Dispensaries in Peoria will now be able to deliver medical marijuana to their customers, effective Sept. 14.
For many months now, Pitchfork Partners has been working with the city to amended Peoria’s marijuana ordinance to allow for delivery of medical marijuana.
The city council recently approved a text amendment, 6-1, Aug. 15, that modifies the city ordinance to remove the prohibition on delivery services for qualifying marijuana dispensaries.
Councilmember Brad Shafer dissented.
The planning commission recommended the text amendment to the city council, 4-1, May 18.
As part of the amendment, before a dispensary can begin delivery services, they must first submit and receive approval of an updated security plan from the police department.
At the Aug. 15 council meeting, Planning Director Chris Jacques said the justification for the case is that “Peoria-based dispensaries operate at a competitive disadvantage, meaning that there are neighboring jurisdictions — for example, the county, Glendale, Youngtown, El Mirage — that currently allow delivery services for marijuana dispensaries in their communities that are already delivering marijuana services to Peoria residents and Peoria caregivers. Because point-of-sale is in those communities, those communities capture that sales tax revenue from those sales.”
Today there are more than 312,000 medical marijuana cardholders in the state — 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, a lawyer with Gammage & Burnham, on the behalf of Pitchfork Partners, said ultimately Peoria’s text amendment boils down to a sales tax issue.
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 the 13 dispensaries outside the city in proximity that are providing delivery to Peoria residents.
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.
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.
The approval of Peoria’s text amendment will allow for the delivery of recreational marijuana, but not until those rules are established by the state, which must be completed by Jan. 1, 2025.
ADHS has not provided an approximate time frame for the proposed regulations.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@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.
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