Health Services. The Republic reported that dispensa- ries can shop around with testing compa- nies until they receive favorable results and don’t have to report tests that show contamination in products. A partner at The Mint, Raúl Molina, told the Republic he was worried the dispensaries would be making enemies by opposing a bill that contained a lot of good provisions. In 2023, Republican state Sen. Sonny Borrelli introduced Senate Bill 1271, which would have prevented hemp- derived products like delta-8 from being regulated like marijuana. Industrial hemp, from which delta-8 products are derived, is currently regulated by the state Department of Agriculture. Borrelli’s bill would have kept it that way and also would have legalized delta-8. It passed the Senate in a 29-1 vote. But state Sen. T.J. Shope, also a Republican, countered with SB 1453, which would have required delta-8 prod- ucts be produced and sold only by entities with a medical or recreational dispensary license. SB 1466 passed, though neither it nor Borrelli’s bill were ever considered by the state House. During a Feb. 9, 2023, committee hearing in which Borrelli’s bill was considered, ADA lobbyist Pele Fischer said the ADA was neutral on it but thanked Shope for running his bill. A year later, Borrelli tried again to pass another bill, SB 1186, that would have legalized delta-8 products. But it failed again, passing the Senate but dying in the House. This March, Attorney General Kris Mayes released a legal opinion stating that delta-8 products cannot be legally sold outside of licensed dispensa- ries already regulated by the Department of Health Services, which Udell criticized at the time as “giving the marijuana industry something that the legislature would not.” Another bill caught the attention of marijuana experts this year. Republican state Rep. Steve Montenegro introduced House Bill 2451, which primarily was about preventing marijuana advertising from appealing to children. But nestled deep in the bill was a provision that would have given the ADA’s dispensaries total control over all advertising of marijuana paraphernalia, such as bongs, pipes and rolling papers, which dispensaries have nothing to do with. “Only a marijuana establishment or nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary may advertise marijuana, products containing tetrahydrocannabinol or mari- juana paraphernalia,” the law read. Dr. Gary Kirkilas, a pediatrician, testi- fied in favor of the bill at a House Health & Human Services Committee hearing on Feb. 4 of this year, noting that he “had the pleasure of working together with” Fischer and the ADA on the proposed law. Gunnigle noted that the bill also presented serious concerns about the definitions of paraphernalia and adver- tising. Is packaging considered adver- tising? What about a website? If someone goes on a podcast and mentions they work at a glass-blowing outfit that produces pipes, would that be advertising? “We’ve never seen anything like this in at least the marijuana market where you’re giving one industry control over another,” Gunnigle said in March. “What market incentive could a dispensary possibly have for approving paraphernalia advertising that’s not being sold in their shops?” Ultimately, the bill passed the House but ran aground in the Senate. ‘Awful status quo’ It was a victory for the ADA that Wilmeth’s bill to allow interstate mari- juana commerce died a quiet death. While plenty of media outlets reported on it passing through the committee, almost no one reported on why it advanced no further. But why wouldn’t Arizona’s biggest marijuana companies want to be able to export their products to other markets? According to Fischer, those companies were more worried about products coming into Arizona. “While I understand the concerns of making sure we’re open to business to export,” Fischer said, “I think we need to think very carefully about the import.” Udell believes there’s probably more to it than that. “I think they are terrified of anyone who’s not them getting a marijuana bill over the finish line,” Udell said. “If a substantial reform bill got done, what’s coming next? Brands are going to wake up and be like, ‘I’m done paying $300,000 (a year) to a dispensary just for the right to operate a 1,000-square-foot manufac- turing facility. This is insane.’” Udell wonders if small cannabis busi- nesses will eventually organize for their own interests against the mega dispensa- ries. If they do, it could spell trouble for the giants keeping a tight grip on the state’s young legal weed industry. “That’s the nightmare scenario for the ADA. Because they aren’t as powerful as they make it out to be,” Udell said. “In large part, it’s because they’re defending this awful status quo.” Republican state Sen. Sonny Borrelli has tried twice to pass laws regulating hemp outside of the Arizona Dispensaries Association’s purview, to no avail. (Photo by Gage Skidmore) Flower Power from p 14
