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Medical Marijuana in Phoenix

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Medical Marijuana Concerns in Phoenix

Medical-marijuana facilities may soon have fewer options of where to open in Phoenix, through zoning changes the city is considering in advance of a possible statewide vote to make recreational use of the drug legal. Wochit

Medical-marijuana facilities may soon have fewer options of where to open in Phoenix, through zoning changes the city is considering in advance of a possible statewide vote to make recreational use of the drug legal.

The city’s planning and development department is proposing stricter regulations for new dispensaries, cultivation sites and infusion facilities. Industry advocates say the changes would make it even more difficult to find locations where they could operate. 

New medical-marijuana sites would have to be farther from places of worship and residential areas, if the changes are approved. They also would have to follow new requirements on their distance from day-care centers, homeless shelters and youth community centers.

The proposed changes are driven in part by the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act that could go to voters in November, Planning and Development Director Alan Stephenson said. The initiative would allow adults 21 and older to buy, grow and possess marijuana — which would be taxed — with certain restrictions.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is still collecting voter signatures to qualify the initiative for the November election.

Phoenix would draft new zoning requirements for recreational uses if the act is passed by voters. But existing medical-marijuana dispensaries would have the right to operate as recreational dispensaries, as the initiative is written now.

That means Phoenix needs to prepare, Stephenson said. The city’s Planning Commission will consider the stricter zoning rules April 7, with a possible vote by the City Council later this month.

“We need to be a little more cautious in how we treat these things,” Stephenson said.

Medical marijuana in Phoenix

 Ryan Lewis of one the employee of Mohave Green’s Choice Cannabis indoor grow operation, located at undisclosed location in Mohave Valley a spans 14,000 square feet across two levels. He also has rooms for trimming, harvesting and packaging. He said his operation can produce about 2,500 pounds each year. Nick Oza/The Republic

Effects on neighborhoods a big concern

City Council members have asked staff to move swiftly on drafting tougher regulations.

Several have raised concerns about how the legalization of recreational marijuana would affect Phoenix neighborhoods, and said the city should be prepared for the initiative to pass.

The city has more than a dozen medical-marijuana dispensaries. Many dispensaries in other parts of the state can now relocate, driving requests for more.

When state voters passed the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act in 2010, dispensaries were limited to one per geographic region— called Community Health Analysis Areas — as designated by the Arizona Department of Health Services. Dense cities like Phoenix have more analysis areas than other parts of the state.

Dispensaries are allowed to locate anywhere in the state after three years of operation, with most now meeting that requirement.

part 2

New medical-marijuana facilities will lose some options of where they can locate in Phoenix, under stricter rules approved by the City Council on Wednesday.

Dispensaries, as well as cultivation and infusion businesses, will have to find sites farther away from residential areas and places of worship than previously required by the city.

Phoenix also added day-care centers, homeless shelters and youth community centers to the list of places a facility must be at least a quarter-mile from.

The City Council voted 8-0 to pass the new regulations with an emergency clause, making them effective immediately. Councilman Sal DiCiccio did not vote.

The changes moved swiftly through the city process as Phoenix prepares for the possible legalization of recreational marijuana through a statewide voter initiative. Updates to the state’s medical-marijuana program mean additional dispensaries could look to locate in the city soon.

 

Council members denied a Planning Commission amendment to allow cultivation and infusion facilities — where marijuana is processed for products like edible goods — to open closer together, a request of industry leaders. Several city leaders asked if the new regulations could be tougher than those proposed.

The changes will reduce the acreage available for dispensaries from 4.1 percent of the city to 2.3 percent, according to a staff report. For cultivation and infusion facilities, that percentage drops from 13 percent to 11 percent.

“I wish I could do more, but our hands are a little tied,” Councilman Jim Waring said.

New rules as strict as possible

Council members voiced particular concern over the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act that could go to voters in November. If passed, the initiative would legalize recreational use of the drug.

The city would draft new zoning regulations, but existing medical-marijuana dispensaries would be allowed to open as recreational facilities. Waring said he expects to receive neighborhood complaints if that happens.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure it doesn’t happen to you,” he said.

And the city could see more medical-marijuana dispensary applications soon, said Alan Stephenson, director of the Planning and Development Department.

Dispensaries originally confined to other parts of the state can move after three years of operation. That now includes many of the first dispensaries opened after state voters passed the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act in 2010.

Phoenix also expects the state to release additional dispensary certificates this summer, Stephenson said.

Stephenson said the new rules are as strict as they can be while still allowing medical-marijuana facilities to legally locate within the city. Even tougher regulations could be hard for the city to defend in the case of a lawsuit, he said.

“We can’t use our zoning authority to say, ‘We don’t want those,’ ” Stephenson said.

The changes do not affect facilities already in operation.

