Arizona Daily Star from Tucson, Arizona • Page A004

A4 FROM THE FRONT PAGE Monday, August 26, 2013 Arizona Daily Star MARIJUANA Continued from page Al could grow up to 12 plants for their own use at home. It also could undermine the financial plans of those who have invested thousands of dollars to get one of the limited number of dispensary licenses the state is granting. Walz said patients' right to grow their own is constitutionally guaranteed. The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, also approved by voters in 2010, allows those with a doctor's recommendation to obtain up to 2V2 ounces of mari But residents of some communities will not have the luxury of shopping around for the best deal. For example, the state has allocated only one dispensary for Lake Havasu City, though there always is the option to drive to Kingman, Bullhead City or even Flagstaff or Phoenix.

Humble said, though, it makes sense to have most medical-marijuana users obtaining their drugs through a state-regulated system of growers and dispensaries rather than an unregulated system of individuals growing their own. That system requires those with licenses to ac juana every two weeks. The idea was to have that sold through state-regulated dispensaries. But the law also provided an exception for anyone living at least 25 miles away from such an outlet, with cardholders allowed to grow up to 12 plants at any one time. With no dispensaries until this year, both men initially had been granted the right to grow.

But that was rescinded by the state Department of Health Services when they renewed their medical-marijuana-user cards. Walz contends that move is illegal in light of the con the antibiotic that now is available only by prescription and only through a state -regulated pharmacy. "I mean, this is medication." "You're dealing with a plant," Walz counters. "Should those be regulated as much as pharmaceutical drugs? I would say probably not." He said it would be no different if the state were to ban people from growing their own aloe plants used by some to treat burns, and instead require Arizonans to buy aloe lotion from a local pharmacy. Several dispensaries have been licensed for the state's largest urban areas.

count for what they have grown or sold. Humble said there is no way to determine whether home-grown marijuana is being diverted to some use beyond that of the cardholder. Ryan Hurley, an attorney who represents dispensary owners, said he does not believe the lawsuit has any merit. Even if the lawsuit succeeds, he said, he doubts his clients will lose much business because most cardholders will find it more convenient to buy the ready-to-use weed from a dispensary than go through the hassle of nurturing a mature plant from seeds. stitutional amendment.

"The state does have a reasonable right to regulate medicine," he said. "It's just that they can't compel citizens to go to one particular system or one particular outlet for the medications that they're legally entitled to." State Health Director Will Humble said he is simply enforcing the law as approved by voters. But Humble said he doubts the constitutional provision can be interpreted to let people make their own regulated medications. "Are people allowed to grow their own amoxicillin?" he asked, referring to PHOTOS BY ROHAN SMITH SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE Richmond, Mayor Gayle McLaughlin says cities are desperate, citing falling home values and rising crime. MIKE CHRISTY ARIZONA DAILY STAR 2012 El Tour de Tucson has grown from 4,000 riders in the late 1990s to 9,000 this year, and that means more money.

San Francisco police officers talk with Wells Fargo executives during the protest. It was held Thursday. In such transactions, the company receives $4,500 for each completed sale and splits any additional profits with the city. If the bank refuses to sell the loan to Richmond, then the city invokes its power of eminent domain and seizes the mortgage. It would then offer the bank a fair market value for the home.

Mortgage Resolution Partners, the company partnering with the city, puts up the money and has promised to pay all Richmond's legal costs. McLaughlin said she fears homeowners will begin to abandon their homes, leading to blight and draining public coffers to the point of municipal bankruptcy experienced by Stockton, and Detroit. Federal regulators said eminent domain isn't the answer. The Federal Housing Finance Agency said plans to seize loans "present a clear threat to the safe and sound operations Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks." Tim Cameron, a Washington, D.C., lobbyist with the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, said there is more at play than a single person's underwater loan. Cameron said pension funds, banks and other groups that made loans in Richmond stand to lose millions if the city is allowed to use eminent domain to force lenders into accepting less than the original terms of the loan.

He also predicted that cities using eminent domain will make lenders wary of doing business there. "There's a domino effect in play here," he said. Mayors Executive Director Peter Baynes, who makes $196,000 a year and gets a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee, argues that his and other associations have been at the fore of pushing to reduce taxpayers' costs, including reducing the costs of the pension system they share. New York lawmakers recently acted to reduce benefits for future government hires and are proposing 401(k) savings programs for employees instead of traditional pensions. But such cuts won't affect Baynes.

Under the New York Constitution and that of most states, the benefits of those already in the pen CYCLING Continued frompage Al mental agencies to improve infrastructure used by cyclists. "Just look at how much Pima County has spent on the Loop," DeBernardis said, referring to a multi-use path around Tucson. When completed, the Loop will be 131 miles long and will connect the Rilli-to, Santa Cruz and Pantano river parks and the Julian Wash and Harrison green-ways with bicycle -friendly paths across the greater Tucson area. ADOT estimates cyclists pour roughly $20 million into the Southern Arizona economy. DeBernardis says that's too low.

