Gilbert partially bans recreational marijuana if Proposition 207 OK’d

An attorney for Curaleaf, which helped finance Proposition 207, spoke in support of the preemptive ban the Gilbert Town Council approved on Tuesday.

The Town Council was working to get ahead of Proposition 207, which proposes to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, allowing possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for adults 21 and older in Arizona. The ballot measure comes a decade after Arizona voters approved medical marijuana.

Gilbert’s newly minted ordinance, which only will take effect if the ballot measure passes, prohibits recreational marijuana retail establishments and testing facilities in the town — apart from the dispensary already there — and makes it illegal to smoke or consume marijuana in any public open space there. 

The local law also would ban the use, sale, production, storage or distribution of marijuana on town-owned or operated property.

The ordinance says the ban is to “protect public health, safety, and welfare.”

Language in the ballot measure grants local control so that cities and towns can make their own decisions about prohibiting recreational marijuana operations and other regulations like zoning, number of places and hours or delivery. 

Gilbert officials say they worked with other Arizona cities and the Arizona League of Cities and Towns on the “model ordinance.” The league did not respond to The Arizona Republic’s requests for comment.  

Scott Anderson, interim mayor, said he is confident that Gilbert will not be “out on an island” and that many neighboring cities will pass the same ban. 

Gilbert: Marijuana is a public safety threat

The council’s unanimous approval of the ordinance came despite opposition from 78 of the 81 people who submitted comments to the town prior to the council meeting.

Councilmember Jared Taylor, who frequently espouses small-government views, said government is needed here.

“There is an important role that government has in certain things like the vice industries. When you have something that plays on the weaknesses of individuals, especially our youth, government absolutely has a role in that,” Taylor said.

Councilmember Yung Koprowski, a transportation engineer, said she’s concerned about road safety and increased accidents if recreational marijuana is legalized. 

Anderson said the town’s primary role is to protect the community’s health, safety and welfare, which Proposition 207 could jeopardize. 

One voice that carries sway in Gilbert is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has spoken out against Proposition 207. 

“Access to more mind-altering drugs, like marijuana, has a ripple effect on families. Money that is better spent on bills, groceries and household expenses might now be wasted on drugs,” reads a statement from Elder C. Dale Willis Jr. in Mesa on behalf of the church.

“Rather than more legalized drugs we should find ways to increase our capacity to connect with our families and neighbors. For the good of the community and the family we strongly oppose this dangerous proposal,” the statement says. 

DEBATE:Matt Nielsen, Brigette Peterson to face off on Oct. 15 on azcentral.com

Curaleaf’s role

Lindsay Schube, an attorney representing Curaleaf, spoke in support of the ordinance.

“If we do become a dual license facility, just want to ensure that we can continue our great partnership with the town of Gilbert,” she said. 

Schube said that Curaleaf would support the ban as long as its current and future operations aren’t impacted. 

The Gilbert area may have dispensaries nearby or on county islands, and Councilmember Taylor said the town is zoned to have two medical marijuana dispensaries, but a town spokesperson said Curaleaf currently is the only dispensary with zoning approval to operate in the town. 

Curaleaf is the second largest dispensary operator in terms of locations in Arizona. The company’s website says it has eight dispensaries in the state.

The Massachusetts-based Curaleaf has put $600,000 into the Proposition 207 effort, according to campaign finance reports.

Curaleaf, after buying a number of smaller operators, has become the largest cannabis company in the world by sales, the company’s executive chairman told CNN Business in July.

Taylor acknowledged to The Republic that the ordinance gives Curaleaf a monopoly in the town, but said it’s the best Gilbert can do for its residents right now given the ballot measure.

“It’s a lose-lose,” Taylor said. “I don’t like monopolies but we don’t want the proliferation of recreational marijuana in our town either, so it’s a little bit of splitting the baby here … I’m not sure that we had another better option besides just the free-for-all that we’ve seen in other states that has a major downside to it.” 

The ballot measure, if approved by voters, would prohibit municipalities like Gilbert from restricting or interfering with combined medical-recreational dispensaries. But Gilbert’s ordinance would stop any further expansion of recreational marijuana shops not associated with medical marijuana, which under the ballot measure would mean licenses going toward “social equity.” 

Proposition 207 would allow for sales at the 130 existing, licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Arizona as well as at 26 licensed stores aimed at “social equity.” Those additional licenses are intended to benefit “individuals from communities disproportionately impacted” by marijuana laws.

Those “social equity” licenses are yet to be specifically defined. If the proposition passes, the Department of Health Services must define who qualifies for the new licenses.

Gilbert would be effectively turning down that equity opportunity for individuals to own and operate marijuana-related businesses in the town. 

“I don’t think it’s a good look to prohibit new businesses that are owned by people most disproportionally impacted by prohibition,” said Stacy Pearson, a spokesperson for Proposition 207. “Gilbert might want to rethink the racial and the social implications of that.”

Schube, representing Curaleaf, told The Republic the company remains supportive of Proposition 207 and the social equity licenses despite support of Gilbert’s ordinance. 

“In this circumstance, we’re just trying to be a good partner for the town of Gilbert. However, on a global statewide level, Curaleaf is very, very supportive of the social equity licenses and it does not reflect Curaleaf’s position on the social equity licenses at all.”

Supporters: Town will lose out on jobs, revenue

Proponents of the ballot measure say Gilbert is pushing away new jobs and tax revenues.

The proposition was written to allow exactly this kind of local decision-making, but it’s disappointing to see Gilbert move forward in this way, said Sam Richard, executive director of the Arizona Dispensaries Association. 

Gilbert is not just curtailing new businesses, but blocking cultivation and other job-producing parts of the supply chain, he said.

“They’re saying no to those payroll taxes and those additional employees coming in and out of their town,” Richard said. “Folks want the ability to have access to medical cannabis and eventually perhaps adult-use cannabis and now Gilbert is just willingly foreclosing their opportunity to see those additional jobs and new tax revenue.”  

Anderson said the town would not be missing out on much revenue, because Gilbert would have health and safety costs created by recreational marijuana use.

Proposition will be debated Wednesday on azcentral

Recent polling shows Arizona voters favor Proposition 207, also called the Smart and Safe Arizona Act.

In a late September poll, about 46% of voters supported Proposition 207, with 34% opposed and 19% undecided. A poll by the ballot measure campaign found 50% in support and 34% opposed.

Leaders of the campaigns for and against the ballot measure will meet Wednesday for a debate hosted by The Arizona Republic, which will be livestreamed on azcentral.com from 7 to 8 p.m. 

Republic reporter Ryan Randazzo contributed to this article.

Have a story about Gilbert or Mesa? Reach the reporter at [email protected] or at 602-444-4282. Follow her on Twitter @alisteinbach.

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