GILBERT REJECTS PROPOSALS FOR 2 MEDICAL-MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

Gilbert Town Council has sided with opponents of two proposed medical
marijuana dispensaries and rejected a Planning Commission
recommendation the two facilities be approved and sent to the state
for further action.

The council on Thursday granted the appeals of several nearby
residents and business owners who contended the two proposed
dispensaries in the town's northwestern part of town violated the
town's requirement that they be located a minimum 1,000 feet away from
a community park.

Opponents also said one of the dispensaries violated the required
distance from a church.

The two businesses -- Sonoran Star Remedies and Beleaf Inc. -- would
have been the first two medical marijuana dispensaries approved by the
town. However, the state has decided not to approve any medical
marijuana dispensaries pending its suit in federal court over whether
Arizona's marijuana law violates federal drug statutes.

The council's action also gives town officials more time to analyze
the issue that arose from opponents of Beleaf and Sonoran Star.

That issue involves the town's definition of a park.

Dispensary opponents claimed both dispensaries were located less than
1,000 feet from water-rentention basins and grassy areas that, while
not necessarily an official park, were used by residents for recreation.

Town staffers had rejected that claim, and the planning commission
agreed with the staffers.

State regulations allow one dispensary in each "community health
analysis area" -- or CHAA -- as defined by a map drawn by the
Department of Health Services. Gilbert has two essentially divided by
Lindsay Road.

If more than one dispensary in the same area meets all qualifications,
the certificate will be granted by random selection.

Would-be dispensary operators are having trouble finding suitable
property in Gilbert's eastern CHAA, because of a code restriction that
requires the businesses be at least 1,000 feet from any public or
private park, prospective owner Brett Paulson had told the commission.

Paul Schroeder, operations manager for Sonoran Star Remedies, asked
Gilbert officials to request that the state allow two dispensaries in
the town's western CHAA instead.

As of April 27, there were at least 12 medical-marijuana patient
applications in Gilbert's western zone and at least 29 applications in
the eastern area, Gilbert senior planner Mike Milillo has said.

The commission plans next month to discuss how to regulate
"caregivers," who currently can grow marijuana at home for up to five
patients who live more than 25 miles away from a dispensary.