will Humble said the rules were written to regulate the industry as tightly as possible without running afoul of the law voters passed in November as Proposition 203. But he said it will only take a handful of physicians writing casual recommendations to explode the program.

"What I'm afraid of is there will be enough of them that just check the boxes but don't really do it (a thorough exam). Or do a cursory drive-by . . . collect the money and move on to the next patient," Humble said.

"I'm concerned that enough of them will end up turning this into a program that we didn't intend for it to become."

Humble said the health department will work with the Arizona Medical Board and other licensing boards to check up on doctors who appear to be issuing medical-marijuana recommendations outside the law. Red flags might be similar demographics or medical conditions, he said.

The first draft of rules required physicians to have a one-year relationship with a patient, but now a doctor could recommend pot to someone the same day they meet.

"What appears to be happening already is you've got a small group of doctors who are doing exclusive medical-marijuana recommendations to patients who are new to them," said Lisa Wynn, executive director of the Arizona Medical Board. "They're arriving at the answer before they've even met the patient."

Sue Sisley, a Scottsdale internist in private practice, supported Proposition 203 but believes many doctors will opt out of the recommendation business for fear of jeopardizing their practices.

"I know tons of docs who won't come near this program," said Sisley, whose practice doesn't include anyone who would qualify. "That's what lends itself to these certification mills. That's what we were hoping to avoid by the rule-making."

Jay Reis, director of Arizona Medical Marijuana Certification Centers, runs three clinics in Scottsdale, Tucson and Cottonwood and is the process of opening three more. The centers charge $150 for a same-day certification but require three years of patient records, though the law only requires one.

Reis said he launched the business in January because he believes medical marijuana can bring relief to suffering patients. He said he's offended by mobile-certification outfits set up in hotel rooms or trailers by newcomers to Arizona, who give clinics like his a bad name.

"They're coming in here, putting doctors in a hotel room and not even giving you a physical," he said. "They're just here for the money."

Humble said he doesn't care where the exams are done, only that all the requirements are complied with.

"I don't care whether the assessment happens in the park," Humble said. "The question is, is the physician acting in the best interest of the patient?"

The DHS will have 15 working days to process the applications and has hired 10 temporary workers in hopes of avoiding a backlog.

Humble said the agency can handle up to 500 applications a day. Patients whose certifications aren't processed within the timeframe will have the $150 health-department fee waived.

Since there are not yet any licensed dispensaries in Arizona, patients who receive medical-marijuana ID cards also will have authorization to grow their own pot.

Patients can cultivate up to 12 marijuana plants. The plants must be grown indoors in a locked room or outdoors surrounded by a concrete wall and a locked steel gate.

It sounds like government tyrant Will Humble is doing everything he can to prevent people from using medical marijuana.

"If [the person's photograph] wasn't exactly 2 inches by 2 inches, the computer was rejecting it". I suspect this means if the photo was 143 by 143 pixels instead of 144 by 144 pixels it was rejected.

First-day stats for medical marijuana promising

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Arizona health director: First-day stats for medical marijuana promising

Posted: Thursday, April 14, 2011 8:13 pm

Arizona health director: First-day stats for medical marijuana promising By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services East Valley Tribune

The first Arizonan who got state permission to legally smoke marijuana is not some 22-year-old claiming he's in pain.

It's a 60-year-old Scottsdale resident living with Crohn's Disease.

That, coupled with other statistics from the first day Arizonans could get certified to buy, possess and use marijuana, pleases state Health Director Will Humble. He said if the patterns hold, it will prove that Arizona has successfully created a medical marijuana program as opposed to a recreational one.

The state's online application process for certifying people to buy, possess and use marijuana went live at 8 a.m. Thursday. Humble said the first applicant -- his name is not a public record -- had his paperwork reviewed and approved within a half hour, paving the way for the state to send him a card certifying him as a ``qualifying patient.''

That allows him -- and anyone else who gets a card -- to purchase up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana every two weeks.

For the moment, though, none of the patients or the people who are certified as their caregivers will be buying anything, at least not legally. That's because the state is still going through the process of licensing the 125 dispensaries that will be allowed under Arizona law to sell the drug.

That triggers a provision in the 2010 voter-approved law which says anyone who lives at least 25 miles from a dispensary is entitled to grow their own medication. And with no clinics now and none anticipated for months, that means everyone.

In the first nine hours after the web site went ``live,'' Humble said 110 people submitted applications. But only about two thirds of those ended up with health officials putting a card in an envelope.

The rest? Humble said one of the biggest problems involved the electronic photographs which are required so they can become part of the ID card.

``If it wasn't exactly 2 inches by 2 inches, the computer was rejecting it,'' he said. Humble said the technical support team worked that out during the day.

But he said there also were some problems with the pictures that some would-be marijuana users submitted. Humble said they simply found a photo of themselves on their computer and decided that would suffice.

It did not.

``It was a picture of them on their Harley next to a tree in the shade and it wasn't a clear picture,'' he said.

Humble said he actually expected more than 65 people to submit applications in the first hours, as the law allowed marijuana patients to go to their doctors to get the certification ahead of time.

``I thought we'd be into the couple of hundred range,'' he said. But Humble said that with the application process available online on a 24/7 basis, there may be people figuring they'd wait until the evening.

``A lot of folks know they don't have to apply during business hours,'' he said.

Humble also said the first-day figures don't provide him any clue of how many people will qualify to buy, possess and use marijuana.

The law approved by voters spells out that only those diagnosed by a doctor with certain medical conditions can get the required state certification. These include diseases like glaucoma and AIDS as well as chronic or debilitating conditions that lead to severe and chronic pain.

On top of that, the Health Department imposed various restrictions which Humble said are designed to keep physicians from setting up shop as ``certification mills'' to provide cards for those who want the drug strictly for recreational purposes.

Humble said he anticipates the number of certified users a year from now could be as few as 20,000 -- or as many as 100,000.

He said, though, the first-day statistics suggest to him that the system is working as he had hoped, with marijuana being recommended for medical purposes only.

Humble acknowledged, though, that more than half of the medical conditions reported fell into that chronic pain category, a classification he conceded could be abused. But he said that, absent more, there is no reason to believe that the doctors who made the certifications were acting improperly.

In fact, he pointed out that nearly half of all the applications came from people at least 40 years old, with 22 percent from those 51 and older.

