SAFFORD — The Safford City Council will be asked to approve an emergency ordinance dealing with adult recreational use of marijuana.
City staff updated the council on the proposed ordinance during a work session last Friday.
The ordinance as proposed uses the city’s already adopted language for medical marijuana and adopts it for recreational use, with all the same restrictions on location of a retail establishment, including:
● Must be a minimum 1,000 feet away from any substance abuse diagnostic or treatment facility
● Must be 500 feet from any public, private or charter educational facility or learning center
● Must a minimum 250 feet away from residential property, another marijuana retail establishment, any child-care center, public library, public park, church, or any family recreational or entertainment area
Added under the proposed ordinance would be prohibition on off-site cultivation, processing or manufacture of marijuana products; as well as prohibition on the smoking of marijuana in any public or open place.
Arizona voters approved the recreational use of marijuana by adults last November.
If the council approves the ordinance on an emergency basis, it would go into effect immediately instead of the normal 30 days after adoption.
The council will act on the proposal at its Feb. 22 meeting.
