PHOENIX — Republican lawmakers rejected a bid Thursday to clarify that edible forms of marijuana made from extracts are legal for medical use.
On a 29-29 tie the House beat back a proposal by Rep. Randall Friese, D-Tucson, to spell out in law that what voters legalized in 2010 for medical use includes not just the dried flowers of the marijuana plant but also any extracts, resins and concentrates. He sought to specifically include the words “edible” as a permissible form of medical marijuana.
Friese, a doctor, pointed out that the 2010 law permits those with certain medical conditions to obtain up to 2ƒ ounces of marijuana every two weeks.
And he noted that the conditions that qualify for medical marijuana include seizures, with doctors allowed to recommend the drug to parents for their children.
“It would be easier for them to get the medication if we allowed the edibles,” he said.
Friese’s proposal comes just days after a Yavapai County prosecutor argued to the Arizona Supreme Court that voters never intended to legalize anything other than use of the flowers and leaves. The prosecutor is asking the justices to rule that all other forms of medical marijuana now available through state-licensed dispensaries — including candies and liquids — can no longer be sold in Arizona.
Friese’s proposal, had it been enacted, would have made whatever the court decides legally moot. But he was unapologetic for asking the Legislature to weigh in.
“I’m trying to propose to this body that we make our own decision,” he said.
Rep. Regina Cobb, R-Kingman, argued that would be the wrong decision.
She said that in Colorado, where marijuana in multiple forms is legally available to adults, children have overdosed.
“What is happening is, the children are seeing this as gummy bears, Skittles,” Cobb said. “Some of those edibles look like a regular candy and so the kids are eating them.”
Cobb said there’s another problem with edible forms of marijuana. When someone smokes it, there’s an immediate effect. That’s not so with edible forms, which have to be absorbed into the blood through the digestive tract.
“So some people take it and then take another one because after the first response they don’t get a response,” she said. “And then they’re starting to overdose on those also.”
But Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley, D-Tucson, said legislative action is necessary — and soon.
“People are buying these marijuana derivatives, the concentrates and the edibles legally, and paying taxes, but in certain counties in Arizona they’re being arrested for these things that they bought legally,” she said.
