Arizona Capitol Times reporter Evan Wyloge talks about what to expect from the final version of the Health Department's medical marijuana regulations, which will be released March 31.

Since voters passed Proposition 203 in November, the Health Department has been racing against the clock to get rules and regulations in place that will guide Arizona’s medical marijuana program. In an interview with the Arizona Capitol Times, Will Humble, the department director, previewed some of the changes coming in the final rules concerning one of the most contentious parts of the rules: how dispensary licenses will be distributed.

Cancer may pick its victims randomly, but previously hopeful business people looking to get into the new medical pot industry think that’s a lousy way for the state to decide who gets licenses to sell medical marijuana.

The Health Department on Monday signaled an eased stance on several components of Arizona’s new medical marijuana law, with the release of the second draft of the proposed rules for the yet-to-be implemented system.

Few Sierra Vista residents have anything to say about the establishment of voter-approved medical marijuana dispensaries in southern Arizona.

While the state Department of Health Services will be mired in the process of drafting regulations for the industry over the next four months, it’s not stopping businesses from forming and pitching products and services that may never be approved by state regulators. And competition is already getting fierce.