Morgan Loew, CBS 5 reporter, is even worse at math than we are.

Ninety percent of medical-marijuana cardholders didn't qualify for nothing but "chronic and severe pain," as Channel 5's Morgan Loew reported last week, the director of the Arizona Department of Health Services told us this morning.

New Times writer Matthew Hendley wrote several articles recently about Loew's May 15 report on how easy it was to obtain a medical-marijuana card, noting several problems with the report. For one, Loew signed a form attesting to the fact that he had chronic and severe back pain, so he shouldn't have complained that the doctor did anything wrong. But Hendley also pointed out that Loew incorrectly stated -- and a graphic accompanying his broadcast showed -- that 90 percent of cardholders were qualified only for severe and chronic pain, and not for other state-approved qualifying ailments such as AIDs, cancer and glaucoma.

See also - CBS 5 "Investigation" Into Medical Marijuana Includes a Made-Up Statistic

- Anti-Pot Pinal County Attorney Thanks CBS 5 for Medical Marijuana "Investigation"

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Image: Jamie Peachey

Medical-marijuana cardholders can be prosecuted when they possess too much weed or do something else that falls outside the boundaries of state law, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled last week.

It sounds like a no-brainer -- break the law, you could be prosecuted. But the voter-approved 2010 Medical Marijuana Act was rather revolutionary and continues to present legal dilemmas for the Arizona justice system. The appeals court, in the same ruling, declined to clarify whether the 2010 law prohibits patients from selling pot to other patients, as some county prosecutors say it does.

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Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles is a fan of fake news.

Rushing to the defense of CBS 5's severely flawed "investigation" of the state's medical-marijuana program is Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles, who wants to add to the disinformation campaign.

In fact, Voyles sent out a press release including a public thank-you note to CBS 5, thanking them for the "investigation" and the station's use of a completely fake statistic.

See also:
-CBS 5 "Investigation" Into Medical Marijuana Includes a Made-Up Statistic
-CBS 5 Reporter Claims Pain, Gets a Medical-Pot Card, Then Implies Wrongdoing

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KPHO

"Just telling it like it is" with this made-up statistic.

CBS 5 -- the local news station that claims to be "telling it like it is" -- prominently displayed a made-up statistic during its recent anti-medical marijuana propaganda piece "investigation."

In the report, in which "investigative reporter" Morgan Loew told the state health department it was true that he had severe and chronic pain, but then claimed he didn't -- yet also claimed he didn't lie about it as he obtained a medical-marijuana card for the story -- Loew also falsely claimed that 90 percent of cardholders got certified just for "severe and chronic pain."

See also:
-CBS 5 Reporter Claims Pain, Gets a Medical-Pot Card, Then Implies Wrongdoing


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Photo Illustration: New Times

Smoking marijuana has "remarkable" effect on diabetic problems and may lower risk of getting the disease, a study published on Wednesday states.

This news comes a few days after a presentation at the annual conference of the American Urological Association that links heavy pot use to a much lower risk of bladder cancer.

See also: Marijuana Is Real Medicine for a Long List of Ills

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Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk said last July that the feds would shut down medical-pot dispensaries in Arizona as they opened. With 16 dispensaries now open and more on the way, she's been proved wrong.

Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk announced in dramatic fashion last July that federal authorities would shut down every medical-marijuana dispensary in Arizona "as it opens."

Polk made the bad prediction in a letter she penned and sent to the governor after getting several other county attorneys to sign it. We checked into her assertion and reported to you at the time that Polk's claim appeared to be nonsense and was, in fact, a major exaggeration of something she'd been told by a retired drug agent.

How wrong was Polk's info?

As of today, there are 16 retail shops legally selling medical marijuana under Arizona law.

See also: Sheila Polk's Letter to Brewer Misstates AZ U.S. Attorney's Position on Medical Marijuana

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State Senator Kimberly Yee introduced two bills this year in an attempt to further regulate the medical-marijuana industry. Critics claim the Republican is trying to undermine the voter-approved program.

State Senator Kimberly Yee's plan to let cops seize and destroy medical-marijuana at their whim appears dead, a political consultant for the dispensary industry says.

Jason Rose, previously a PR guy for the likes of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas, now counts among his clients the Regulated Dispensaries of Arizona Association. The burgeoning industry has been concerned about two of the Republican politician's proposals -- the seizure bill, SB 1441, and a bill that deals with the packaging and advertising of medical marijuana, SB 1440.

As we noted when Yee first floated the bills last month, the seizure bill allowed police to destroy seized medical-marijuana even when the patient had a legal right to possess it. For example, an officer who takes custody of a couple of ounces of pot during an investigation could learn that the patient's registration card was valid, yet would be legally able to destroy the pricey produce.

Rose says he believes that bill has died due to concerns that it might violate Arizona's 1998 Voter Protection Act.

See also: Mel McDonald, Former Anti-Drug U.S. Attorney, Speaks Against Pot-Destroying Law

See also: Kimberly Yee, State Lawmaker, Wants to Give Cops the Right to Destroy Seized Medical Pot -- Even if Cops Seized it Illegally

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Image: Jamestown Center

Jamestown Center in Eloy, which opens Wednesday, is one of the newest medical-marijuana dispensaries in Arizona. The company touts its "unique," multicolored packages that can be seen in the background.

The state-regulated medical-marijuana dispensary industry that Arizona voters approved in late 2010 is becoming a reality, with three new retail shops opening this week.

Two dispensaries were slated to open today: One in Glendale (the city that already supports the only medical-pot facility in the Phoenix metro area), and another in Eloy. By next Monday, stores in Fort Mohave and Bisbee should be open.

Those four shops add to the seven already open across the state, records show.

Meanwhile, 11 others are in various stages of final approval for operating certificates by the Arizona Department of Health Services, which oversees the program.

See also: Arizona Organix Steps Out as the State's First Authorized Medical-Marijuana Dispensary

See also: Medical Marijuana: Prop 203's Passage Means a New Billion-Dollar Industry for Arizona

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Bill Montgomery

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery has been shot down by the Arizona Supreme Court in his attempt to expedite a decision about Arizona's medical-marijuana law.

Today's decision by the state's highest court to reject Montgomery's petition represents a lost battle for the conservative lawman's crusade against the voter-approved law, but the war goes on.

Through the petition Montgomery filed in January, the county attorney was hoping to bypass a pending decision by the state Court of Appeals, which is still reviewing a trial court decision that upheld the 2010 law.

The case that appears destined to solidify or destroy the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act has to do with a would-be dispensary's fight against Maricopa County for zoning approval.

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Mel McDonald

Former anti-drug crusader U.S. Attorney Mel McDonald, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, appears to be very serious about defending Arizona's medical-marijuana law as a citizen and father of a patient who uses medical marijuana.

You may have seen the video McDonald recorded a couple months ago, giving a glowing review of medical marijuana, but now we've found McDonald at the state capitol, telling legislators how outrageous it is to propose that authorities destroy any seized medical marijuana, even if it were wrongly seized.

See also:
-Medical Marijuana Supported by Former Anti-Drug, Reagan-Appointed U.S. Attorney


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