Pubdate: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) Copyright: 2014 The Arizona Republic Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24 Author: Beth Duckett SCOTTSDALE APPROVES MEDICAL-POT KITCHEN Council Votes To OK Facility Near Scottsdale Airpark After Earlier Rejecting Permit The Scottsdale City Council narrowly agreed to allow a medical-marijuana kitchen in the Scottsdale Airpark, two months after turning down the request. The council on Jan. 14 granted a conditional-use permit to Pure Bliss Premium Medibles and Topicals, which is the trade name for a line of marijuana infused goods ranging from brownies to pot pies, according to its website. The facility, near Hayden and Redfield roads, will prepare foods infused with marijuana and sell them wholesale to medical-marijuana dispensaries, a city report said. The kitchen will be closed to the general public. Court Rich, an attorney for the applicant, emphasized the facility "is not a retail establishment." Distinguishing between bakeries, where infused foods are prepared, and dispensaries, where medical marijuana is sold, Rich said Scottsdale "ended up with one actual retail dispensary within its boundaries," which is Monarch Wellness, near Pima Road and East Via de Ventura. According to Mayor Jim Lane and Councilman Guy Phillips, Scottsdale faced the prospect of a lawsuit if the council didn't approve the permit. On Nov. 19, the council rejected the same request for a permit by a 4-3 vote. Lane and council members Bob Littlefield, Phillips and Dennis Robbins voted against the permit at that time, while Vice Mayor Virginia Korte and council members Suzanne Klapp and Linda Milhaven supported it. Last week, Littlefield changed his vote, giving Pure Bliss the needed four votes. "It occurred to me that if I was telling my council colleagues they should respect the will of the voters in the bond election, then I should also respect the will of the voters about medical marijuana," Littlefield said, a reference to Scottsdale's bond election in November, which failed. Arizona voters passed the state's Medical Marijuana Act in 2010. Phillips, who voted against the permit, said the applicant's attorney threatened litigation after the last "no" vote. "This only emboldens applicants in the future to use coercion of public officials to receive their desired results," Phillips said. "This is an affront to our right to vote without fear of retribution and erodes any faith in public servants by the voters." Lane also cited the prospect of getting sued. "This is a strange animal, and it's something I voted against because I share the concerns that Councilman Robbins had stated last time," Lane said. "But I'd also say there is an underlying concern as to how this is all going to be implemented, and of course the arbitrary non-enforcement of federal drug laws." Before the vote, Robbins said he had concerns that a city potentially "could have an unlimited number of facilities" for medical marijuana because kitchens can operate under certificates for dispensaries. "I don't think that's what the citizens had in mind when they passed this," Robbins said. But Rich said it "is the way the state law was designed to be implemented." "The citizens of the state of Arizona also permitted those dispensaries to associate with a bakery," he said. "It is just closed for the processing and making of medical marijuana and edible products." A medical-marijuana dispensary needs written permission from the Arizona Department of Health Services to prepare, sell or dispense marijuana-infused food products, often called edibles. Ryan Hurley, an attorney with knowledge of Arizona's medical-marijuana laws, said one dispensary can be associated with one kitchen or bakery. "That kitchen can sell to other licensed dispensaries through the licensed dispensary they're associated with," he said. The Pure Bliss facility, just east of the Scottsdale Airport runway, could operate under a registration certificate for a Mesa dispensary, the city said. Hurley said Pure Bliss still needs approval from the state Department of Health Services. After filing with the state, "it could be three to four weeks when they could be up and operating," he said. According to a city report, the facility will operate from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Security measures include smartcard access, remote monitoring and fingerprint scanners, and any potential odor will be controlled through carbon filters, the report said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D