CITY PREPARING FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

With the Arizona Department of Health (ADHS) nearing the end of the
study that will officially legalize medical marijuana by April,
Arizona cities and counties are quickly working to approve zoning
regulations.

The Benson City Council and Planning & Zoning Commission held a joint
session last week, discussing how to move forward with regulating
medical marijuana distribution and use inside city limits.

Arizona residents approved Proposition 203 in November that will allow
the use of medical marijuana.

Arizona entities have to prepare for the passage, as ADHS finalizes
state regulations for the new law.

Mayor Mark Fenn opened the meeting joking, "Who would have ever
thought we would be meeting to discuss where to sell marijuana in Benson."

Michelle Johnson, Planning Technician of the city, explained ADHS had
120 days to set regulations for the law, and will start accepting
applications in April. Use will be legal in May.

According to ADHS, a dispensary, a caregiver or the actual patient
will be allowed to grow marijuana fur medical use.

Giving the two boards some background, Johnson said state regulations
will allow a qualifying patient to grow up to 12 plants at home if
they live more than 25 miles from a legal dispensary.

A caregiver can have five patients under their care, meaning they can
grow up to 60 plants at a time at home.

The state can have up 124 dispensaries, or one in every 10 registered
pharmacies in the states.

Johnson explained that ADHS has 126 community health analysis areas,
which were set up in 2005, with Benson's area covering the entire San
Pedro Valley and north to the Cochise County line.

"It is a fairly large area," Johnson said. "According to the most
recent rules, (ADHS) is expecting one dispensary for each area,
meaning Benson should have one. We are preparing for deciding where to
go, and how to do that in the coming weeks."

The main issues are to set regulations for dispensaries, and what the
facilities housing marijuana plants will require.

There can be no onsite use or consumption at the dispensaries, and
marijuana cannot be grown or sold within 500 feet of a school.

While the state has only addressed school districts, Johnson said
local officials must decide whether or not they want more regulations
on growing and sales within 500 feet of churches, rehabilitation
centers and other places of worship.

Johnson said security issues will also have to be explored. Police
Chief Paul Moncada expressed a number of concerns about protection of
plants inside a dispensary if one were to be established inside city
limits.

Johnson seemed confident that a dispensary would submit an application
to build inside Benson city limits. The city is inside the community
health area, and dispensaries will want to build in the most populated
parts of the designated area.

Johnson and Building Official Luis Garcia said they need fast
direction from the City Council in order to have codes in place before
applications start being approved by the state.

Some of the questions to be answered are whether or not the product
can be produced and sold in a business or industrial district and
whether or not it will be allowed at all in residential areas.

Off-site cultivation has to also be considered, Johnson explained. Any
cultivation site has to be approved to sell to a specific dispensary.
Marijuana cannot be grown, and then sold to a third party. A contract
with a specific dispensary has to be in place before the product can
legally be grown.

"If we do nothing, the only guidelines would be state regulations,"
Johnson said.

City Attorney Michael Massee said the council will also have to
consider the sales tax issues, because right now medical marijuana
would not be subject to city taxes.

The city will have to investigate possible fees to charge businesses
wanting to come to Benson. This could involve sales taxes,
occupational taxes or impact fees that would help regulate who
operates in the city, Massee said.

After nearly an hour-long discussion, staff was directed to write some
regulations that would be proposed and possibly approved during the
March 28 council meeting.