PEORIA CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES CONCERNS ABOUT MEDICAL MARIJUANA

City Council discussions tend to be on the bland side, but Tuesday
night drew plenty of eye rolling and snickers when the subject turned
to medical marijuana.

Peoria leaders discussed a proposed city ordinance to deal with the
location of dispensaries, cultivation facilities and other issues.
Several council members raised concerns about the distance of such
facilities from homes, where people might be allowed to smoke and
even the quality of what's cultivated.

Peoria estimates three to five dispensaries and at least one
cultivation facility could open in the city. Arizona voters in
November approved the dispensing of medical marijuana.

Peoria's Planning and Zoning Commission has scheduled a hearing on
the issue Dec. 16. A council vote on the ordinance is set for Jan.
18. Public comments will be taken at both meetings.

Peoria City Attorney Steve Kemp said that while some believe they'll
easily get a prescription for marijuana, there's more to it. A
medical provider must determine that a patient would get a
therapeutic benefit from marijuana, then submit an application to the
Arizona Department of Health Services to issue the patient an
identification card. It would be that ID card that would allow a
patient to purchase medical marijuana. The city estimates about 5,000
residents could get cards.

And users would have to go through a criminal background check, Kemp said.

Consumption will be prohibited in public places, but that led to a
broader discussion.

"What's a public place?" Councilman Dave Pearson asked.

Kemp said that's still unanswered.

"That's an issue the law has because it doesn't define public places," he said.

"Public is anywhere outside your own home as far as I'm concerned,"
Councilwoman Vicki Hunt said. "Your own private property or your own
backyard or something."

It will be illegal to drive if you've smoked marijuana, Kemp said, in
reply to Councilwoman Cathy Carlat's question on the subject.

It's also illegal to share medical marijuana, he said.

Pearson had concerns about secondhand smoke and how the city will
regulate that.

Kemp said you can't smoke it in a way that other people can inhale
and receive medical effects.

"Are they (others) likely to be able to inhale and receive palliative
or therapeutic effects from it? I'm not aware of any research that
would suggest that they would," Kemp said.

He added that the state Health Department will have to regulate that.

Carlat asked who will monitor the quality of the pot, which drew some
laughs, including from Kemp.

So far, Kemp said, from a prosecutor's perspective, the concern has
been more about possession than quality.

Kemp said although the Food and Drug Administration has said
marijuana doesn't serve a medical purpose, it could have oversight if
it chooses.

Facilities would need a sales-tax license and city sales tax would be
assessed. A typical dispensary in California grosses $3 million a
year, Kemp said.

The city would look at parking demand for such sites. Among other
proposed city rules, there would be a half-mile separation between a
dispensary and a major cultivation facility. No prescription delivery
or drive-through would be allowed.