Arizona Ordered to Allow Marijuana Sales

An Arizona judge has told the state's government to get out of the way and let people have the medical marijuana dispensaries they voted for in 2010. The judge ordered Gov. Jan Brewer, a consistent opponent of medical marijuana, to fully implement the law and allow dispensaries to open, reports the Wall Street Journal. He also struck down restrictions requiring dispensary operators to be state residents with no history of bankruptcy or "government debts" like unpaid taxes or outstanding parking tickets.

The medical marijuana law had been stuck in legal limbo while Brewer sought assurances that state employees would not be prosecuted under federal law. "The court is not unmindful of the state's dilemma; it is caught between the proverbial rock and hard place," the judge wrote. But "the voters intended [the law] to be implemented within 120 days. This has not been done." The Arizona law allows up to 126 dispensaries in the state. (More Arizona stories.)