Arizona held a very unique lottery on Tuesday, and while there were no newly christened Powerball millionaires, nearly 30,000 medical marijuana patients statewide were all winners as they are now closer than ever to legally obtaining their required medicine. 
 
The Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS) pulled lottery balls during a four-hour process that determined the first 97 dispensary registration certificates to be granted to medical marijuana providers out of 400-plus applicants. 
 
The DHS divided the state into 126 “community health analysis areas” prior to the dispensary license lottery, the 29 other “areas” that were skipped on Tuesday either are faced with lawsuits filed by prospective dispensary owners or there was no competition necessitating a drawing.   
 
The lottery was a welcome event for medical pot patients and caregivers that have been waiting since 2010 to legally use and provide medicinal cannabis after Prop 203 passed by the slimmest of margins and has been stymied by continuous political posturing by Attorney General Tom Horne and Governor Jan Brewer until DHS director Will Humble announced in April that the dispensary program would proceed as planned.
 
Arizona medical marijuana patients began receiving their DHS-issued ID cards to obtain medicine in 2011 and have been waiting patiently for the program to unfold. One progressive aspect of Prop 203 is that it does not restrict the amount of cannabis a dispensary can grow, though patients are limited to obtaining two and a half ounces (just under 71 grams) every two weeks. The dispensary operators that “won” the lottery drawing now must undergo and pass a state inspection before they can legally open for business.
 
The DHS lottery was held despite medical pot foe Attorney General Horne on Monday once again stating the obvious – that dispensaries violate federal drug laws. That same day, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery promised to shut down any dispensary that opens in his jurisdiction, which includes Phoenix, easily the largest city in Arizona.  
 
Such rhetoric and more promised lawsuits ensure that medical marijuana will remain a hot-button issue across the desert.
 
More @ www.msnbc.com & www.usatoday.com