SCOTTSDALE OKS MEDICAL-POT PERMITS FOR 6 APPLICANTS

Overlooking legal matters at the state and federal level, the
Scottsdale City Council this week granted permits to six applicants
seeking to open medical-marijuana dispensaries and cultivation sites
in Scottsdale.

The state recently halted the dispensary-application process after
filing a lawsuit in federal court to determine whether Arizona's
medical-marijuana law conflicts with federal drug statutes.

Will Humble, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services,
said the state will not process dispensary applications until a
federal judge rules on the issue.

DISPENSARIES: The City Council voted 4-2 Tuesday to award
conditional-use permits to six applicants seeking to open a
cultivation facility and/or a dispensary. They are the Kush Clinic,
8729 E. Manzanita Drive; Arizona Natural Selections, 8132 N. 87th
Place; MMRX, 15475 N. Greenway-Hayden Loop, Suite C-22; Serenity,
14666 N. 74th St.; Terramedica Natural Pharmaceuticals, 15735 N. 83rd
Way; and Organic Medical Group, 7825 E. Redfield Road.

IN FAVOR: Mayor Jim Lane and Council members Lisa Borowsky, Suzanne
Klapp and Ron McCullagh voted to issue the permits. Continuing the
process will ensure the city complies with the law if and when the
legal issues are resolved, Lane said. He is "not a proponent of
marijuana usage," but "there is no harm done in us continuing the
process." Attorney Court Rich of the Rose Law Group said it could be a
violation of state law to vote down or continue the permits to a later
date.

DISSENTERS: Vice Mayor Bob Littlefield and Councilman Dennis Robbins
voted against the permits. Councilwoman Linda Milhaven was absent.
Littlefield thought the city should wait to see how the law shakes
out. "I think there is plenty of ambiguity," he said. Robbins
questioned whether the conditional uses would be compatible in the
area.

WHAT'S NEXT: Though the process to accept dispensary applications is
on hold, the Department of Health Services is allowed to award
licenses to as many as 126 dispensaries across Arizona, including two
in Scottsdale. A lottery could determine what applicant receives the
dispensary license. The state will continue to issue user-ID cards for
medical-marijuana.