He said states where the program has become largely recreational have the dominant group as men in their 20s and early 30s, ``not because men in those age ranges can't have medical conditions ... but by in large, men in their 20s and 30s are pretty darn healthy.''

It did turn out, at least for the first day, four out of five Arizona applicants were male.

Arizona's medical marijuana law takes effect

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Arizona's medical marijuana law takes effect

Posted: Thursday, April 14, 2011 3:24 pm

By Andrew Hedlund, for the Tribune East Valley Tribune

The new medical marijuana law went into effect Thursday, while potential medical marijuana patients gathered at the Green Relief Expo at University of Phoenix stadium to receive recommendations from doctors.

Debilitating conditions, as described by the new law, that could warrant medicine include cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, chronic pain and Alzheimer's.

Arizona voters approved the new law last November in the general election. The measure, which was labeled Prop 203 on the ballot, received 50.1 percent of the vote.

Implementation of the law came quickly: The Arizona Department of Health Services was given 120 days to set up the entire program.

"Really over the last 120 days, it has been the policy development phase," said Will Humble, the director of the department.

"We developed the administrative code and rules for regulating and managing the program. Really, basically, (Thursday) is where we make the big shift into operations."

The application process requires potential patients to fill out a form, present an Arizona driver's license or identification card, and provide a current photograph and doctor's recommendation.

Applicants must also submit a signed statement in which they pledge not to use marijuana for recreational purposes or give it to anyone who does not have a medical marijuana card. The entire application process is online.

Patients also must pay a fee of $150. If people have a hard time paying this, a national non-profit organization will be helping patients get access to the medicine they need.

The Medicinal Marijuana Assistance Project of America helps patients get the care they need by helping patients with state fees and bringing doctors to rural communities. The group also was one of the sponsors of Thursday's expo.

The organization also gives disabled veterans an automatic 50 percent discount of treatment and gives free care to those patients who cannot afford the 50 percent off.

"We help on the financial side. You know, a lot of people don't have insurance. The way health care is designed in America a lot of people end up taking on the burden of those bills and they can't afford the proper medicine they need," said Vince Palazzotto, the executive director of the organization.

Patients will be able to either cultivate their own marijuana or obtain the medicine from a dispensary. They would be allowed to buy up to two and a half ounces every two weeks.

Initially, all patients will be required to grow, though.

"The initial cards will all say, ‘Authorized to cultivate.' The reason that they are going to say that is because we will not have any (medical marijuana) dispensaries up and running probably until October," Humble said.

The law allows people who live more than 25 miles away from a dispensary to grow up to 12 plants for their personal use.

This means that anyone who receives a card from the time the law takes effect through late summer will be able to grow. This changes once the dispensaries have opened their doors.

Once this occurs, patients who live within the 25-mile radius of a dispensary will not be allowed to cultivate their own medicine anymore.

Humble said the agency has not worked out the process that will let patients know that a dispensary near them has started offering medicine.

Once dispensaries open shop, the stores will be allowed to cultivate their own medicine or obtain it from another dispensary or a qualified patient.

The medical community has had a mixed reaction to it. Many support it, but that does not necessarily mean that those doctors will write recommendations. Some practices will not offer it at all.

Arizona's Medical Marijuana Law in One Handy Guide

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Arizona's Medical Marijuana Law in One Handy Guide

By Niki D'Andrea Thursday, Apr 14 2011

Starting today, Arizonans can apply for medical marijuana patient cards.

So, in just a couple of weeks, some Arizonans will be able to legally possess and use pot, provided they stay within ADHS guidelines. The department won't begin accepting dispensary applications until June, so all patients issued cards before a dispensary opens within 25 miles of their home can grow their own weed, if they indicate on their applications that they want to cultivate.

Get a card, and you can buy, possess, and use up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks — or grow up to 12 plants. Follow the law, and cops can't arrest you, landlords can't discriminate against you, and employers can't penalize you (unless you're high on the job).

To get a card, you must:

First, receive written certification (on a form provided at the ADHS website) from a licensed Arizona physician stating you have one of the debilitating conditions listed in the program (which include cancer, glaucoma, AIDS, hepatitis C, and "severe and chronic pain").

Second, submit an application at the ADHS website, along with residence, postal and e-mail addresses, a copy of your Arizona driver's license or identification card, proof of U.S. citizenship, a photograph, your certified physician's statement, and a signed statement that you won't pass along your pot to anyone who's not allowed to have it.

If your own doctor won't write a medical marijuana certification, you can obtain certification from another physician, provided the physician is licensed to practice in Arizona and provides a written statement to ADHS confirming your debilitating condition and stating you've established a physician-patient relationship.

To cultivate your own cannabis, check the box on the application indicating it, and state that you don't live within 25 miles of a dispensary. All patient card applicants need to pay a non-refundable application fee of $150 ($75 for people who show proof of participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a.k.a. food stamps).

People seeking cards as designated caregivers for qualifying patients (which would allow them to purchase and possess medical marijuana on behalf of a patient) must submit all the same information, but also undergo a criminal records check (convicted felons aren't eligible), and submit a set of fingerprints. The application fee for caregivers is $200. Each qualifying patient may have only one caregiver.

Everything must be submitted online through the ADHS website, using electronic copies in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Once you submit your application, ADHS will approve or deny it within 10 business days. Cards are valid for one year; renewal fees are the same as initial application fees.

Once someone has a patient or caregiver card from ADHS, they may legally possess up to 2.5 ounces of usable medical marijuana, and may purchase their pot from any licensed dispensary in the state. Such edibles as marijuana brownies and cookies will count toward the legal limit, but only the weight of the usable marijuana in the edible will be counted. Dispensaries will be linked to a central database that records all purchases, and each patient or caregiver won't be able to buy more than 2.5 ounces total every two weeks.

If a patient or caregiver transfers medical marijuana to anyone who doesn't have a valid registry card — or if they're in possession of more than 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana — they will be breaking the law. Patients authorized to cultivate cannabis could still buy marijuana from a dispensary but would have to stay within the legal limits of possession.

Only patients with medical marijuana cards issued by ADHS can buy weed at dispensaries in Arizona; however, patients with valid cards from other states can legally possess marijuana here. As of March, more than 10 possession cases have been dismissed in Mohave County, because all the defendants proved they could legally use medical marijuana in their home states (usually California). Sergeant Steve Carbajal of the Tempe Police Department and Sergeant Mark Clark of Scottsdale PD both told New Times that officers expect to handle possession cases by out-of-state visitors on a case-by-case basis. Carbajal says officers have received information on the reciprocity function of Arizona's medical marijuana law.

