CITY COUNCIL GETS FIRST LOOK AT MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE

By Dec. 16, Peoria's Planning and Zoning Commission should be ready to
give its stamp of approval to a medical marijuana ordinance.

By Jan. 18, City Attorney Steve Kemp is scheduled to present the
ordinance in its final form for council action.

Shortly after that, also Jan. 18, Kemp will have prepared for council
action an amendment to the city's smoking code that would apply to
medical marijuana as well.

State rules are scheduled to be in place by April 1, and the city is
trying to stay ahead of the curve. To that end, a study session was
held Tuesday following a brief study session about new regulations for
pharmacists.

Kemp said that although the medical marijuana law does not go into
effect until March 2011, ads are already offering schools on how to
dispense it.

What many citizens may not know is no doctor can give a prescription
for marijuana. Kemp said a medical provider determines if a person has
one of the diseases defined in the state statute. The providers than
notify Arizona Department of Health Services, which issues an
identification card.

Before an ID card is issued, a criminal background check is
completed.

State law provides for one dispensary for every 10 pharmacies
statewide. Each county will have a minimum of one dispensary. Kemp
estimated Peoria would have three to five dispensaries.

Dispensaries and patients are under the jurisdiction of
ADHS.

Agents are authorized to dispense and grow medical marijuana. An
individual may get a 2.5-ounce prescription for personal use every two
weeks.

A person with an ID card is permitted to grow their own medical
marijuana only if they reside 25 miles or more from a dispensary. No
more than 12 plants can donate to a dispensary.

State law prohibits consumption in public places or in
dispensaries.

No dispensaries are allowed within 500 feet of a public or private
charter school.

Councilmember Cathy Carlat asked Kemp how the quality of the marijuana
would be determined, and Kemp said the city has been too busy
prosecuting for possession to look the quality of marijuana plants.

When Carlat asked if medical marijuana laws have ever been turned back
in other states to make it illegal, Kemp said no.

Just like the drinking and driving laws, Kemp said if a person uses
marijuana and is stopped while driving, and determined to be impaired,
they would be prosecute the same as before, just like DUI laws are
enforced now.

There was a brief discussion about second-hand marijuana smoke and its
effects on those standing or living nearby, such as someone standing
in a back yard and a neighbor is smoking.

Kemp said, "The reality is if someone is smoking in their yard,
certainly their neighbor would be able to smell it. But I don't think
you'll get a therapeutic or palliative effect."

Community and Planning Development Director Glen Van Nimwegen said a
dispensary would be located in a C-2, C-4 or C-5 commercially zoned
area and would be required to obtain a conditional-use permit.

"It has to be visible, out front, adjacent to an arterial street," Van
Nimwegen said.

There must be at least one-half mile between a dispensary and a
cultivation facility. A dispensary must be 200 feet from a residential
district and 1,000 feet from schools, liquor stores, adult uses, bars,
taverns, and substance abuse treatment centers. There must also be in
place air filtration and odor controls.

No signs may be posted to direct anyone to a dispensary.

Carlat said she wanted to see more distance from residential
districts. Van Nimwegen said he and his staff would look at it in more
detail and come back with an alternative.