Arizona's first legal medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors in Glendale Thursday two years after voters approved the use of the drug to treat certain health problems such as chronic pain and cancer.

Recognizing that marijuana doesn't just "happen,'' state Health Director Will Humble said Thursday said he will license new dispensaries even if their owners have nothing ready to sell.

A judge on Thursday rebuffed efforts by Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery to further delay the paperwork necessary for opening a marijuana dispensary.

State health officials say a delay in opening the first medical marijuana dispensary in the Phoenix area means there will be a delay in starting to phase out cardholders’ authorizations to grow their own.

A clock is now ticking to end the legal right of medical marijuana cardholders in the Phoenix area to grow their own.

Hoping for a speedy conclusion, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery on Friday asked the Arizona Supreme Court to immediately take up his challenge to the state's medical marijuana law.

Ignoring a threatened lawsuit, a Senate panel voted Monday to let police destroy marijuana they have seized, even if it was taken wrongly from a medical marijuana patient.