Tucson last week took a step closer to allowing some big changes in the medical marijuana world, but some of the changes suggested by the advisory Planning Commission seem unlikely to make the cut.
The city asked the commission, a board of appointed volunteers that advises the City Council on many aspects of where, when and how businesses can operate, for advice on several rule changes. The commission’s message to the city: You’re too uptight; let freedom ring.
The sweeping changes would put Tucson squarely at the forefront of Arizona cannabis business friendliness by extending dispensary hours, allowing deliveries, eliminating a key restriction on commercial grows and allowing cannabis kitchens in the same buildings as dispensaries or grows.
After meeting several times in recent months with patients, business owners and others in the cannabis community, the City Council told the city staff to draw up two recommended changes – eliminate grow sizes in industrial areas and expand dispensary hours. But after hearing from several cannabis business owners and patients, the city staff suggested more changes and the commission even more.
Patient Michael Robbins has been on disability since 2010, and he wants the city to loosen the rules, for the patients and business owners.
“At the end of the day, there are people who benefit from this, and anything you can do to make it easier is OK by me,” he told the commission.
The commission’s suggestions:
Hours and deliveries: The city staff recommended that the council allow dispensaries to be open from the current 9 a.m.-7 p.m. to 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Hours vary across the state, with Peoria being the least restrictive (8 a.m.-9 p.m.). Likening dispensaries to Walgreen’s, the panel suggested 7 a.m.-midnight. This seems unlikely to pass, but then I didn’t expect even the Planning Commission to suggest it. There was a wave of grins among dispensary owners in the audience when the panel voted to suggest midnight closing, but I doubt many dispensaries would stay open that late. Possibly only one – the Downtown dispensary owners in the audience when the panel voted to suggest a midnight closing, but I doubt many dispensaries would stay open that late. Possibly only one—the Downtown Dispensary a block off of Fourth Avenue—would see a significant boost from late-night hours.
The city now prohibits deliveries and recommended allowing them for hospices and other dispensaries, but the commission recommends the city allow deliveries to any cardholder. I think this is also unlikely to pass. I suspect the council will shy away from allowing drivers to criss-cross the city with meds. There’s no harm in it (people have been doing it here for decades), but I don’t think the city will go there. I think the council will go back to the recommended delivery to hospices. And other care facilities and disabled patients.
Cultivation: The council suggested eliminating the 3,000-square-foot size limit on commercial grows and allowing kitchens in the same space (and in dispensaries). The limit is a huge burden for cannabis businesses, because it largely prevents any Tucson dispensary from getting meds locally. The city only allows dispensary operators to have tiny grow rooms that don’t meet their needs, but they can buy from other dispensaries, some of which have gigantic grows in cities with no limits. That sends money and jobs to Phoenix, Flagstaff or Peoria, which have no limits. The cultivation limit and kitchen restrictions were bad ideas when they were written, and I think the city will eliminate them.
Setbacks: The city now limits commercial grows only in a very few areas, because they can’t be near schools, parks, churches, libraries, substance abuse treatment centers or daycare facilities. The state’s only restriction is that they be at least 500 feet from schools. Eliminating all local restrictions on grows in industrial areas dramatically increases the number of available grow locations. I think the city will go for this one.
It wasn’t so much surprising that the commission approved the changes as it was that they expanded them far beyond what the city staff recommended. That’s a good thing. It tells me the commission is doing its job, offering the business community a more viable environment.
Getting into the marijuana business is hard enough because of state and federal law. There are a hundred risks that simply don’t exist in other industries. No one is telling pizza shop owners they can’t open next to churches. They can be near schools. They can be near parks. They can be pretty much as big (Reilly) or small (Brooklyn) as they want. The medical marijuana deserves equal treatment.
So I agree wholeheartedly with the Planning Commission on all counts—let freedom ring.
This article appears in Jul 24-30, 2014.
Funny how there is over 50,000 patients with valid AZ MMJ cards that cost $150 to the AZDHS. There are only 8 dispensaries in Tucson that maybe have 100 total people working for them and the rules are being relaxed for the dispensaries? Where is the ability for the patients to grow their own medicine without having to pay exorbitant prices at these supposed “non-profit” medical marijuana dispensaries.
Please show some common sense City Council Members and lighten up and allow the patients to grow their 12 plants without the fear of TPD sending in the swat teams and attack helicopters on the patients. This is what the law was for to help patients not make the already wealthy dispensary owners even richer.
There have been delivery service going in Tucson for the last 2 years this is an end run by the Dispensary owners to put caregiver network out of business. Which have been supplying delivers for awhile. Can you list who is on this” HMMM ” commission this would enlighten? These people want pure legalization in so the Medical Patient will go under the bus
In the commission presentation to the council Brad stated they had the dispensaries owners in the audience, were their any caregiver network owners in attendance? The caregiver grow too for patients to match strain to ailment. Dispensaries give happy hour discounts, referral freebies, maybe a strain matched to ailment if in stock a switch to the high THC. Long waits little knowledge of patients ailment and treatment needed. A caregiver comes instructs and grows for the patient. The limit on grow size was established in the start for the size care givers could have. By passing this It will put hundreds of caregivers out of work which have not been accounted for in the article. They are growing enough now the patients what this will do is say only the market orientated of high THC forgoing the strain development. The analogy of a Pizza business is just ridiculous. You would have to be stoned to believe that one
I wish any presentation would begin with a brief opening report about the overall safety and lack of harm to Tucson’s medical marijuana users. The fears of increased crime, traffic fatalities, teen use, etc. are not happening. Politicians are still treating cannabis, a non-toxic plant, as if it was plutonium.
I have noticed increasingly that MMJ in capsule form is available in California, I don’t know yet about Colo and Wash but I sure would like to have that option in AZ. Chances? Available? Where? Cost? It certainly would be a great big plus to have this available. Not to mention it wold make easier on the lungs.
Tucson limits the size of cultivation sites and Phoenix doesn’t? What’s wrong with this picture? We need larger cultivation sites in Tucson to lower prices for Tucson patients and to provide jobs to Tucson citizens.
You can get capsules in different strengths at desert bloom releaf center. http://Www.dbloomtucson.com