Under the new rules, a medical-marijuana facility will have to be 1,320 feet from a place of worship instead of the previous 500 feet. The distance from residential areas doubles from 250 to 500 feet for dispensaries.

The 1,320-foot distance requirement already in place for schools and public parks will apply for day-care centers, homeless shelters and youth community centers.

Dispensaries, cultivation sites and infusion facilities must maintain a one-mile distance from one another. The Planning Commission proposed reducing that to one-third of a mile, based on medical-marijuana industry input.

Demitri Downing, who represents the industry, advocated for that change at the meeting. Landlords are looking to rent out buildings in industrial areas, and the sites have no neighborhood impact, he said.

“You’re encouraging the jobs to go elsewhere,” Downing said of the denial.

Councilwoman Kate Gallego said she foresees the city’s planning decisions to evolve from Wednesday’s vote.

“I am confident we do not have the perfect answers today,” she said.

 

 

 

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Plans to Legalize Marijuana in Arizona

Marijuana facilities are popping up everywhere. New laws are being passed daily to make this possible, which a lot of people are thankful for.

A new proposal has been placed so that they can legalize marijuana in Arizona. According to the reports, the proposal is right on track and is most likely to qualify for the ballot since the state joins the ever growing movement to loosen up on the marijuana laws around the country in the elections.

One of the spokes people for the Arizona’s leading recreational marijuana imitative says that things are looking good. The movement has already gotten 140,000 out of the required 150,000 that are needed to be on the ballot.

The campaign is shooting to get even more than the required number of signatures so they can have back up signatures for any that might/ will get disqualified. The campaign will be trying hard until their July deadline to get all of the signatures.

 

Marijuana Policy Project’s Arizona Director, Carlos Alfara Statement:

We are riding the wave of public opinion that prefers regulation and taxation rather than criminalization and prohibition.
According to recent studies, Arizona is one of nine states that have pending recreational marijuana initiatives this year. Some of the others are California, Massachusetts, Main, and Nevada.
According to the The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act, it would allow people who are over the age of twenty-one to carry up to one ounce of marijuana on them. They could grow up to six plants and even carry up to five grams of “concentrated marijuana”. That concentrated marijuana could be hash oil or a variety of other different cannabis extracts.
 It would also help the stated by establishing a state licensing agency for marijuana, by placing a 15% tax on marijuana and related products. That means that eighty percent of the tax proceeds would go towards education and twenty percent would be set aside for the Department of Health Services.

People Protest Pot Bill

 

Of course, with anything now days there always has to be some sort of fight or protest. An alliance has now been formed to oppose the measure that the Maricopa County has been working so hard for.  Bill Montgomery who is an attorney with Maricopa County have stepped forward and came out against the bill and it’s plan.

 Montgomery is opposed to drug legalization. He thinks that the way that the measure is written that it will allow current medical marijuana dispensaries to essentially have a monopoly over the pot sales in the state.  So, technically he’s just worried about the bottom dollar.
This new initiative would allow the state to be able to issued around 150 licenses for businesses to sell marijuana. Which looks like that wold help any state with the tax recovery the would make on it. Of course, the medical pot dispensaries will have the first dibs on the 120 licenses which would only leave a little amount left for anyone else.

 Montgomery’s Statement:

 This is the 21st-century way that one drug dealer keeps another drug dealer off their corner. This is an absolute abuse of the initiative process by a special interest group in Arizona.
Jason Medar, who is a manager for a competing initiative says that the Marijuana Policy Prospect’s proposal doesn’t even offer consumer protections. Medar’s initiative is known as the Campaign to Legalize and Regulate Marijuana. Medar believes that he’s going to make easier for those people who are not already in the medical marijuana industrious to get a license. The initiative is doing well, with around 70,000 signatures so far.
Alfaro doesn’t think that every medical marijuana dispensary will apply for a recreational license. Which makes sense, some dispensaries might just keep things medical use only. Alfaro’s campaign will offer a more balanced approach to legalization.

Alfaro’s Statement:

Not only do we think this is going to be on the ballot but it’s the most viable policy we have. We have had prohibition since 1937. We have to start at a point that people are willing to accept.
Diane Douglas who is the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, denounced that the imitative in a press release just last week. She believes that it would cause a great contradiction for teachers who try to teach the students not to use drugs as well as other ethics.

Douglas’s Statement:

By using drug money to educate our children, regardless of the drug we choose, we’re creating a world where we’re funding our schools by betting against the people graduating from them, and I cannot morally support that stance.
She could be right. The thing is we’ll never know until we try some new things. I personally thing this would be great for twenty-one year old and older because they’re old enough to make their own decisions. but this would definitely help a lot of states who are in finical trouble.

 

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North County Doesn’t Agree with Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

 

North County city council has now taken the steps to make sure that their community stays free of medical Marijuana dispensaries.