Card-carrying patients in Arizona can rest easy knowing that if they get pulled over with less than 2.5 ounces of weed in their cars, they're not going to be arrested. However, it's still illegal to drive while high, and though the presence of marijuana in someone's system isn't proof of impairment (it stays in the user's system long after ingestion), police can still use the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test. This is the field test in which an officer takes a pen and asks the driver to follow it with his or her eyes. If the driver's eyes involuntarily jerk (nystagmus), cannot follow the trajectory of the pen at different angles, and have pupils of unequal size, an officer could consider this "probable cause" for impairment. However, many DUI attorneys say the HGN test is flawed, and drivers can refuse to submit.

Also still illegal: using or being under the influence of marijuana at work, and blazing up in public places (including parks, schools, bars, and clubs). Patients won't be able to consume medical marijuana at dispensaries, either.

When local dispensaries begin to open this summer or fall, patients can purchase a variety of marijuana buds, tinctures, and edibles. But ADHS won't start accepting dispensary applications until June 1, about a month after they start sending out patient and caregiver cards — which are valid immediately.

People with medical marijuana patient or caregiver cards from ADHS will be legally protected before dispensaries open, so possessing less than 2.5 ounces of pot will be perfectly legal for them, even if the source is dubious. But many patients, particularly those who aren't comfortable buying marijuana from a street dealer, may choose another option: legally growing their own.

The law says any medical marijuana card holder who does not live within 25 miles of a dispensary may cultivate up to 12 plants. And since nobody will have a dispensary within 25 miles of their home until sometime after June, every qualified patient has an opportunity to start growing now. In its online FAQ sheet for the Arizona Medical Marijuana Program, ADHS states, "Since no dispensaries will be operating when the first qualifying patients obtain a registry identification card, all qualifying patients will be approved to cultivate if they request approval to cultivate."

So the first wave of registered Arizona medical marijuana patients can plant pot seeds the moment they get their cards. But they can't just plant them in the open in their backyards — plants must be grown in an enclosed, locked facility (like a closet or greenhouse). But marijuana plants can take anywhere from two to six months to mature, so by the time a patient's buds are ready to harvest, a medical marijuana dispensary may have opened within 25 miles of their grow.

But fret not — patient cards are valid one year from the date of issue, and the Arizona Department of Health Services has no enforcement mechanism in place to notify law enforcement that a patient may be out compliance. So theoretically, patients won't have to worry about their plants until they apply for renewal of their registry cards.

When that happens next year, ADHS will check its database to determine whether any dispensaries are operating within 25 miles of the cardholder and send the cardholder a list of dispensaries, along with a renewal card that states he or she is not authorized to cultivate cannabis anymore.

But for 12 months, the door's open for registered cardholders to go and grow in peace. Arizona's getting greener, after all.

Maricopa County officials urged not to issue permits for medical-marijuana

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery - F*ck the people and their medical marijuana!

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Maricopa County officials urged not to issue permits for medical-marijuana dispensaries

by Michelle Ye Hee Lee - May. 20, 2011 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery advised the Board of Supervisors this week against issuing permits to medical-marijuana dispensaries on county-controlled lands, fearing a backlash from the federal government.

Although Arizona's medical-marijuana program mostly will be run by the state Health Department in cooperation with cities and towns, Maricopa County officials plan to opt out in reaction to mounting federal pressure on states that have legalized medical pot.

County officials indicated they would heed Montgomery's advice if he drafts a formal legal opinion, which Montgomery said he plans to do in about a week.

Montgomery said he would not prosecute medical-marijuana cases because it is outside his jurisdiction. He said he consulted with the supervisors on the issue in his role as the county's legal adviser.

Last November, voters approved Proposition 203, the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, which allows qualifying patients with certain debilitating medical conditions to use marijuana. But marijuana is not a federally approved drug.

Arizona is the 15th state to legalize medical pot and to join the ongoing national debate over conflicting state and federal marijuana laws.

Although the U.S. Department of Justice in 2009 released a memo discouraging prosecution of medical-marijuana users, federal pressures continue to mount on states that have legalized medical pot. U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke this month warned Arizonans they are still violating federal law by participating in the state's program, and they will not have any immunity from federal prosecution.

"I always hate to go against the will of the voters, but in this case, Dennis' letter is pretty compelling. And if Montgomery issues an opinion that mirrors the federal letter, I think it's something we have to heed," county Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox said.

Montgomery said although the federal government clearly will not prosecute seriously ill patients using pot as medicine, the same legal "safe haven" does not exist for dispensary agents or local government employees who implement the state's law.

"I'm not comforted by a wink and a nod" from the federal government, Montgomery said, explaining why he is advising the county against issuing permits.

Prop. 203 allows qualifying patients to receive up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana every two weeks from dispensaries or to cultivate up to 12 marijuana plants if they live 25 miles or farther from a dispensary.

Montgomery has publicly opposed medical marijuana and was one of the most outspoken local officials who joined the anti-Prop. 203 campaign last fall. Montgomery said he still disagrees with the policy of legalizing medical marijuana and is concerned that dispensaries operating in Maricopa County will become "magnets of crime."

It is unclear what implications Burke's letter will have on the state's medical-marijuana program, or how the county's pending decision to prohibit dispensaries on county land would affect patients' access to marijuana in remote areas of the county.

The state Department of Health Services will begin accepting dispensary applications on June 1. There is one dispensary application pending with Maricopa County.

"We're still trying to figure out what the impact of the letter we got from the federal government is going to have. I think all those (federal warning letters to state officials) have put a layer of uncertainty on this program and all the other states' programs," DHS Director Will Humble said.

Prop. 203 allows local jurisdictions to impose "reasonable" zoning restrictions for dispensaries. The majority of cities and towns have come up with a zoning ordinance for medical-marijuana dispensaries, said Ken Strobeck, executive director of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.

If the county decides not to allow dispensaries on its land, that means cities and towns that encircle county land will have to work around it, Strobeck said.

Chris Jacques, Peoria's interim community-development director, said he would prefer that dispensaries locate within city boundaries rather than in county islands. The city's zoning ordinances have specific distance requirements for dispensaries, and the city would prefer to be able to regulate dispensaries, he said.

