LEGALIZED MARIJUANA WOULD TAKE A JOINT EFFORT

The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act will be voted on as Proposition 203
and, if passed, would legalize the distribution of marijuana to people
registered with the Arizona Department of Health Services who suffer a
debilitating disease or illness and are referred by a physician to the
ADHS for a medicinal marijuana registration card.

While many state departments are waiting to see if the proposition
passes before spending too many man-hours on pre-emptive rules and
regulations to support the proposed Act, city zoning officials are
beginning to recognize the location of dispensaries as a serious
reality with logistical problems that will need to be solved within
120 days after the governor signs the Act into effect.

Such issues to be addressed by city zoning and the ADHS include who
will be licensed to operate a dispensary, where the dispensary and
cultivation areas will be located, what kind of zoning requirements
must be met for each dispensary and what kind of social influences
dispensaries will mean for areas with appropriate commercial zoning.

Debra Stark, Phoenix's city planning director, said zoning initiatives
won't be implemented until the proposition is passed, but that Phoenix
will be prepared.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, there can only
be one dispensary for every 10 pharmacy permits, meaning Arizona can
expect about 120 dispensaries. Stark estimated there will be 70 to 80
dispensaries in Maricopa County, half of which will most likely be in
the Phoenix metropolitan area.

The zoning initiatives will also consider the market, she said. For
example, Wickenburg has a large health resort, and is more likely to
have a dispensary in its vicinity.

Stark said city residents have displayed mixed reactions to the
proposition at zoning meetings, but that the city is looking to be
proactive regardless of stance on the issue.

One thing that surprised Stark at the meetings, however, was that
residents were asking for more inclusive zoning that would bring the
intensive commercial spaces to their areas.

Municipalities all have different zoning offices, but officials will
be meeting within the next few weeks to discuss potential zoning
consistencies so as to sidestep potential lawsuits.

The proposed Act would require dispensaries to be 500 feet away from
schools, parks and similar public areas.

As of press time, the Arizona Department of Health Services is not
disclosing any information about licensing criteria other than that
dispensaries would be nonprofits and people who want to run a
dispensary cannot apply until April 1, 2011, which would be roughly
120 days after the governor signs the Act into effect.

The agricultural department will find the most cost-effective ways to
cultivate medicinal marijuana, and Stark said the state will most
likely lease land in rural areas and each will be considered one of
the 120 sanctioned dispensaries.

One of the issues with legal dispensaries occurs when they decide to
grow their own supply of marijuana, said J.B. Woods, the owner of
Green Point Insurance, which specializes in marijuana dispensary insurance.

Woods said the crux of the matter is that state legalization of
medicinal marijuana skips the law at a federal level.

Green Point Insurance is keeping tabs on the various states'
propositions and Woods said that if the Arizona proposition passes,
the clock to open a dispensary is going to start ticking and there
will be a mad dash to get one of the 120 dispensaries.

Woods said he believes America is on the verge of a national
legalization.

With Attorney General Eric Holder's announcement that the Obama
administration would no longer put forth resources to resist medicinal
marijuana, and the numerous state propositions addressing its
legalization, Woods said states are making it hard for the federal
government to overturn the laws.

"The genie is more or less out of the bottle," Woods said. "It's going
to be difficult now to stuff that genie back into the bottle."