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Sounds like the government tyrants in most cities are doing the best they can to flush the will of the people down the toilet and make it as hard as possible for us to get medical marijuana.
Medical-marijuana zoning rules pinch dispensaries Marijuana facilities may be limited to industrial areas by Michael Clancy - May. 1, 2011 12:00 AM The Arizona Republic The era of medical marijuana is upon us, but rules imposed by the state and cities suggest that most Arizonans will never lay eyes on a marijuana dispensary, let alone a growing operation or infusion facility. Because of restrictive zoning rules, most medical-marijuana sites will be situated in industrial areas, far from prying eyes, foot traffic and passing cars. Cities made every effort to create distance between the marijuana operations and homes, schools, churches, parks and other similar facilities. As a result, even though medical-marijuana locations are allowed in zoning categories that cover most shopping areas, the distancing rules pose a serious hurdle. "The main issue for potential owners is that it is hard to find appropriate sites, considering the distance requirements," said Jordan Rose, an attorney who is representing numerous clients who want to get into the medical-marijuana business. "While people may see that dozens of sites are being approved for use permits, they don't see the hundreds, maybe thousands of sites that have been vetted and rejected," he said. "It's a complicated analysis." The analysis is so complex that when Phoenix puts out a map showing possible sites, people who have explored some of those locations have found that perhaps a church or a day-care center is too close. Either that or property owners decline to lease to medical-marijuana sites, fearing legal repercussions. Rose says it appears cities want the facilities to be located in high-traffic areas for security reasons. But the spacing requirements end up forcing the facilities into areas with little car or foot traffic, off the beaten path. Andrew Myers of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project expected and supports the tight restrictions. He suspects the rules will ease up over time, assuming the medical-marijuana system works properly. It could be a tough hill to climb when ordinances such as Tempe's repeat several of the arguments against medical marijuana. Medical marijuana "is correlated to myriad negative secondary effects," the Tempe ordinance reads, "such as an increase in violent armed robberies and murders, burglaries, traffic, noise and drug dealing." Every municipality has similar rules, if not similar rhetoric to the Tempe ordinance. The rules typically address security issues and hours of operation as well as zoning areas and distance requirements. Rules from the Arizona Department of Health Services restrict medical-marijuana facilities to one per Community Health Analysis Area but otherwise focus on operators and participants in the medical-marijuana process. The state has 126 CHAAs, 18 of them on tribal lands. More than 40 of the sites are in the Valley, and almost half are in Phoenix. Numerous problems are likely to arise. For example: - Paradise Valley is considering a facility at a medical office at Tatum and Shea boulevards - a site that adjacent Phoenix probably would not have allowed. Similar problems could arise at other locations along CHAA boundaries. - With restricted sites available, numerous operators have applied - and received - permits for sites that are relatively close to each other, despite the distancing requirements. For example, along Grand Avenue in Phoenix, close to a dozen sites are clustered. But the chances of any of them ever doing business are relatively slim. With one facility per CHAA, the state health department will choose the operator by lottery. - Zoning restrictions will take some CHAAs out of the picture entirely. Such is the case with the central Mesa CHAA, bounded by Broadway and Brown roads, Country Club Drive and Bush Highway. No sites within that area fit the city's zoning ordinance, so no medical-marijuana facilities will be allowed. - None of the zoning rules appears to allow challenges by medical-marijuana foes. Although permit hearings for most sites have seen no opposition, the rules give hearing officers, planning committees or city councils little leeway to deny requests, despite objection from such entities as golf-equipment manufacturer Ping in Phoenix or business owners in the Scottsdale Airpark. If the site conforms with the rules, the permits, letters of approval or other such documents are handed out. Medical-marijuana operations are tightly restricted by rules from virtually every city in metro Phoenix, rules that limit the sites to heavier commercial or industrial zones, with distance requirements from homes, schools and churches, for example. Cities also require separation from other marijuana operations. Arizona will allow one user within each Community Health Analysis Area, with 42 in the Valley. The Arizona Department of Health Services will select the sites by lottery in mid-August. This list is up to date as of Friday.