"If there was a proposal to have a dispensary in a county island, we would not like that because we've got strict controls over where dispensaries could be located," Jacques said.

The applications for dispensaries in Wickenburg all are within town boundaries and not in the sizable county islands in the area, said Steve Boyle, Wickenburg community-development director. Although Boyle said it is "discouraging" that Wickenburg would approve dispensaries against federal law, he said he does not anticipate the federal government cracking down on town officials for allowing dispensaries.

"It could happen," he said, "but our attorneys don't see it getting that drastic."

Home-grown marijuana challenges Arizona police

Are the police lying when they say they have no plans to arrest people who grow medical marijuana?

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Home-grown marijuana challenges Arizona police

by Edythe Jensen - May. 20, 2011 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

More than 2,300 Arizona residents have state permits to grow marijuana in their homes - for now. That will end in a few months when medical-marijuana dispensaries start opening and household gardeners must pull the plug on their grow lights or face criminal charges if they live within 25 miles of a dispensary.

But it's unclear who will enforce the shutdown, and spokesmen for local law-enforcement agencies say they expect that will be a challenge.

The state Department of Health Services began issuing the growing permits in April. DHS spokesman Laura Oxley said it will notify holders when the permits are no longer valid but will not inspect homes for compliance. That will be up to police if they suspect illegal activity, she said.

Joe Yuhas, spokesman for the Arizona Medical Marijuana Association, said the law was never meant to promote home cultivation. Doing it without a state permit is a criminal offense that carries stiff penalties, including possible fines and incarceration.

"I wouldn't think a person would want to take the risk," he said.

Law-enforcement agencies across the Valley are grappling with how and under what circumstances they will check on suspected illegal-marijuana-growing operations. Most say they have no plans to investigate addresses of expired permits routinely, and there must be a complaint or strong evidence of a crime before they would try to inspect a home. They agree that separating legal from illegal activity under the voter-approved medical-marijuana law will be difficult.

Patients who had a marijuana prescription when the law took effect last month can't buy it from legal vendors yet because the state won't be approving dispensary sites until August. They can, however, apply for home-cultivation cards available to anyone who isn't within 25 miles of a dispensary. Growing must be indoors and is limited to 12 plants.

According to commercial sites that sell lights and other equipment for indoor cultivation, growing setups can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. Phoenix police spokesman Steve Martos said it is puzzling why anyone would invest time and money in an indoor setup to use it only for a few months or risk criminal charges by continuing the cultivation.

So far, 2,315 Arizona residents have one-year state-issued cards to grow marijuana at home for personal use, although DHS officials say it is unlikely all are doing it.

Spokesmen for several Valley police agencies, including Phoenix, Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe and Scottsdale, said they have no plans to check homes on the DHS permit list routinely where residents may have expired marijuana-growing cards.

"The law prohibits police from using the fact that a person has a medical-marijuana card, by itself, to establish probable cause or reasonable suspicion of a crime," Chandler Detective Frank Mendoza said.

Neighbors who complain about suspected illegal drug activity may call police and spur an investigation. However, DHS information on marijuana-growing cards is not public record, so neighbors have no way of checking whether the house next door once had permission and doesn't any more. Police agencies, on the other hand, have access to the DHS records, including the names and addresses of those authorized to use or grow it and permit expiration dates.

Sgt. Steve Carbajal, Tempe police spokesman, said the department will likely use DHS data as "investigative tools" if there's a complaint or if police suspect illegal activity.

There must be strong evidence that a crime is being committed before police initiate an investigation into reputed illegal marijuana-growing, said Mendoza and Scottsdale police spokesman David Pubins.

Glendale police are discussing the challenges of marijuana enforcement under the new law with their legal department, and "we do not have absolute answers right now," said Sgt. Brent Coombs, a department spokesman.

Martos, the Phoenix spokesman, said home use of medical marijuana brings a myriad of enforcement challenges, including that the mere detection of marijuana odor is no longer a clear-cut indication of criminal activity.

Whatever police agencies say their plans are now could change in coming months as medical marijuana becomes more accessible, DHS spokeswoman Carol Vack said. "How they bust people for marijuana might change. There are a lot of gray areas, a lot of undefined areas in this law," Vack said.

'Protective Sweeps' used to make and end run around the 4th Amendment!

Cops use 'protective sweeps' to flush the 4th Amendment down the toilet

"Police cannot use the unsubstantiated fear a residence might be occupied by someone dangerous to search it without a warrant" - a lame excuse to flush the 4th Amendment down the toilet.

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Arizona high court sets new rules for police's 'protective sweeps'

Posted: Thursday, May 19, 2011 2:35 pm

By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services East Valley Tribune

Police cannot use the unsubstantiated fear a residence might be occupied by someone dangerous to search it without a warrant, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

In the first ruling of its kind in the state, the justices said police had no legitimate reason to enter the apartment of Laquinn A. Fisher. That means the duffel bags of marijuana they found there cannot be used as evidence against him to sustain a drug conviction.

The ruling now sets the rules police need to obey in the future in what they call “protective sweeps.’’

In 2006, Mesa police responded to a report of an assault. The victim, bleeding from a cut on his head, told officers he had been pistol-whipped by a man known as “Taz.’’

He described the victim and directed police to the apartment complex where that person lived.

When police knocked at the door, Fisher and two others came out. Fisher, whose appearance matched the description given by the victim, identified himself as T.A.

Despite having this information, officers decided to do further investigation because the gun allegedly used in the assault was still “unaccounted for.’’ Then, without asking whether anyone was still inside, police entered the apartment to see who else was there.

Inside, they smelled marijuana and observed the duffels.

A trial judge and the court of appeals upheld the search as a legal “protective sweep.’’ But Supreme Court Justice Robert Brutinel, writing for the court, said that was a mistake.

Brutinel said police generally must get a warrant. But he said there is an exception when officers, as a precautionary matter, can look in closets and “other spaces immediately adjoining the place of arrest from which an attack could immediately be launched.’’

The judge said, though, there must be “articulable facts’’ which, with other information, would warrant a “reasonably prudent officer’’ to believe someone dangerous is in the area.

Brutinel said those facts are not present here.

First, he noted that Fisher was detained outside of his apartment. In fact, the judge said, police did not arrest him until after the protective sweep.

