When local cities began crafting ordinances regulating the dispensing of medical marijuana in November, Chandler took a wait-and-see approach.
City officials opted to observe what other municipalities came up with, and put many of those regulations in an eight-page document of proposed amendments to the city’s zoning code regarding medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation sites.
Public hearings on the amendments will he held by the planning and zoning commission at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday and the City Council at 7 p.m. Feb. 10. Both meetings are at the Council chambers, 88 E. Chicago St.
“The planning commission next week will review and make a further recommendation to the Council for February,” said Jeff Kurtz, Chandler planning administrator. “It’s patterned after what some other Valley cities have done. Where it actually ends up will be decided by the Council.”
In November, Arizona voters approved Proposition 203, which allows the sale of medical marijuana. Chandler officials expect the ordinance-adoption process to be completed by the end of March.
The process is under way in Tempe, where councilmembers spent most of Thursday’s meeting listening to the questions and concerns of citizens. No formal action was taken.
In Chandler, rules governing dispensary and cultivation facility sizes, hours of operation and proximity to schools and churches are among the amendments. Assistant city manager Pat McDermott said he expects some of them will be shaved from the final proposal as the commission and Council craft an ordinance designed for the city.
“We took all of the things we saw other cities doing, put them all in our ordinance as a draft, which allows the Council to do its due diligence and take out things they felt were not necessary,” McDermott said. “My assumption — and this is just me speculating — is that several of those will be eliminated by the Council. …
“That’s what the draft is: Here is what everyone has done in ordinance form, so let’s see what Chandler needs to do.”
The Chandler draft calls for facilities to be at least 1,320 feet from a school, church, daycare center, hospital, park or library. Dispensaries would be located in retail areas and cultivation sites in industrial areas.
There will be a limit of 120 dispensaries statewide. It is unclear how many will be located in Chandler.
McDermott said he is uncertain how big the market for medical marijuana will be.
“I guess you could look to states like California, but who really knows?” McDermott said. “It might turn out that 120 dispensaries are too many.”
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PeacefulCat posted at 8:58 am on Mon, Jan 17, 2011.
Chandler has gleaned the profits of illegal marijuana money for decades. This sabotage of the medical marijuana law is more about making sweetheart deals for their fat cat friends. An example.
Arizona is a perfect climate for marijuana. We have sunshine, clean air and water but these guys want cultivation hidden indoors like the illegal grow operations that already exist. And these indoor operations are designed to grow high bred strains of marijuana for the illegal market. But those strains are not always the types of marijuana that you need to kill cancer cells and tumors and other treatments like alcoholism and drug addiction.
Also the mold and bacteria from an indoor grow operation is a complicated and ultra expensive problem to solve. This means that growing weed under 1,000 Watt halogen bulbs during the summer while running an air conditioner to keep the plants from frying will cost millions of dollars and wasted power for nothing. This of course will keep the price of marijuana so high that no one can afford it legally and people will continue to rob, smuggle and kill for the money. This marijuana gang in Chandler needs to give up their addiction to the profits of marijuana. Prop 203 was not voted in to provide jobs and more marijuana money for this obese bureaucracy. They are the most dangerous thing about marijuana.
Join U.S. Hemp in Demanding the Unconditional End of the Prohibition of Marijuana.
Give medicine back to our doctors, real crime back to the police and the streets back to the people that pay to pave and protect them.
PeacefulCat posted at 9:12 am on Mon, Jan 17, 2011.
There is a serious conflict of interest between the implementation of medical marijuana rules and the competing interests and goals of the ADHS. Marijuana is an important medication for alcoholism and drug addiction and it is offered as an alternative treatment in California and other states for people suffering from alcohol or that want to get off of damaging and addictive prescribed medications.