Glossary Medical marijuana - Marijuana approved for use under Arizona law permitting marijuana for patients suffering from debilitating conditions. Zoning - Municipalities' designation of land-use categories, ranging from residential to industrial uses. For medical marijuana, zoning rules declare zoning categories and often distance requirements from other land users such as schools, churches and homes. Dispensary - Shop that sells medical marijuana to qualifying patients. Cultivation facility - A site that grows marijuana for medical use, sells it to dispensaries. Infusion facility - An operation that incorporates medical marijuana into edible products. Community Health Analysis Area - Designated by the Arizona Department of Health Services after the 2000 census, these are geographic units set up to enable the state to analyze illness trends in small areas. CHAAs can range in size from 5,000 to 190,000 people, depending on the location. The department has capped the number of medical-marijuana facilities at one per CHAA.
It sure should like government tyrant Will Humble is trying to prevent the people from getting the medical marijuana they voted to legalize! If you ask me the people should demand that Governor Jan Brewer fire Will Humble and replace him with someone who will let the people get their medical marijuana they voted for. Of course I am being nice with that statement. I suspect the real problem is Government Jan Brewer. I suspect she is a tyrant who has ordered Will Humble to make medical marijuana regulations which will make it extremely difficult for the people to get the drug they voted for. Medical-marijuana panelists grilled over dispensary-approval rules by J. Craig Anderson - May. 1, 2011 12:00 AM The Arizona Republic As aspiring medical-marijuana growers and sellers prepare to submit their applications to open up shop in Arizona, questions and concerns remain about the state's approval process. A panel discussion, sponsored by professional organization Valley Partnership and held at the Phoenix Country Club, allowed prospective marijuana dispensers and others to get a better idea of what state health officials will be looking for, and how the process will proceed after June 1, when the Arizona Department of Health Services begins accepting applications for up to 126 dispensary licenses. Arizona Department of Health Services Director Will Humble, one of the event's three panelists, also shed some light on what a medical-marijuana dispensary might look like. The other two panelists during the lively discussion, which continued well beyond its scheduled two hours, were Phoenix Planning Director Debra Stark and Rose Law Group principal Jordan Rose, whose current practice focuses on legal issues related to medical marijuana. One issue of concern for audience members was the role of dispensary medical directors in the state's selection process. DHS requires that every dispensary have a medical director who is licensed in one of a handful of approved health-care disciplines. Humble said the presence of an outstanding medical director could be the biggest contributor to an applicant being chosen among competitors to operate a dispensary in one of the state-designated "Community Health Analysis Areas." "I care more about the medical director than I do about the applicant," Humble said. He made it clear that the medical director would be expected to make sure a dispensary operated ethically and in accordance with state law. Each director should be physically present during hours of operation to evaluate whether each marijuana recipient appears to be there for a legitimate medical reason. "It's the medical director's job to make sure they aren't giving marijuana to people who are impaired or are apparently abusing marijuana," Humble said. Still, the doctor writing the marijuana prescription will carry the primary responsibility for making sure they write scripts only for patients with valid medical problems, Humble said. Maricopa-based attorney Jose Chaidez, who represents a prospective dispensary operator, said the discussion also helped clear up questions about the liability of doctors issuing marijuana prescriptions compared with dispensaries filling prescriptions. "I think it clarified what the dispensaries need to do versus what a caregiver needs to do," said Chaidez, of Chaidez Law Firm. Other concerns raised by attendees at the discussion included the apparent shortage of qualifying dispensary sites in some communities and the ability to meet local dispensary-operating requirements in cities and towns that have imposed their own, even stricter rules on top of those issued by the state. Stark said she was open to the idea of revisiting certain city-imposed rules if they turned out to be unreasonably strict. But Stark said other cities, towns and villages may see the issue of amending rules differently. The town of Paradise Valley already is receiving criticism for what some critics consider to be draconian rules that give town officials total control over the location and operator of its one designated dispensary. Stark said the courts ultimately may have to decide where to draw the line between strict and too strict. Kris Krane, of consulting firm 4Front Advisors, which is representing a prospective dispensary operator, said he hoped Friday's discussion also led to a better understanding of what a dispensary business would be like. "I don't understand why people think this is going to be different than any other business," Krane said. "You're going to have to market yourself. You're going to have to take care of your patient better than your competitor, or they're going to leave." Humble agreed that the typical dispensary was likely to resemble other retail stores. There are no restrictions on what other products dispensaries can sell, so long as those products are legal. Therefore, it's possible that some applications would come from operators of smoke shops and even head shops, which typically sell pipes, bongs, rolling papers and other paraphernalia. "I wouldn't be surprised if someone like a Trails (Department Store) submits an application," Humble said. Reach the reporter at craig.anderson@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8681. |