And the judge said the basis for the sweep needs to be more than mere suspicion.

“The officers in this case could not articulate specific facts indicating that another person was inside Fisher’s apartment,’’ Brutinel wrote. And he said there is nothing in the record showing whether police even attempted to find out how many people lived there.

“Officers cannot conduct protective sweeps based on mere speculation or the general risk inherent in all police work,’’ the judge wrote.

Brutinel said the justices recognize that police officers are placed in life-threatening situations on a regular basis. And he said that danger would be reduced if police were allowed to do whatever they feel necessary to protect their safety.

But he said the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, precluding unreasonable search and seizure, trumps all that.

Government tyrants refuse to issue pot licenses?

Government tyrants at DHS flush Arizona's medical marijuana law down the toilet? If I wasn't an atheist I would says this is the reason that God created the 2nd Amendment.

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Medical marijuana dispensaries' attorney seeks to force licensing

Posted: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 4:19 pm

By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services

An attorney who represents some would-be marijuana dispensaries is taking the first steps he believes will convince a state judge to force Department of Health Services to issue the necessary permits.

Ryan Hurley said Tuesday he is working with clients to get one of them to submit an application this week to the health department. State health officials had said the first requests would be accepted Wednesday.

And Laura Oxley, spokeswoman for the department, confirmed that any requests will be turned away.

Once that happens, Hurley said, there are grounds for demanding in court that state officials comply with the law that voters approved in November. Hurley said while the state has gone to federal court to seek a declaration of the legality of that law, at the moment it is still the law of this state.

Once an application is denied, he said, that provides the legal precursor to demanding in court that state health officials obey the law as approved by voters, a law that has never been declared illegal.

That could pave the way for a state judge forcing Arizona to implement the medical marijuana law even as the federal court decides whether it is in conflict with federal law.

The process is known as “mandamus.” In essence, it is a request that a judge issue an order to a public official to perform a duty that is required.

In this case, the voter-approved law requires the health department to issue licenses for one dispensary for every 10 pharmacies in the state. That computes out to about 125.

State Health Director Will Humble said he was prepared to start taking applications now. But that was before Gov. Jan Brewer, working with Attorney General Tom Horne, directed him to stall.

“On advice of our attorney, our program has been suspended,’’ Oxley said. In fact, her agency will not even make application forms available.

Oxley acknowledged that what’s needed for an application already is spelled out in both state law and the rules the health department already enacted. And she said someone could prepare an application of sorts with all the necessary information.

But she said anyone who walks in the door with such a form will be turned away, and anything submitted by mail will be returned.

Hurley said once someone’s completed application is rejected, the first step may be having to file an administrative appeal. But the final decision on that still rests with Humble as health director.

That then paves the way to ask a judge to order Humble to act.

Horne told Capitol Media Services he is not directing Humble and his department to disregard what voters mandated.

“We’re not ignoring the law,’’ he said.

“We’re just asking a (federal) judge to let us know how we should do it before we proceed further,’’ Horne continued. “I think that’s very reasonable.’’

He said it would be just “a slight delay.’’ But Horne said he cannot predict how long that would take but said legal questions like these take preference over other lawsuits.

The health department continues to issue cards for “qualified patients’’ who have a doctor’s recommendation to use marijuana for a specific medical condition. Those cards allow the individual to purchase up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana every two weeks from a state-regulated nonprofit dispensary.

Those who have one of these cards to grow enough for his or her own use until dispensaries are available.

Horne said he is not worried that prospective dispensary owners will get a ruling forcing the health department to start issuing the dispensary licenses.

“If you sue me about it, by the time you get a decision (from a state judge) I’ll have a decision out of federal court,’’ he said. “So it won’t make any difference.’’

That lawsuit Horne filed on behalf of the governor asks a federal judge whether the state marijuana law is pre-empted by the federal Controlled Substances Act, which makes possession of the drug a felony. If a federal judge rules the laws conflict, that could allow Brewer, who opposed the initiative, to shut down the program.

Dutch 'drug tourism' set to go up in smoke

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Dutch 'drug tourism' set to go up in smoke

By Laura Bly, USA TODAY

A long-smoldering debate over the Netherlands' tolerance toward public marijuana use is heating up, with the Dutch government announcing last week that it will start banning tourists from pot-selling "coffee shops" by the end of the year.

"In order to tackle the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drug trafficking, the open-door policy of coffee shops will end," the Dutch health and justice ministers wrote in a letter to the country's parliament on Friday.

While marijuana is technically illegal in the Netherlands, it has been sold for decades in designated cafés and police make no arrests for possession of small amounts.

Under the new anti-drug rules, cannabis shops will be restricted to Dutch residents who sign up for a one-year membership, or "dope pass," London's Daily Mail reports.

The policy will roll out in the southern provinces of Limburg, Noord Brabant and Zeeland by the end of the year and the rest of the country next year, Reuters adds.

Amsterdam, home to about 220 coffee shops, is already in the process of closing some in its red light district. And some Dutch border towns including Maastricht and Terneuzen have already restricted the sale of marijuana to foreigners.

The new policy must still be approved by the country's supreme court, and "there will be many challenges in bringing the so-called pass system from a concept into a reality," says Jon Foster, an American who has owned Amsterdam's popular Grey Area coffee house since 1994.

But "drug tourism," which by some estimates draws up to 40% of Amsterdam's 16 million annual visitors, is already taking a hit.

"For the moment it's just bad for business, because everybody seems to think the law is already in effect as of this weekend," says Foster.

Most pot smokers "stay for three to ten days, eat at restaurants, go to museums and entertainment, and buy a little cannabis each day," he adds. " Many coffee shops will probably close because of the diminished tourism, but the effect will be much greater as the results of the ban trickle down to the hotel, restaurant, entertainment, and overall tourist industry."

Will Mendocino County become the Napa Valley of marijuana?

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Will Mendocino County become the Napa Valley of marijuana?

Updated 10/8/2010 4:44 AM

By Laura Bly, USA TODAY

MENDOCINO, Calif. — Swap the Dungeness crab cakes and peasant skirts for lobster rolls and L.L. Bean khakis, and this snug seaside hamlet a few hours north of San Francisco could be a dead ringer for a New England village. (It was a stand-in for Cabot Cove, Maine, in the long-running TV series Murder She Wrote.)

