TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — There are no marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated Pima County, but a recent vote is going to change that.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to update zoning regulations on marijuana businesses.
The zoning laws were created in 2010 when medical marijuana use was legalized in Arizona.
“Currently we only allow the medical marijuana dispensaries and their associations, the cultivation and manufacturing, exclusively in one zone,” said Chris Poirier, a Pima County Planning Official.
Two years ago, voters approved a ballot measure which legalized marijuana for recreational use.
One of Arizona’s top cannabis wholesalers said the zoning laws from 12 years ago make it difficult to know where to put dispensaries.
“We offer our services in helping them find locations to zone these dispensaries-they’re extremely hard to come by,” said the general counsel for Copperstate Farms, Ryan Hurley.
The changes will allow dispensaries to be bigger, located in more areas and closer to some restricted areas like schools.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors also approved new requirements for marijuana businesses when going through the application process.
- $2,280 application fee
- 4-month waiting period
- 2 public hearings
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Faith Abercrombie is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before coming to KGUN, Faith worked as a videographer for the Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation and as a reporter and producer on the youth suicide documentary, "Life is..." on Arizona PBS.
Share your story ideas with Faith by emailing faith.abercrombie@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
