RESIDENTS NEAR SCOTTSDALE SAGUARO HIGH SCHOOL RESIST PROPOSED
MEDICAL-MARIJUANA SITE

Residents living near Saguaro High School fought off a proposed
medical-marijuana dispensary this week but opposition to 11 other
dispensaries and five cultivation facilities proposed for Scottsdale
was rather muted over the past two months.

The Scottsdale Planning Commission, besieged by a packed hearing
room, voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend denial of a city-use
permit for Taxonomy Healing Practices in an office building southwest
of McDonald Drive and Granite Reef Road.

Area residents, who collected more than 800 signatures on petitions
opposing the dispensary, said it would bring crime to their
neighborhood and was too close to schools, churches and homes.

"This is the only one that brought out a strong reaction," said Joe
Meyer, who spoke out against the dispensary." I think the applicant
picked an inappropriate location."

Planning commissioners heard opposition to other dispensaries and
cultivation facilities over the past two months but there were far
fewer objections and all were recommend for approval.

As the state begins accepting license applications Wednesday,
Scottsdale has approved a use permit for one dispensary, the Virtue
Center, 7301 E. Evans Road, in the Scottsdale Airpark.

Ten other applicants are seeking use permits for dispensaries and
another five want to operate cultivation centers in the city. They
have been recommended for approval by the Planning Commission and
must get final approval from the Scottsdale City Council.

Another entity, the Papago Peaks Cultivation College, has opened at
McDowell and Scottsdale roads, but the school for learning how to
grow marijuana does not require city or state permits.

Six of the medical marijuana applicants are on the City Council's
consent agenda for June 7, meaning they could be approved without
discussion along with a host of other items in a single vote.

Attorney Adam Trenk, representing Taxonomy Healing Practices, argued
the dispensary at 5900 N. Granite Reef Road met the city requirements
for a use permit.

He characterized the opposition as being a "knee-jerk reaction" based
on the stigma of illegal recreational marijuana.

The Arizona Department of Health Services is expected to award
licenses for as many as 126 dispensaries across the state. That
includes two in Scottsdale, one south and one north of Doubletree Ranch Road.

Nine of Scottsdale's applicants are in the northern area of the city
near the Scottsdale Airpark. A lottery among the qualified applicants
will decide which non-profit group gets the coveted dispensary license.

The Kush Clinic and Arizona Natural Selections, both near Via de
Ventura and Pima Road, are the only applicants in the southern area
of the city that are likely to get use permits in time to qualify for
a state license.

"It is a lottery so it's kind of a crap shoot," said Lance Norrick, a
principal of the Kush Clinic, about his 50-50 chance of getting a license.

He and other dispensary applicants have argued that their
dispensaries will resemble other medical offices that will be
virtually undetectable.

"We're not going to have someone standing on a street corner spinning
a sign over their head" advertising marijuana, Norrick said.

The biggest problem right now for dispensary applicants is the legal
haze between the state and federal government over medical marijuana, he said.

Arizona voters approved limited use of medical marijuana in November
but U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke warned earlier this month that
marijuana is still illegal under federal statutes.

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne was expected to file suit Friday
asking a federal judge to determine the legality of Arizona's Medical
Marijuana Act.

Any delay in granting licenses will cost applicants tens of thousands
of dollars for attorneys, architects and real-estate fees.

Kush Clinic stands to lose additional money it has deposited to buy
its office building, Norrick said.

Under the best-case scenario, medical marijuana is not likely to be
available until the end of the year. It will take three to four
months to grow the marijuana after the licenses are awarded this summer.

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Marijuana dispensaries

These medical-marijuana dispensaries have been proposed for
Scottsdale but only two could be selected for a state license:

Virtue Center, 7301 E. Evans Road.

Kush Clinic, 8729 E. Manzanita Drive.

Arizona Natural Selections, 8132 N. 87th Place.

MMRX, 15475 N. Greenway-Hayden Loop, Suite C-22.

Serenity, 14666 N. 74th St.

Terramedica Natural Pharmaceuticals, 15735 N. 83rd Way.

Organic Medical Group, 7825 E. Redfield Road.

Scottsdale Homegrown Remedies, 9319 N. 94th Way, Suite 500.

Today's Health Care, 15855 N. Greenway-Hayden Loop.

Holistic Choice, 9449 N. 90th St.