CITIES CRAFT RULES ON MEDICAL POT DISPENSARIES

Communities Could Be at Risk on Dispensary Sites

Southeast Valley cities are working hard to have a say in where the
medical marijuana dispensaries are located.

Without ordinances setting limits on their location, cities risk
getting them placed wherever an approved applicant desires, officials
say.

And people with medical marijuana cards can grow their own pot if they
don't live within 25 miles of an approved dispensary, though experts
suggest that won't be a problem in a more urban area like the
Southeast Valley.

Dispensaries are defined as non-profit entities that provide medical
marijuana to qualified patients. It will be up to the state Department
of Health Services to determine where 124 dispensaries will go, and
who will run them.

"If a city doesn't have an ordinance, we have no choice but to give
(dispensary applicants) a license," said Health Department Director
Will Humble.

Dispensaries can apply for a medical marijuana cultivation center,
which would allow them to grow medical marijuana in an enclosed area,
such as a building. Humble said it's likely several dispensaries would
use the same cultivation center.

Dispensaries may be allowed to sell edible products, such as brownies,
lollipops and peanut butter cups, that are "infused" with marijuana.
Humble said they would need a restaurant license for this privilege,
or could possibly contract with a restaurant to make the infused food.

Each county will get a minimum of one facility, Humble said, and the
rest will be placed based on such considerations as population and
distance apart. The state has not determined how many each city might
receive.

Based on population, Mesa predicts it could get up to 10 dispensaries.
Gilbert expects it may get as many as five, based on a ratio of
pharmacy to dispensary.

Although there are some state rules already established, it is up to
cities to define where dispensaries may be located, and to set rules
on size and to set how far they can be from other dispensaries and
places like halfway houses, churches, parks, substance abuse centers
and preschools.

"There is a great deal of interest on the part of cities in adopting
zoning ordinances so there is predictability," said Ken Strobeck,
executive director of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.

Mesa, Tempe, Chandler and Gilbert planning officials have all, at a
minimum, started looking at proposed zoning amendments.

The new law, Humble said, "will affect cities directly in proportion
to how well they are deliberating with the public about what the
restrictions will be."

State law now prohibits "drive through" dispensaries, consumption of
medical marijuana in public places and placement of a facility within
500 feet of a school.

One big challenge will be defining "public places," Humble said. That
definition will be in formal regulations the state hopes to put in
place by the end of April, he said.

Many cities are considering putting dispensaries in light industrial
or adult-oriented business zones, Strobeck said.

Though Arizona became the 15th state in the nation to legalize medical
marijuana, Strobeck noted the substance is not a prescribed medicine
and is not a federally approved drug.

"Generally, marijuana has been considered either addictive or illegal,
so having it prevalent in a neighborhood is not something a lot of
people want to see," Strobeck said.

Here's a closer look at where area municipalities are on the
dispensaries:

- - Tempe hopes to establish a new use category and amend the zoning and
development code by the end of February, said Lisa Collins, the city's
community development director. The city is looking at distance
requirements, hours of operation and requiring security plans, among
other rules.

- - Mesa's City Council asked the city's zoning administrator, Gordon
Sheffield, to develop rules that would limit dispensaries to areas
already zoned for retail.

Sheffield has proposed keeping dispensaries within certain set
distances from a host of facilities, including group homes, libraries
and residential substance-abuse and alcohol treatment centers and
halfway houses for ex-inmates.

- - Gilbert proposes to allow dispensaries and cultivation sites within
industrial zones, and only allowing them in permanent buildings. It
proposes hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and plans to prohibit smoking at
dispensaries.

- - Chandler's legal staff is looking at regulatory and zoning options
in preparation for the law.

"There are a lot of gray areas and the City Council is going to have
to make some decisions," said Chandler Mayor Boyd Dunn.

The new law, Strobeck said, also "will post challenges for police
departments."

But Southeast Valley police department spokesmen said it is too early
to know how great an impact the law will have. Chandler is awaiting
the official state regulations before commenting.

Tempe police Sgt. Steve Carbajal said, "We will comply and enforce the
laws as appropriate."