Will Humble is Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and he has been with the agency at a high level since 1992. He controls approximately 2,000 employees and a budget of $2B. Mr. Humble is now in control of implementing the rules and regulations for the use, cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana here in the State of Arizona. Mr. Humble belongs to a culture of anti marijuana supporters. In many ways this group has prospered and personally and professionally advanced through their opposition to medical marijuana and the will of the people. They have turned their backs on science and common sense. Arizonans voted for medical marijuana in 1996 and 1998 and they were ignored. Now Arizona voters have passed Proposition 203 in November of 2010 legalizing medical marijuana for cancer patients and a few other serious illnesses. This was accomplished in spite of the bi partisan efforts of Jan Brewer, Terry Goddard, Joe Arpaio and Will Humble and our local governments across Arizona. Now they are hear to sabotage the will of the people again.
lwolfe posted at 4:00 pm on Mon, Jan 17, 2011.
Mapping the Minefield of Medical Marijuana:
Arizona’s Green Relief Medical Marijuana Convention & Expo
April 14 - 16, 2011 at the Renaissance Hotel, Glendale, AZ
GLENDALE, Ariz - January 6, 2011 - Arizona voters approved a Medical Marijuana law on November 2nd. The confusion surrounding the new law started on November 3rd. Thankfully, there’s relief on the way. The Green Relief Medical Marijuana Convention & Expo, www.GreenReliefExpo.com a medical convention focusing on the legalities, impact on employers, patient’s rights and responsibilities and dispensary set-up and operations, will be held April 14 – 16, 2011 at the Renaissance Hotel and Spa in Glendale, Arizona. The Medical Marijuana Convention is being produced by Big Truck Media Group.
The vote that made Medical Marijuana legal in Arizona was so close that it took more than ten days to be officially verified. That was followed by a flurry of city meetings to determine municipal regulations regarding where and when medical marijuana can be sold. Finally, the law enforcement community - taking cues from the federal government, the state of Arizona and local towns and cities - joined the chorus of the confused.
People suffering pain, loss of appetite and/or nausea from a debilitating disease seem to be closer than ever to finding relief from their symptoms through Medical Marijuana - but there are a lot of questions to answer.
Will the Feds turn a blind eye to Glaucoma patients who smoke marijuana? Does a positive drug test equal a negative employment future? Could compassionate pain relief mean harsh punishment? How will doctors and dispensaries deal with the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency)?
Green Relief 2011 will answer these and other questions through a series of comprehensive educational tracks:
● Integrating Medical Marijuana into medical and legal practices
● Impact and opportunities on local business owners
● Patient’s rights and responsibilities
● Dispensary guidelines, compliance and operations
Green Relief 2011 will offer a professional forum for the uninitiated, under-informed and reticent potential patients and physicians who may be aware of Medical Marijuana as a potential treatment option, but who otherwise lack the understanding needed to make an educated determination about its appropriateness for their condition.
In addition, the Green Relief 2011 expo floor will offer a dynamic blend of vendors including consultants, delivery system manufacturers, professional services, publications, agriculture, associations and equipment and accessories catering to the Medical Marijuana community.
Green Relief 2011 will also feature guest speakers that include inspiring leaders in the field of medical marijuana, as well as, those in a position of enforcing the law in between the thin lines where local, federal and personal concerns intersect.
Topics will include the status of Arizona guidelines for the use, distribution and regulation of Medical Marijuana, dispensary how-to’s, medical card guidelines and the latest delivery systems.
“Since Arizona voters passed Prop 203 in November, businesses have been scrambling to take advantage of the opportunities medical marijuana offers,” said Lisa Wolfe, co-founder of Big Truck Media Group. “Green Relief 2011 will bring patients, health care providers as well as business owners together to educate and inform in this rapidly expanding Medical Marijuana marketplace.”
Arizonans approved marijuana for medical use previously in 1996. That ballot measure passed with 65 percent of the vote, but never took effect because of its language. The 1996 initiative let patients use marijuana if they had a “prescription from their doctor.”
Doctors, however, are not allowed to write “prescriptions” for marijuana because the federal government classifies it as a drug with no medical value. Arizona’s new Medical Marijuana Law allows doctors to instead, write a “recommendation” that a patient receive Medical Marijuana rather than a prescription.
Information about Green Relief 2011 can also be found on Facebook at Green Relief Medical Marijuana Convention & Expo or by email at info@GreenReliefExpo.com
madblogger posted at 8:41 am on Tue, Jan 18, 2011.
Lets get this started. I need a refill