"According to my study, the one Eller (the University of Arizona College of Management) did in 19992000 it was a $6 million to $8 million impact when we had 4,000 cyclists," he said. With the size of El Tour de Tucson growing to 9,000 cyclists and adjusting for inflation, DeBernardis estimates his race sion system are protected from future cuts. "It's clear that there's a big problem with hypocrisy when these lobbyists have been pushing austerity and benefit cuts for other government workers while they themselves enjoy solid state pensions," said Michael Kink of the progressive group Strong Economy for All Coalition. "'Do as I say, not as I do' seems to be their approach on retirement cuts. "Workers who have faced cuts in pay and pensioners have a right to be angry as do voters," Kink said.

In many states, lobbying groups for states and brings $18 million into the local economy. He said cycling could continue to grow, needing only a fraction of the money Arizona communities have spent to lure or keep spring training baseball. Emily Yetman, the founder and president of Living Streets Alliance, said the figures from ADOT are promising to those advocating for walkable and livable streets. She said the city and county have made great strides for cyclists in the last few years, specifically pointing out the Loop and the green paths painted around town for cyclists. She said the additional infrastructure is expensive, but the study shows a growing number of locals and tourists want to use it.

She said cycling as the primary mode of transportation is "the next big thing" for the millennial generation, who are seeking cities with multimodal transit options. Contact reporter Joe Ferguson at jfergusonazstarnet.com or 573-4346. Follow him on Twitter JoeFerguson. counties take positions that could conflict with taxpayer interests, such as advocating to weaken caps on property-tax increases and boosting state school aid. But associations of cities, counties and school boards argue that a plausible case can be made for allowing them to get state pensions.

These quasi-government organizations operate mostly or solely on dues from their members local governments or school boards typically which are paid out of taxpayer-funded budgets. They argue they pool their resources to give a voice to government entities that serve taxpayers. UNDERWATER Continued from page Al As Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and the plan's backers approached the bank building, security guards locked the doors. After a bank official told her there would be no meeting then and that someone would call her later, she grabbed a bullhorn. "I am absolutely not backing down," McLaughlin said, as curious tourists and lunching office workers milled about.

Wells Fargo, three other banks and even the Federal Housing Finance Agency think otherwise. The banks have filed two lawsuits alleging that the plan is an illegal abuse of eminent domain, which allows governments to seize private property for public use for example, a house in the path of a new highway or a piece of land needed for a new park. The banks argue the plan would "severely disrupt the United States mortgage industry" because many other cities would likely adopt the same program to help homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth. So far, Richmond has sent out more than 600 offers, but has not yet begun any eminent -domain proceedings. Newark, N.J., North Las Vegas, El Monte, and Seattle are considering similar plans, according to Wells Fargo's lawsuit.

While the housing industry is recovering slowly, Richmond, a city of roughly 100,000 people, is in the middle of a housing crisis, LOBBYISTS Continued from page Al taxpayers. New Jersey and Illinois are among the states considering legislation that would end their inclusion. "It's a question of, 'Why are we providing government pensions to these private said Illinois Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekritz. Acquario, executive director and general counsel of the New York State Association of Counties, argues that his group gives local government a voice in the statehouse, and the perk of a state pension makes it easier American owned and operated since 1967.

The tiny 7 AMP fits in your Starkey as plummeting home values and rising crime have left many worried that an era of urban blight is upon them. McLaughlin said cities are considering the program because they are desperate. Nearly half the mortgages in Richmond, for example, are "underwater," the owner owing more than the house is worth. The plan is the brainchild of Cornell University law school professor Robert Hockett and here's how it works: "The fact of the matter is that underwater loans do default at massive rates," Hockett said. "Underwater to hire people with government expertise.

"We want the people that work in local governments to continue to be part of the solution," he said. "We represent the same taxpayers." The debate is more about principle than big money, since the staffs of such organizations are relatively small and make barely a ripple in huge state retirement systems. The eight New York associations, for example, have fewer than 120 total employees out of 633,100 current workers in the state's $158.7 billion pension system. Still, the issue raises a public-policy question as loans are a major drag on the economic recovery. We have got to do something." Richmond, working with San Francisco-based Mortgage Resolution Partners, offers $150,000 to buy a $300,000 bank loan on a house that is now worth $200,000 and is in danger of foreclosure.

If the bank agrees, the city and the company then obtain the loan at $150,000. Richmond and the company then offer the homeowner a new loan of $190,000, which, if accepted, lowers the monthly payments and improves the owners' chances of staying. many states and taxpayers struggle to fund their pension obligations required by law. "There is liability for taxpayers," said Keith Brainard, research director of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. "Providing a pension benefit involves some amount of risk for the state, and when you provide access to employees of entities that are not in control of the state." Unlike state government, for example, these groups aren't bound by salary restrictions significant salary increases would result in increasing pension benefits.

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