In this installment of Psychedelica Lex, Tom Dean, Esq. joins me to reflect on Arizona cannabis 14 years on since medical marijuana and recreational marijuana have been enacted. Tom’s practice for the past quarter century has been criminal defense, with particular emphasis on cannabis laws and crimes. As Tom and I discuss over roughly 90 minutes, Arizona is home to some of the nation’s most progressive re-regulations of cannabis. While making cannabis widely available, Arizona has managed to maintain a reasonably stable cannabis market (certainly not without its hiccups, to be sure). But vestiges of old thought linger, resulting in rural municipalities in particular being slow to adjust to the new world. For Tom’s practice in particular, this means that people are still being arrested and charged in Arizona for cannabis crimes. To be sure, some behaviors with cannabis remain illegal. But certain municipalities are casting too-wide nets and capturing persons who otherwise enjoy the privileges and immunities granted under Arizona law.
You can WATCH THE EPISODE HERE.
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Tom Dean has been an attorney advocate for nationwide cannabis policy reform for over 25 years. As Legal Director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) he initiated, managed, and litigated important cannabis related cases of national importance to the cannabis industry/community. In that capacity, he also coordinated the efforts of the NORML Legal Committee (lifetime member) and NORML Amicus Committee (former chair) in key cases throughout the U.S. In 2015 the organization recognized his successful advocacy by inducting him into the NORML Distinguished Counsel’s Circle. He remains an active member of the NORML Legal Committee.
Tom moved back to Phoenix in 2008 and established his current practice which provides representation in cannabis related administrative, commercial, and criminal matters. In 2016, Tom received the President’s Commendation award from the Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice (AACJ). In 2020, Tom received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Errl Cup, a medical marijuana event producer which includes Arizona’s premier cannabis awards festival (30,000 attendees this year). In 2021, Tom received Mikel Weiser Lifetime Achievement Award from Arizona’s Marijuana Industry Trade Association (MITA). Most recently, in 2023, Tom was honored by NORML with its Al Horn Award, which the organization awards to an attorney each year to in “recognition of a lifetime of ceaseless work to advance the cause of justice” in cannabis law.
Tom is also active in other important cannabis organizations on both a local and National level. Of note, he was a founding member of the Arizona Cannabis Bar Association (ACBA), an organization that seeks to educate lawyers and the public of the many unique aspects of cannabis law and emerging cannabis related areas of practice. He continues to serve on the board of ACBA. Outside of his practice, Tom enjoys, among other things, presenting at cannabis related seminars and conferences for lawyers and the public.