GILBERT MEDICAL-MARIJUANA FUTURE IN LIMBO AFTER LAWSUIT

With Arizona's medical-marijuana-dispensary program on hold and no
town regulations in place for smaller "caregiver" growing operations,
Gilbert officials say they have no way of knowing who in town may be
legally growing pot - or where.

Town officials approached the Planning Commission on Wednesday seeking
approval of new rules for marijuana cultivation, but the panel put off
a decision until July, citing a need for more research.

Nearly 150 Gilbert residents have applied for medical-marijuana-patient
cards, allowing them to consume marijuana for treatment of conditions
such as chronic pain, cancer, nausea and muscle spasms.

Of 4,543 patient applications statewide, the Department of Health
Services has approved 96.6 percent and denied one, according to a DHS
report. The remainder are still being processed.

More than 70 percent of patient applicants have also requested to grow
marijuana for personal use.

DHS has also approved more than 100 caregiver applications, which
allow a person to grow marijuana for up to five patients who live more
than 25 miles away from a dispensary.

State law requires that marijuana cultivation take place inside an
"enclosed, locked facility" or a secure outdoor space surrounded by
10-foot high walls, town officials told the Planning Commission.

But municipalities have the right to restrict where caregivers and
dispensaries can locate cultivation sites.

The Town Council in January approved zoning restrictions on
dispensaries, but the town has no rules in place for caregivers,
meaning they can grow at home without the approval or knowledge of the
town, officials said.

Town code limits dispensaries to light-industrial areas and imposes
separation distances from parks, schools, churches and residential
areas. The ordinance also restricts dispensaries' hours of operation
from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

A lawsuit filed last week by state officials has put the dispensary
program on hold, but DHS continues to issue patient and caregiver
cards. If patients are too ill to grow for themselves, caregivers are
the only available source for marijuana.

"With that lawsuit, the landscape has changed considerably," Gilbert
Senior Planner Mike Milillo told the Planning Commission. "There's
really even more of an impetus to have some sort of regulations on
caregivers."

Town officials are proposing to limit caregiver growing to
light-industrial zoning districts. Unlike dispensaries, the caregivers
would not require a use permit.

Caregivers would also be required to submit "residence locations and
proof of registry-identification cards" of patients who will be using
marijuana from their cultivation site, according to a town staff report.

While town planners see the proposed rules as a moderate compromise,
three medical-marijuana advocates argued the restrictions would be too
onerous and would encourage black-market dealing.

"I believe that the path the program is about to take is not what the
voters intended," said Gilbert resident Paul Schroeder, who has
already received town approval to open a dispensary, pending a license
from the state.

"My fear is that this delay is going to lead to kind of a Wild West on
the black market, if you will," Schroeder said. "That's not in the
best interest of the patient rights in the long run."

Lease rates for industrial space are likely too expensive for a single
caregiver because they can grow for only five patients, Schroeder
said. Instead, he asked the Planning Commission to consider allowing
multiple caregivers to share a single site within an industrial building.

The co-location concept was discussed during a stakeholders meeting in
April, but the group had decided against it, Councilwoman Linda Abbott
said.

"The logic behind the discussion had to do with the idea that we dealt
with the dispensary issue, and that would deal with the caregiver
issue," Abbott said. "At all times, the stakeholders were concerned
about the residential impact."

Several commission members expressed support for a co-location
provision but admitted they still know little about it. The commission
voted 7-0 to continue the discussion at its July 6 meeting.