On a Tuesday evening, the San Marcos city council members have unanimously approved the introduction to a possible ordinance that would not allow the cultivation, delivery or the sale of medical marijuana.

The choice came from the anticipation of the bills that are being signed by Governor, Jerry Brown. Which would regulate Cannabis in the state. Not long ago, Governor Brown actually singed a trio of bills that would regulate medical marijuana in California.

The bills would be creating the first statewide licensing and operating rules for pot growers as well as manufacturers of cannabis-infused projects and even retail weed outlets. This is due to the fact that California voters have already legalized the use of medical marijuana back in 1996.

But just because California has legalized the use of medical marijuana, the state regulations, the cities will have until March 2016 to make their own legislation for the sales of medical marijuana.

According to reports, San Marcos has already decided to ban the medical marijuana dispensaries in 2006, however the city council had made the decision by vote, on placing a band in anticipation of next year’s deadline.

The meeting went rather well, despite the very controversial subject at hand. The council members were able to address the concerns about the medical marijuana sales, would also included the mobile marijuana dispensaries.

The public doesn’t seem to mind, since there was no opposition to the ordinance from the public present at the council meeting.

San Marcos is not alone in it’s battle against medical marijuana dispensaries, other local cities are joining in to hopefully prohibit the sale of medical marijuana. El Cajon is following behind San Marcos in hopes to keep the dispensaries out of their cities.

 

New Bills Bring Order to Medical Marijuana Industry

 

Governor Jerry Brown will be introducing three new bills which are all aimed at bringing order and oversight to California’s medical marijuana industry. Which some might be saying what? Because California was the first stated to legalize marijuana for medical use nearly twenty years ago.

The Democratic governor’s endorsement of the lengthy, seventy page Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act was hammered out by the lawmakers in the last little bit of the legislative session. They say it was expected due to the fact that his office had created so many exhaustive details in the bill.

The bills were made to create the first statewide licensing and operating rules for the pot growers. But not only the pot growers but for the manufacturers of anything made with cannabis as well as retail weed outlets.

The proposal’s enactment happens after many groups have tried to qualify voter initiatives for the November 2016 ballot that would legalize recreation marijuana in California.

Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom has been vocal about his supporting the idea of allowing adults to use marijuana for fun. Brown, did not think that was a good idea. Newsom said that getting the state’s free-wheeling medical marijuana industry under control would ease the transition to a system that would also address the recreation use of the marijuana.

Newsom’s Quote about Marijuana:

Given the history and complexity of California’s market, achieving the people’s will and responsibly regulating marijuana will be a process that unfolds over many years, requiring sustained attention to implementation.

 

According to the bill, the package would seek to manage the medical marijuana by “requiring individuals or companies” that engage in any aspect of the industry to obtain at least one of 17 different possible licenses. It would also restrict the number of licenses one company could have.

The legislation would cover all of its bases, by also including a separate license for the indoor and outdoor cultivation, transportation, product testing, distribution, as well as for the dispensaries of different sizes. It would also charge various state agencies to develop guidelines for packing, potency, pesticide, as well as the use and advertising.

The bills would also preserve the right of the individuals who would want to grow small amounts of medical marijuana for personal use. It would allow the local governments to ban or tax marijuana related businesses.

Steven Lubell (Former Superior Court Commissioner) statement:

It was well-written. It was well thought-out. It flows,The industry, I think, wants this. They want to do what they have to do to run it like any other business.

According to the American Medical Marijuana Association, there is an advocacy group for the medical marijuana patients. That advocacy group plans to sue and overturn the legislation.  The group also says that sever parts of the bills, illegally amends the 1996 voter initiative that legalized it in the first place.

The state expects to start issuing the licenses to the medical marijuana suppliers and distributors in 2018. Should give it plenty of time to get things worked out and the companies to get their facilities up and running properly and legally.

The legislation includes: AB266 by Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, which sets up a medical marijuana bureau; AB243 by Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, which allows the state to issue licenses to pay for oversight; and SB643 by Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, which cracks down on clinics that specialize in issuing medical marijuana licenses for people without valid health needs.

 

 

 

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Home Grown Pot Plants Numbers Decreasing Due to Pot Dispensaries

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Pot Dispensaries Help Lower Home Grown Pot Numbers

 

2014 was a big year for changes. Same sex marriages became legal in quite a few states and a lot of those states have agreed to legalize marijuana and Republicans are taking over. Everyone has an opinion on these huge changes, some good, some bad, some both. There’s good and bad in everything in my opinion, except marriages…people should marry whoever they want.

 

Anyways, pot dispensaries’ medical marijuana sales have grown a great bit in Arizona in 2014. The increase that state regulators attribute to fact that very few patients are allowed to grow their own. This is new, and they’re already talking about changes to the marijuana laws.