But if California voters approve a controversial ballot proposition in November to tax and legalize marijuana for recreational use — and it's ahead in several polls — some local growers say Mendocino, pop. 900, might become better known as the tourist capital of a "Napa Valley of cannabis."

The notion of opening marijuana-tasting rooms, meet-the-grower tours and ganja-friendly "bud and breakfasts" in Northern California's pot-farming "Emerald Triangle" is like "tearing down the Berlin Wall. It's not going to happen overnight," says Matthew Cohen of MendoGrown. His 12-member association promotes a "sustainably grown medical cannabis industry" in the county, where legal and illicit pot — sanctioned for medical use by California residents since 1996 — fuels an estimated half to two-thirds of an economy once anchored by fishing and timber.

Still, he says, passage of Proposition 19 would mobilize entrepreneurs and help jump-start a sluggish tourism industry by putting "Mendocino County on the map as a vision of what cannabis country could look like. The vibration is already here, and if you love (marijuana) enough to smoke it in a coffeehouse, why wouldn't you want to come out and enjoy it at the source?"

Efforts to prevent legalization "are like trying to put your finger in a 100-foot wave," adds longtime resident Tim Blake. Host of an annual Emerald Cup cannabis competition that drew 100 entries last year, the medical marijuana producer wants to turn Area 101, his 150-acre "spiritual and retreat center" near Laytonville, into a springboard for hemp burgers and public hayrides through his heavily guarded (and legal) collection of OG Kush and Sour Diesel plants.

'Entering uncharted territory'

Hemp shakes and cannabisseries? They're pipe dreams, counter many Mendocino tourism promoters, law officials and business owners.

While 14 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana use in some form, California's groundbreaking Prop 19 would authorize any adult 21 and older to possess, share or transport up to 1 ounce regardless of jurisdiction, and let each city and county decide whether to approve and tax commercial sales.

Proponents say legalization would weaken criminal activity by Mexican drug cartels and funnel as much as $1.4 billion a year into the state's dangerously depleted coffers.

But opponents, including most state officeholders and candidates, the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Police Chiefs Association, argue it would create a hodgepodge of enforcement, boost the ranks of impaired drivers and keep cartels underground to avoid paying taxes.

What's more, they say, it would be in direct conflict with — and superseded by — federal law.

Famous for its dramatic headlands, redwood groves and down-home wineries producing world-class Pinot Noirs, Mendocino County draws about 2 million visitors a year, mostly from Northern California, to an area that's bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined but home to just 90,000 residents.

Despite its reputation as a refuge for "back-to-the-landers" who took advantage of the rugged terrain and skimpy population to grow high-quality and highly profitable strains of pot, "I'd hate to see people coming up here because of what they think we are, instead of who we really are," says Lark Melesea. She sells hemp clothing at a Mendocino shop called Twist and wants the "sacred herb" used for healing rather than "getting blotto."

If Prop 19 passes, Melesea adds, "the last thing we want to be is a pot-based Disneyland."

Marijuana "is part of the social fabric of our nation, one way or another," says Sheriff Tom Allman, and "the days of sending people to prison for a seed are over. It's the green rush of the new millennium." But he says Prop 19's inconsistencies and loopholes doom it to failure, and it wouldn't stem a growing wave of cartel-related violence that has included multiple armed raids in the vast, deceptively scenic reaches of Mendocino National Forest.

"We're entering uncharted territory," says Visit Mendocino County's Scott Schneider, digging into a Thai burrito with organic tofu at the Mendocino Café. "But we're certainly not going to promote something that's still illegal at the federal level." Weed aficionados "are not our target audience," he says.

Pot at the end of the rainbow?

Right on cue, diner Matt Kotlarczyk lowers his fork to join the debate. A Cincinnati-based sculptor who's winding his way up the California coast, Kotlarczyk didn't choose Mendocino for its counterculture, ganja-friendly ambience. But, he says, "it's definitely an enhancement."

Mendocino isn't the only California destination calculating whether, and how, to attract similar-minded travelers.

Joey Luiz, a winery sales manager who's running for city council in neighboring Lake County, says marijuana tourism could be a plus: "We've struggled to find any kind of industry, and the more bodies you can bring in, the better." Farther north in Siskiyou County, Dunsmuir Mayor Peter Arth has been nicknamed "Mayor Juana" for his support of a downtown pot garden, across from the sheriff's substation, to draw visitors and provide organic marijuana to patients.

And in a hardscrabble swath of downtown Oakland dubbed "Oaksterdam," Segway tours already cruise by Oaksterdam University (a trade school that has trained more than 12,000 students in how to grow marijuana), medical dispensaries stocked with pot-laced Belgian chocolates, and a souvenir store that peddles ganja-themed boxer shorts.

But marijuana doesn't always translate to a tourist pot of gold: Though Amsterdam's laissez-faire coffeehouses have drawn smokers for decades, the Dutch border city of Maastricht recently voted to ban sales to foreigners in a bid to stave off an influx of weed-seeking backpackers.

Along Mendocino County's Anderson Valley wine trail, Raul Touzon of Miami and Andree Thorpe of Bermuda sip glasses of Pinot Noir rosé on a sun-dappled lawn at Goldeneye Winery. Would they return for a few tokes along with their liquid relaxers?

Not likely. "There's a mystique to sitting here, enjoying the experience: the land, the scenery, the grapes," Touzon says. "No one is going to come here to smoke a joint."

Adds Milla Handley, owner of the nearby Handley Winery: "How do you deal with driving and smoking? We try to be conscientious (in limiting wine samples) because our kids are on these roads. You add another drug, and it's a cause for concern."

But Mendocino County fisherman, construction worker and pot grower Tyler Kidwell begs to differ. "When I went to Hawaii," says Kidwell, "I got two questions: Have you ever surfed Point Arena (a famous county break), and did you bring us any pot?"

Whether or not it's legalized for recreational use, "Mendocino is known around the world as a pot mecca," adds Kidwell. "And if you're going to get stoned, the redwoods are a great place to do it."

---

IF YOU GO

Getting there: Mendocino County's closest major airports are in San Francisco and Sacramento; count on three to 3 1/2 hours to the village of Mendocino from SFO, and another hour to the northern part of the county, which encompasses nearly 4,000 square miles.

