phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES SEPT 22ND–SEPT 28TH, 2022 State Licensed Dispensaries & Doctor Certifications | CANNABIS | Around the Clock Pot Mint Dispensary in Guadalupe to become the first in Arizona to open 24 hours. BY MIKE MADRIAGA M int Cannabis made history in Guadalupe in March. Now, the cannabis operator is readying to score another Arizona first — also with its flagship store in Guadalupe. On September 8, the Guadalupe Town Council voted 4-1 to allow medical and recreational dispensaries to stay open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Mint’s Guadalupe dispensary on South Priest Drive, the largest dispensary in the state, will become the first to remain open around the clock when the new zoning amendment takes effect in mid October. “This was actually a text amendment started by the town in the hopes of gener- ating more sales tax revenue,” Raul Molina, chief operating officer of Mint Cannabis, told Phoenix New Times. “We can’t wait to see everyone after midnight.” The state regulates dispensaries and mandates that they be open at least 32 hours a week but municipalities can set the hours. Before the vote last week, Guadalupe allowed dispensaries to operate between 8 a.m. and midnight. In March, the Mint Cannabis in Guadalupe became the first in the state to stay open until midnight. “We are the first one open past 10 p.m. by going to midnight, and now the first ones open after midnight and open 24 hours. We love our industry, and we love our patients,” Molina said. Jeff Kulaga, Guadalupe’s town manager, called Mint “a trailblazer in the cannabis industry.” “We’re grateful to have the largest dispensary in the state right here in our backyard, as the tax revenues they generate help our schools, residents, and town services,” he said in a prepared statement. 24-Hour Cannabis Starts in October Miss Tootsie Pop, a Mesa resident and Instagram model, has been a medical patient with Mint since 2018. “I think the Mint dispensary being open 24 hours is absolutely game-changing,” she said. “Not everyone is on the same 9-to-5 schedule. Realistically, half of us are so busy we don’t even realize we are out [after hours] until we go home to relax, and typically by then, the dispensaries are closed or not even open yet.” The Guadalupe dispensary has a drive- thru that provides increased access and added convenience, as well as an expedited option to pick up medicine. “The Mint is now making it of ease to Mike Madriaga The Mint Cannabis store on South Priest Drive. stay medicated with quality products around the clock,” added Miss Tootsie Pop, who has been medicating for 10 years. As Mint Cannabis in Guadalupe prepares to be the first dispensary in Arizona, and among just a handful of in the U.S., to shift to 24-hour operations, it will do so in steps. It will start with all-day hours on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. If that goes well, the >> p 42 37