PIMA MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE GAINS APPROVAL ON FIRST READING

The Pima Town Council approved the town's proposed medical
marijuana ordinance on first reading Tuesday.

The ordinance outlines where marijuana can be sold and where marijuana
plants can be grown.

A final vote will be taken after a required second reading Feb. 1. The
ordinance becomes an official amendment to the town's zoning code if
the Town Council passes it on second reading.

Arizona voters approved the sale and use of marijuana for medical
purposes in the Nov. 2 general election. Now, all counties and
municipalities in the state are required to adopt ordinances that
cover the sales and growth of medical marijuana.

The Graham County Board of Supervisors adopted the county's medical
marijuana ordinance Dec. 20, 2010.

Town Manager Gerald Schmidt said if the Town Council failed to adopt
the ordinance, the state would step in and force an ordinance on Pima.

If the ordinance is approved Feb. 1, the council will pass a
resolution that defines medical marijuana and outlines where plants
can be grown and where dispensaries can be located. A summary of the
resolution follows:

A medical marijuana dispensary is a nonprofit dispensary that is
registered and certified according to Arizona Revised Statute 36-2804.

A medical marijuana dispensary offsite cultivation location is where
marijuana will be cultivated for sale at a nonprofit medical marijuana
dispensary that is registered and certified according to ARS 36-2804.

A medical marijuana dispensary is a conditional use in Pima's
central commercial zone.

A medical marijuana dispensary offsite location is a conditional use
in the agriculture zone.