Where to stay: Most lodgings (more than two dozen B&Bs in Mendocino alone) and vacation rentals are located along the Pacific Coast or along Highway 101. In the heart of Mendocino, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Blue Door Group's Packard House and J.D. House offer a sleek, Restoration Hardware-esque ambiance for $130-$275 per night (888-453-2677; innsofmendocino.com). Near tiny Booneville, along the Anderson Valley wine trail, try the newly renovated, four-room Toll House Inn (rates $150-$250; 707-895-2572 or tollhouseinn.com).

What to do: Along with hiking through redwood groves in preserves like Hendy Woods State Park and beachombing along the Pacific (Glass Beach near Fort Bragg is a favorite), many visitors head for the Anderson Valley wine trail. It's a throwback to what Napa was like 40 years ago, with most of the wineries offering free tastings and a chance to hobnob with the owners.

More information: 866-466-3636 or visitmendocino.com

Government tyrant Will Humble refuses to accept Medical marijuana dispensary applications!!!

Our government master tell us that they are not our masters, but public servants. If they are really "public servants" they would accept the medical marijuana applications.

After all as our government masters tell us all the time "it is the law and you must obey it, even if it's wrong."

Our government masters then continue to tell us if we don't like the law we should obey it while we work to change it. Of course our government masters don't follow the advice they give us. In this case they are refusing to obey the law.

Medical-pot dispensary applications to be denied

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Medical-pot dispensary applications to be denied

by Mary K. Reinhart - Jun. 1, 2011 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

State health Director Will Humble was putting the finishing touches Tuesday on the letter he will give to prospective medical-marijuana dispensary owners when he declines their applications.

Though Humble and his staff have spent months preparing for today's start of the dispensary application process, the federal lawsuit filed Friday by Gov. Jan Brewer has put the kibosh on it.

"We'll explain to them that we're unable to accept applications right now and thank them for their efforts," he said. "At least they'll have something when they leave to document that they tried."

The first letter likely will be handed to attorney Ryan Hurley and his clients, who plan to try filing a dispensary application this morning at the state Department of Health Services' headquarters and be turned away. Hurley said getting denied will set the stage for a lawsuit against the state for failing to implement the provisions of the voter-approved medical-marijuana law.

Humble is a plaintiff in the federal lawsuit, which seeks a declaratory judgment to determine if the new law conflicts with federal drug statutes and whether compliance with Arizona's voter-approved medical-pot law shields state employees, patients, dispensary owners and others from federal prosecution.

The state was to accept dispensary applications throughout the month of June and issue up to 126 permits by August. But Humble put the process on hold Friday, saying the court filing and advice from the Attorney General's Office made it legally dicey. The health department continues to accept applications for caregiver and patient ID cards as required under the law.

Hurley and his clients will not have an official application to submit, even though state rules require it, because Humble never posted one on the health department's website.

Attorney Lisa Hauser, who wrote Proposition 203 and represents several would-be dispensary owners, said she doesn't need to be turned away from Humble to take legal action. She said some of her clients may choose to file suit against the state for "failure to perform its duties under the act."

The federal lawsuit names U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke as defendants, along with voters who supported the ballot measure, patients and would-be dispensary owners. It contends that letters sent over the past several months by federal prosecutors have cast doubt on the legality of Arizona's law and the liability of state employees and others who abide by it. Arizona is among 16 states with medical-marijuana laws and all of them conflict with federal law, which outlaws the cultivation, sale and use of pot.

Dr. Nicholas Flores, a Scottsdale oncologist and potential dispensary medical director, said he agreed to be a defendant in the lawsuit because he believes patients deserve clarity on the issue. Federal prosecutors have said they won't prosecute patients but could go after growers and sellers.

"I'd like to see some kind of resolution for my patients," he said. "I'm tired of watching my 70-year-old patients try to figure out how to score an ounce in an alley."

Reach the reporter at 602-444-8603.

State turns away doctors' request for marijuana dispensary

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State turns away doctors' request for marijuana dispensary

Posted: Wednesday, June 1, 2011 1:13 pm

By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services

State Health Director Will Humble turned away a request by doctors Wednesday to operate a marijuana dispensary, paving the way for a lawsuit.

Humble acknowledged that his refusal to even accept an application comes despite a voter-approved law requiring his agency to license about 125 dispensaries around the state. And it is directly contrary to the department's own rules that say the first requests would be considered Wednesday.

But Humble said the Attorney General's Office, which provides legal advice for his agency, said all applicants should be turned away until a federal court rules on whether Arizona can enforce its voter-approved medical marijuana law despite federal statutes making possession of the drug a felony.

"I'm a public health official. I'm not a lawyer," he said. "So I have to rely on the lawyers to provide me with good advice on actions we should take where public health issues intersect with the law."

But Ryan Hurley, the attorney for the Virtue Center, said he thinks Humble actions are both illegal and bad public policy.

"At the end of the day, what's happening is the law voters enacted is not going into place," he said. "Patients are going to suffer."

With a formal rejection of the application, Hurley said he will now start working on a legal challenge. But he said it remains unclear what will be the next step.

On one hand, state law generally requires someone who is denied a permit to file an administrative appeal. That involves an administrative law judge hearing the evidence and issuing a finding.

But there is no requirement for Humble to obey that finding. That would allow a further appeal into Maricopa County Superior Court.

But Hurley said a case can be made for arguing that Humble has no legal authority to even refuse to accept applications. And that would allow him to seek a court ruling mandating Humble's agency to act as required by the initiative passed by voters.

Hurley said the doctors he represents already have invested "significant" time and financial resources in planning the dispensary. He declined to provide a figure or say whether the medical group had already purchased or leased a site.

Dr. Richard Strand, a radiologist, said he and his two partners, also physicians, are approaching retirement age and saw the dispensary as an opportunity to "give something to the community." And Strand said dispensaries are a necessary part of making the program work.

"We want to allow patients in need and their caregivers not to have to go to the dark streets and back alleys to find medical marijuana," he said.

Under the voter-approved law, individuals with specific medical conditions can seek a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana. That recommendation, if approved by the health department, allows the person to obtain up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana every two weeks from a state-regulated non-profit dispensary.

Dispensary owners could seek to grow their own marijuana or arrange to purchase it from other dispensaries that operate cultivation sites.

Humble said, though, that his decision to not accept or process applications for dispensaries does not leave marijuana patients without recourse.

He said one provision of the law allows anyone with a state-issued "qualified patient" card to grow up to 12 plants if there is no dispensary within 25 miles. And, at the moment, that means every one of the approximately 3,700 people who have those cards.

