PHOENIX — In November, voters will have the final say on whether Bayacan will be allowed to grow medical-grade cannabis in the former NatureSweet greenhouses in Bonita.
Shane Jones and Victoria Cranford brought suit challenging the signature gathering of the group Respect the Will of the People: Graham County Voters & Arizona Public Integrity Alliance Encourages a No Vote on Massive Marijuana Expansion in Our Area.
They successfully petitioned the court to toss out more than 1,000 signatures gathered for the referendum seeking to overturn a 2021 Graham County Board of Supervisors decision to allow a rezoning of the greenhouses, which would permit the cannabis-growing operation.
However, there were still enough signatures to qualify the referendum for the November ballot. A final appeal for injunctive relief, to have the measure prohibited from appearing on the ballot, was rejected by the Arizona Court of Appeals on July 21.
Respect the Will of the People is headed by Phoenix’s George Khalaf, who is a managing partner of The Resolute Group, a Maricopa County “public relations, campaigns, strategic consulting, direct mail” company that is “advancing conservative values,” according to its website.
The Arizona Republic recently reported Khalaf is involved in questionable campaign financing in the Kari Lake campaign for governor.
Due to the uncertainty surrounding the referendum, NatureSweet has closed the greenhouses and laid-off hundreds of workers.
If Graham County voters affirm the Board of Supervisors decision to rezone the greenhouses, allowing the growing of medical-grade cannabis, Bayacan officials said the company would hire about 150 people for the first phase of development, at a starting salary of about $35,000 per year plus benefits. At build-out, the company expects to employ about 600.
Bayacan also said it would spend about $25 million in the initial phase to purchase and upgrade the greenhouses, plus another $24.3 million in upgrades after the first phase, bringing total expenditures to $49.8 million. Those upgrades are expected to create 272 construction jobs.
