Jacob Bell
New Member
As area entrepreneurs prepare to capitalize on a voter-approved initiative legalizing medical marijuana, the Gilbert Town Council approved regulations on where, when and how the pot-based businesses can operate.
Dispensaries and cultivation sites will only be allowed within industrial zoning districts in northwest Gilbert near Morrison Ranch and near Gilbert Road and the Santan Freeway.
The businesses must be 1,320 feet apart from each other, 1,000 feet from parks, churches and schools, and 500 feet away from residential areas.
The new ordinance, approved 7-0 Thursday, also dictates the facilities' hours of operation, which could not be earlier than 8 a.m. nor later than 6 p.m.
Under the new law, Gilbert could have at most five dispensaries within town limits, Gilbert senior planner Mike Milillo said. The law allows one dispensary for every 10 pharmacies, and Gilbert has about 50 pharmacies, he said.
The facilities would only be allowed in permanent buildings, could not sell other merchandise and must be approved by the state. Cultivation could only take place inside a closed, locked building and not on a farm.
Town code also prohibits the dispensaries from making home deliveries or offering a drive-through window.
Cultivation and storage can only occur in a closed, locked building, and each business must submit security plan details to the town.
Council members Jenn Daniels and Linda Abbott expressed a desire to be conservative with marijuana regulations as the state "settles in" with the new law.
"I don't want to be known as the distribution point for medical marijuana," Abbott said at Monday's study session. "That's not my idea of economic development."
On Thursday, two residents came to speak in favor of medical marijuana and asked the council for looser restrictions.
The medical use of marijuana could benefit about 13,000 people diagnosed with cancer in Maricopa County every year, resident Robin Schroeder said.
"Please remember these patients as you discuss this ordinance," she said. "I believe that cannabis is a safe, natural alternative to synthetic pharmaceuticals."
But resident Michael Mason said he fears legalization for medical use.
"I moved to Gilbert because there are no strip clubs, not a lot of pawn shops - it was a good community," Mason said. "I just fear that it would bring the value of my home down or it might give the wrong impressions to my children."
With the narrow passage of Proposition 203 last year, Arizonans can get permission from a doctor to use marijuana for medical purposes, including treatment for cancer, chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures and other conditions.
Before patients can purchase and use the drug, they must register with the state Department of Health Services and submit a written statement from a physician "that the patient is likely to receive therapeutic or symptom-relieving benefits," according to the state's election pamphlet. Milillo said the town is not able to collect sales tax on medical marijuana sales, but the state Legislature may change that in this session.
News Hawk- GuitarMan313 420 MAGAZINE
Source: azcentral.com
Author: Parker Leavitt
Contact: Contacting The Arizona Republic
Copyright: Copyright © 2011, azcentral.com
Website: Gilbert sets rules for medical marijuana locations, hours
Dispensaries and cultivation sites will only be allowed within industrial zoning districts in northwest Gilbert near Morrison Ranch and near Gilbert Road and the Santan Freeway.
The businesses must be 1,320 feet apart from each other, 1,000 feet from parks, churches and schools, and 500 feet away from residential areas.
The new ordinance, approved 7-0 Thursday, also dictates the facilities' hours of operation, which could not be earlier than 8 a.m. nor later than 6 p.m.
Under the new law, Gilbert could have at most five dispensaries within town limits, Gilbert senior planner Mike Milillo said. The law allows one dispensary for every 10 pharmacies, and Gilbert has about 50 pharmacies, he said.
The facilities would only be allowed in permanent buildings, could not sell other merchandise and must be approved by the state. Cultivation could only take place inside a closed, locked building and not on a farm.
Town code also prohibits the dispensaries from making home deliveries or offering a drive-through window.
Cultivation and storage can only occur in a closed, locked building, and each business must submit security plan details to the town.
Council members Jenn Daniels and Linda Abbott expressed a desire to be conservative with marijuana regulations as the state "settles in" with the new law.
"I don't want to be known as the distribution point for medical marijuana," Abbott said at Monday's study session. "That's not my idea of economic development."
On Thursday, two residents came to speak in favor of medical marijuana and asked the council for looser restrictions.
The medical use of marijuana could benefit about 13,000 people diagnosed with cancer in Maricopa County every year, resident Robin Schroeder said.
"Please remember these patients as you discuss this ordinance," she said. "I believe that cannabis is a safe, natural alternative to synthetic pharmaceuticals."
But resident Michael Mason said he fears legalization for medical use.
"I moved to Gilbert because there are no strip clubs, not a lot of pawn shops - it was a good community," Mason said. "I just fear that it would bring the value of my home down or it might give the wrong impressions to my children."
With the narrow passage of Proposition 203 last year, Arizonans can get permission from a doctor to use marijuana for medical purposes, including treatment for cancer, chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures and other conditions.
Before patients can purchase and use the drug, they must register with the state Department of Health Services and submit a written statement from a physician "that the patient is likely to receive therapeutic or symptom-relieving benefits," according to the state's election pamphlet. Milillo said the town is not able to collect sales tax on medical marijuana sales, but the state Legislature may change that in this session.
News Hawk- GuitarMan313 420 MAGAZINE
Source: azcentral.com
Author: Parker Leavitt
Contact: Contacting The Arizona Republic
Copyright: Copyright © 2011, azcentral.com
Website: Gilbert sets rules for medical marijuana locations, hours