 

Marijuana Dispensaries Sales Grow

 

The State Department of Heath Services has said that the dispensaries has reported more than 1.4 million in sales. Which is equal to ten tons of marijuana, over 55,000 patients in 2014. That’s crazy! Great for those who truly need it though. According to the Health Department, that is up from the 2.7 tons sold in 2013.

 

According to the department, the 2014 usage would be close to a joint a day per patient. I guess that’s not too bad if you need it. It’d be like your morning thyroid or heart pill, only you smoke this.

 

Due to Arizona’s marijuana laws, patients who live farther than twenty-five miles from a dispensary are able to grow their own. A lot of people who need the medical marijuana probably can’t just up and drive that far, so it would make things much easier if they could grow their own.

 

However, with this law, very few patients are allowed to actually grow their own marijuana. Dispensary numbers are growing so that makes it hard to stay out side of that twenty-five mile range. There are now eighty-five dispensaries in Arizona that are operating. It is also recorded that almost 98 percent of the people who need the medical marijuana, usually live within twenty-five miles of the dispensaries.

 

 

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/dispensary-pot-sales-surge-in-arizona-as-few-can-grown-own

 

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New Bill To Legalize Marijuana Use in Arizona

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New Bill Makes It Legal to Use Marijuana in Arizona

 

Times are changing. Some things for the better, some things for the worse. You can be the judge of what’s good or bad. A state representative has now introduced a new bill that would make it legal the recreation use of marijuana in Arizona.

 

The new bill, House Bill 2007, will allow anyone who is o twenty-one or older to legally possess an ounce or less of marijuana.

 

If you are twenty-one or older, you could even legally grow at most five marijuana plants. You could even exchange an ounce of marijuana between people as long as your of age. However, you can not sale it.  There is going to be a tax of $50 that would be levied on every ounce that is transferred from a grow facility to a retail store.

 

Marijuana Bill Taxes Sales of Marijuana

Of course taxing things helps the state, fifty percent of the tax would actually go into Arizona’s “general” fund. Thirty percent of the tax would go towards the education and the rest of the tax would go to public health and education programs.

 

If you’re not a fan of marijuana, good news for you. Public smoking would still be banned on Marijuana use.

 

 Richard Baker (Who uses Marijuana for Medical Reason’s) Statement:

All these kids are doing to get it, and then what’s going to happen? We’re going to have a bunch of flunkies.

 

While Mr. Baker has to use the drug for rheumatoid arthritis, he knows first hand the negative side effects of marijuana. He says that marijuana has dulled his memory.

 

Stev-0’s Statement about Taxing Marijuana

I think it costs us more to try to stop it than what it would actually cost to allow it to be legal.

 

Stev-O admitted to using Marijuana for de-stressing and sporadic pains.

 

Right now the only place recreational use of marijuana is in Colorado and Washington State.

 

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-northern-az/other/bill-would-legalize-recreational-marijuana-in-arizona

 

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Pot Dispensary Shut Down For No License

Pot Dispensary Shut Down For No License

Pot Dispensary in Phoenix Closed Down for No Dispensary License

According to a Phoenix Police spokesman, a Phoenix pot dispensary has been shut down for lack of a dispensary license.

Sgt. Tommy Thompson, Phoenix spokesman, said that the investigators served a search warrant at the Green Thumb Academy. The store was at Seventh Street and Virginia. The search brought the detectives to finding six and a half pounds of high-grade marijuana.

Sgt. Thompson said that the police Drug Enforcement Bureau had been getting complaints from dispensaries that actually had a license about The Green Thumb Academy. The complaints claimed that The Green Thumb Academy was illegally posing as an authorized dispensary. That is what started the investigation that lasted several months.

Drug Enforcement Bureau officer, Lt. Darren Vine, said that the employees left the scene as soon as the police squads showed up that Thursday at the dispensary. After the authorities arrived inside, the manager of The Green Thumb was “less than forthcoming” with any information about the illegal dispensary.

At first the investigators didn’t know who truly knew about the “business” or not. They “employees” were called “volunteers”. According to Lt. Vine after the illegal business opened they started getting complaints about The Green Thumb taking business from legal dispensaries.

Lt. Vine Wasn’t Surprised by the Illegal Dispensary

Unfortunately we have operations like this that operate illegally.

Sgt. Thompson said that usually  in these type of cases they do not “go after” the customers, because the “business” is at fault and responsible for it. He also said that the illegal dispensary asked the customers to make a cash “donation” for the marijuana. The amount that they business requested is close to the same amount as on the street.

The illegal business showed all the signs of being a true, legal medical marijuana dispensary. However inside of the the store there was no liscense to be found. Police are still searching the premise and continuing their investigation.

Source: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2014/06/05/phoenix-pot-dispensary-raided-abrk/10023989/