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Cottonwood

City reviewing marijuana rules

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Medical marijuana was approved by Arizona voters in 2010.

It passed by just over 50 percent, but the vote meant that communities around the state had to prepare for a new legal industry.

The city of Cottonwood, as well as many other communities, passed regulations and restrictions on what would or wouldn’t be permitted in advance.Cottonwood Agricultural Services grow and cultivate medical marijuana for Yavapai Herbal Services, the local dispensary. This particular all-female variety is called Goji OG. If males were  introduced, seeds would occur, which diminishes the crop. Currently they are limited to a 10,000 square feet operation, a restriction not imposed on other communities that makes the cost of production higher than the profit the crop will yield. In October, City Council will put lifting the restriction to a vote.
Now the City Council is looking at possibly relaxing some of those restrictions in the face of how the medical marijuana industry has grown.

The city passed its rules on growing operations in 2011.

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“The ordinance placed a limit of 10,000 square feet gross floor area for cultivation facilities with a separation of 1,000 feet between such facilities,” according to a report from the Cottonwood Development Services Department. “Infusion kitchens are limited to 5,000 square feet gross floor area also with 1,000 feet between facilities.”

Infusion kitchens are areas where marijuana can be added to edible goods so that it’s not necessary to smoke the product to get the effects.
These rules have started to have an effect on one local medical marijuana growing operation.

To read the full story, see the Wednesday, Sept. 16, edition of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.

Mark Lineberger

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