SOMERTON TRIES TO DISCOURAGE MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

SOMERTON -- If the mayor has his way, establishments that sell
medicinal marijuana will face such stiff regulations that they'll
think twice about set up shop in the city.

"The more stringent the better," Mayor Martin Porchas said, summing up
his views about a proposed ordinance regulating the
establishments.

His comment came at a recent city council meeting as members heard the
first reading of the ordinance, drafted in the wake of a
voter-approved proposition allowing the sale of marijuana to people
who have doctors' prescriptions.

The ordinance, scheduled for a vote of final approval next month,
would allow pot dispensaries in areas zoned only for light industry
and would require the operators to install security cameras inside and
outside the premises. The regulation would also prohibit them from
locating near schools and churches and would require them to pay a
higher licese fee than charged other businesses.

There is agreement among the mayor and council members to impose
regulations sufficiently strict to "discourage them from coming to
Somerton," Porchas said in an interview.

"We know that the state has its regulations for controlling who can
sell it and who can use it, but the state does not have enough staff
to oversee them, so it can get out of control."

In circumstances such as that, "the city would have to allocate more
police security," he said, "but we are down on the number of officers."

City hall has received calls from those inquiring about setting up
medicinal marijuana shops in Somerton, Porchas said, and the owner of
one commercial building on Main Street in the heart of the city was
even contacted about renting out the premises out for a dispensary.

Under voter-approved Proposition 203, Arizonans can be prescribed up
to 2-1/2 ounces of marijuana every two weeks. If they do not live
within 25 miles of a dispensary, they can cultivate up to 12 marijuana
plants.

The state is issuing licenses for 125 marijuana dispensaries to
operate across the entire state, but it is leaving it to cities to
enact zoning regulations applicable to the shops.

Porchas said that given the limited number of licenses, the likelihood
of a dispensary choosing to come to Somerton is remote.

"We believe they will go to the cities with bigger populations, but
either way, we need to be ready with the strictest regulation."