by David Safier
Horne and Brewer swear up and down, they have no desire to kill the medical marijuana bill with their lawsuit. They're just seeking clarification, they say. That they worded the lawsuit in a way intended to force the judge to put the state law in conflict with the feds pretty much ends that argument. But now it turns out, the idea wan't even theirs. It came from Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, who openly despises the medical marijuana law and figured out the Horne/Brewer strategy. So much for the "just seeking clarification" argument.
You probably haven't read about Montgomery's role in creating the lawsuit. That's because Horne and Brewer kind of failed to mention his name. Slipped their minds, I guess. The only place I've seen it is in an AZ Capitol Times article (subscription only).
Here's the money excerpt.
Although neither Brewer nor Horne made any mention of Montgomery or the meeting they had with him about a week before they announced the lawsuit, the decision to seek the suit was made after Montgomery laid out the reasoning he assembled in recent weeks to derail the implementation of the new program.
After reading the May 2 letter written by U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke, which reiterated the conflict that has existed between any state-sanctioned medical marijuana laws and federal drug laws, Montgomery said he saw a new way to try to stop the law from going into effect, at least in Maricopa County.
“We have the letter from Burke, making it clear…that the Federal Controlled Substance Act does not provide safe harbor for county employees who facilitate cultivation and distribution sites,” Montgomery said.
Once Montgomery began preparing an argument for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors that the county cannot issue any cultivation or dispensary permits for any areas under the jurisdiction of the county, he said he got a got a call from Brewer’s office asking for a meeting.
Montgomery explained to Brewer and Horne during a May 18 meeting how he arrived at the conclusion that Burke’s letter put county employees — and, by extension, state employees — at risk of prosecution for violating federal drug laws.
“After that meeting, the governor made the decision to have the attorney general seek the (declaratory judgment suit),” Montgomery said. “Am I driving this train? I can’t make that judgment. Ultimately, the decision was Brewer’s.”
I would remind BfA readers not to believe a word Horne or Brewer says, but most readers don't need reminding, and the others will read this with glee at the machinations of their clever prevaricators.
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There is an upside to this for patients. In California, millions of dollars went to local, county, and state budgets. No medical marijuana taxes at city, county, or state level here. You would think that those that own even small strip malls with vacancies would be upset with Brewer, Horne, and Montgomery. That’s likely where many dispensaries would locate. It’s okay, the owners of the malls don’t care, neither the county or the state needs the money, let their actions continue to provide financial support for the gang bangers and the Mexican cartels. It’s clear that they would prefer to see spray painted graffiti rather than neon marijuana leaves at dispensaries. That system has worked for a long time in Arizona… Our local Homies ought to go out and get Brewer, Horne, and Montgomery T-shirts; they’re doing them a favor! They stand to benefit financially from these actions. But then, they all deserve each other! JUST DO NOT COME TO THE REST OF US TO ASK FOR HIGHER TAXES! Brewer, Horne, and Montgomery are rather like the small Dutch boy plugging a hole in the dike. You can do that, but it probably won’t do much good and don’t expect your efforts to have a lasting effect. Federal judges are much smarter than those who filed this suit and are likely to throw out this action as no one has been harmed, except perhaps those who filed it.