There are rules, though, with the plants either having to be grown indoors in a locked room, or outdoors behind a concrete wall with a locked gate.

That same right exists for individuals who are certified as "designated caregivers."

But Humble had no answers to the question of where the patients or the caregivers would get the seeds to start a crop.

"There are hydroponic stores around town that give advice for people on how to grow for their own benefit," he said.

"I did go incognito to a hydroponic store over the weekend," Humble said. "And I asked a few questions about how it all works."

One thing he did learn is that a plant can be started from cuttings.

"Apparently it's like cactus where you can snip off a branch and put it in the dirt," Humble said. But here, too, Humble had no answers where to get a cutting in the first place.

Laura Oxley, spokeswoman for the health department, said the law is silent on the question of where people - including not just individuals but state-regulated dispensary owners - get a start for their crop. While there are medical marijuana shops in more than a dozen other states, bringing the product across state lines is a separate violation of federal laws.

Humble said he had been prepared to proceed with licensing dispensaries.

Last month, Dennis Burke, the U.S. Attorney for Arizona, sent him a letter detailing that while going after medical marijuana patients was not a priority for his office, the possession, sale and transportation of the drugs remains illegal under federal law. And Burke said he could not offer immunity to anyone even if that person is acting in strict accordance with Arizona's medical marijuana law.

Even then, Humble was going to go ahead. But all that changed last week when Gov. Jan Brewer directed Attorney General Tom Horne to ask a federal court to decide if Arizona could implement its medical marijuana law despite federal statutes. Brewer also said she was halting the health department from issuing dispensary permits until there is a ruling.

Humble said he wasn't going to quibble with that.

"Near as I can tell, this is a responsible decision for now," he said.

Despite the concerns over conflicts with federal law, the health department continues to take applications for qualified patient cards. Humble said one reason is that refusal to do so would be meaningless: A provision in the law spells out that if an application has not been acted on within 45 days, it is automatically considered approved.

"We'd lose all oversight regarding the qualified patient process," he said.

TV Show glorifies Mexico's drug war

Felipe Calderon creates TV show to glorify his drug war?

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Cop show spawns real drama in Mexico

Was 'The Team' just another crime series or was it a propaganda tool for President Felipe Calderon's drug war?

By Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times

June 1, 2011, 2:29 p.m.

Reporting from Mexico City— "The Team" aired for three short weeks and never scored high ratings.

It proved one thing, though. Amid sharpening divisions over Mexico's drug war, even a mediocre cop drama can be fuel on the fire.

The TV series debuted on the private Televisa network in early May and ended Friday, capping 15 prime-time episodes. But the controversy around it may outlast the reruns.

Was the series, featuring a coed team of elite (and muy attractive!) federal officers on the trail of drug traffickers, just an ordinary crime drama? Or was it (cue sinister organ music) an attempt by the government of President Felipe Calderon to secretly win support for his drug war?

The real drama may be just underway, as leftist lawmakers press for an investigation into whether the administration helped bankroll the show to glorify federal police.

"It's not just a television series," said Leticia Quezada, a congresswoman from the Democratic Revolution Party who filed a complaint asking whether the Calderon government invested public funds.

The dust-up is evidence of an intensifying battle to win Mexicans' hearts and minds as Calderon pursues a long and controversial drug war. A centerpiece of that drive is cleaning up and modernizing the federal police, with 35,000 officers.

Radio spots by the government regularly trumpet captures of drug capos. Police parade suspects as trophies before news cameras.

Recently, a Calderon spokesman, Alejandro Poire, launched a blog to explain the anticrime strategy to wary Mexicans. (This week's installment: 10 "myths" about the strategy, including, No. 1 on the list, that there is no strategy.) And the president has compared himself to Winston Churchill to argue that yielding is no option.

On the opposite side of the fence, protesters smear themselves with fake blood and blame Calderon — and not the murderous drug gangs — for the nearly 40,000 drug-related deaths since he took office in late 2006.

Mexicans seem conflicted: They tend to favor cracking down on the drug cartels, but aren't optimistic about winning.

On the face of it, "El Equipo," or "The Team," was harmless enough. A four-member squad of federal cops — three men and a woman — chased bad guys using high-tech gizmos and wiles honed through a demanding new training regimen for Mexican cops.

Scenes showed real-life helicopters and secret, state-of-the-art federal police installations in Mexico City. There were shootouts, episode-ending arrests and, naturally, romantic subplots.

So what if scripts carried little more surprise than your average installment of "Scooby-Doo"? Here at last was a flattering look at the work of Mexican police, who in real life can use an image boost.

But that's where things got sticky.

Calderon's foes were sure they smelled a rat when the show launched May 9 — a night after a march in Mexico City by tens of thousands of people decrying the death toll.

Critics saw the show as the equivalent of an infomercial for Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna, who oversees the federal police and is a favored target of Calderon foes. The left-leaning Proceso magazine, citing sources it did not reveal, reported that Garcia Luna's agency had invested more than $12 million in the program.

"They're trying to clean up the image of the police … because they haven't done a good job," Quezada said. She asked the federal comptroller's office to find out whether public resources were used. While federal and state agencies in Mexico frequently buy television spots to tout supposed accomplishments, it would be highly unusual to spend public funds on a dramatic series.

A spokeswoman for the federal police declined to comment, citing the complaint.

The show's producer, Pedro Torres, said Mexicans' frustration over safety is born of many years of official corruption and mistrust toward law enforcement. But he said federal police deserved praise for making improvements.

In an interview, Torres scoffed at the idea of "The Team" as propaganda. "The intention was to make a police drama," he said. He referred questions about federal funding to Televisa, which did not respond to inquiries.

Torres said his production team began discussing the idea three years ago. Plans to air the show were in place long before the May 8 march, he said.

It doesn't take much to convince conspiracy-minded Mexicans of alleged government plots. The drug war has offered whispers aplenty of hidden hands at work: arrests that may have been staged, accidents that may not have been accidents, dead crime bosses who may, in fact, not be dead.

It's hard to say whether Mexican cops got any public-relations lift from "The Team." If not, they can take heart from a new holiday.

Calderon declared Thursday as Mexico's first-ever "Federal Police Day."

ken.ellingwood@latimes.com

Attorney seeks to force licensing of medical marijuana dispensaries