Prohibition on marijuana delivery by Peoria dispensaries to be considered

By Philip Haldiman
Mail | Twitter: @PhilipHaldiman

Delivery has become a way of life, even for medical marijuana.

Many Valley cities have allowed dispensaries to deliver their medical products. But such is not the case in Peoria where delivery of medical marijuana products is prohibited. Peoria is one of the last big Valley cities that do not allow delivery. But that could change.

Peoria City Council could consider a text amendment Nov. 15 that would modify the city ordinance to remove the prohibition on delivery services for qualifying marijuana dispensaries, subject to an updated approved security plan.

No delivery in Peoria

State law allows for delivery of medical marijuana to other dispensaries, labs, caregivers and qualifying patients, subject to meeting extensive rules in place by Arizona Department of Health Services.

Several surrounding cities allow for the delivery of medical marijuana, however, it is not allowed in Peoria, per its ordinance.

If city council approves the text amendment, the prohibition on delivery of medical marijuana would be lifted 30 days after approval.

What about recreational marijuana?

Currently, delivery of recreational marijuana is not allowed in this state, but that will likely change as ADHS will soon establish administrative rules for delivery.

If Peoria’s text amendment is approved, it will also allow for the delivery of recreational marijuana, but not until those rules are established. The prohibition on recreational marijuana wouldn’t be lifted until at least next year.

Specifically, those regulations must be made between Jan. 1, 2023 and Jan. 1, 2025.

ADHS has not provided an approximate time frame for the proposed regulations.

New revenue stream

Today there are more than 312,000 medical marijuana cardholders — an increase of more than 1,900% compared with 2011, when the Arizona Medical Marijuana Program began, according to Arizona Department of Health Services.

Furthermore, Arizona voters approved the Smart and Safe Arizona Act Nov. 3, 2020, legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults, which has increased demand for marijuana products.

Lindsay Schube, of Gammage & Burnham, on the behalf of applicant Pitchfork Partners, said ultimately Peoria’s text amendment boils down to a sales tax issue.

Several cities allow deliveries of medical marijuana products, including Glendale, El Mirage, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Phoenix and Scottsdale.

Under Peoria city ordinance, none of the four dispensaries located in the city are allowed to deliver their marijuana products, so residents are buying from dispensaries in surrounding cities.

Allowing for the text amendment will meet tremendous demand and allow dispensaries in Peoria to be competitive with nearby dispensaries in abutting jurisdictions, according to the applicant’s narrative.

Peoria residents get delivery, but the city is not getting the sale tax, Schube said.

“Right now (Peoria) can’t collect the sales tax,” she said. “People are going to get delivery of either recreational or medicinal, but they will get it from Phoenix, they’ll get it from the county, or they’ll get it from Glendale ... (Peoria) citizens are going to get delivery anyway. I would want my police force from my city to be able to have control over the dispensaries.”

Security plan

If approved, qualifying marijuana dispensaries in Peoria would be required to provide an updated security management plan approved by the Peoria Police Department pertaining to the secure transport and delivery of marijuana and marijuana products, including payments received and compliance with the applicable state laws and regulations.

This includes detailed travel logs that include specific delivery route directions, Schube said.

“I have clients who have gotten fined because they did not have the step-by-step directions. The inspectors, when they go out, they check those trip logs,” she said.

The Peoria Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the case to the city council, 4-1, Oct. 20. Chair Clay Allsop dissented. Commissioners Tony Feiter and Robyn Uptegraff were absent.

Commissioner Joysaphine Waitman supported the text amendment.

“Economically, do we want to collect that sales tax? Because it is going to get delivered anyway ... From an economic standpoint, are we going to let the surrounding cities collect the sales tax?” she asked.

Allsop said he does not support delivery of recreational marijuana.

“I didn’t vote to approve recreational marijuana to begin with. I have no issue saying that,” he said. “I look at medical completely differently. If I could prohibit delivery of alcohol I would prohibit the delivery of alcohol. I’m not winning any votes here, but I’m not running for office, so that’s OK.”

Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.

Philip Haldiman
Senior News Editor | Peoria
@PhilipHaldiman

phaldiman@iniusa.org

Meet Philip
Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.

Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.

Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater. 

Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.

Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.