MARANA, Ariz. (KGUN) — It was a big day for four Tucson-area dispensaries, after they got approval to sell recreational marijuana.
Folks at Nature Med tell KGUN9 they’ve been getting ready for this day for months.
“The phones are ringing off the hook,” Charles Remme told KGUN9.
Remme is the Chief Operating Officer of Arizona Golden Leaf Wellness, licensed through Nature Med.
“We’re excited to get adult use to the community, but we just have to wait to get that approval from the town of Marana,” he said.
Which means, right now, they can only sell medical marijuana to clients, but come February 25th, they’ll be able to sell to anyone over the age of 21.
“We’ve stepped up our ordering. We’re making sure that we will be supplied and stocked for everyone that wants to come in. We’re working with our staff to make sure it’s an efficient visit for everybody,” he told KGUN9.
Remme says they expect to see a lot of growth and are ready on both the sales front and production.
“We have some big things coming in 2021. A brand-new cultivation facility that will be state of the art. One of the biggest in the state. As well as a state of the art, brand new, beautiful dispensary,” he added.
So, dispensary space will go from 400 to 4,000 square feet and cultivation space will grow from 4,000 to 172,000 square feet.
They currently see roughly 9,000 monthly customers. They expect that to double, or even triple during their first month.
“Just have patience, be prepared and customers be prepared for long wait times,” he said.
While buying recreational marijuana is legal, Sergeant Brett Bernstein with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department says driving under the influence is not.
Sergeant Bernstein is the President of the Southern Arizona DUI Task Force.
“Impairment is impairment. Whether that is due to alcohol, marijuana, or any other drug. If arrested and convicted for a DUI for a misdemeanor or a felony, that will involve very steep dines, loss of driver's license for some time up to a year, you’ll have to purchase and maintain an interlock device, and jail time,” Bernstein told KGUN9.
“Just make sure you’re educated on what consumption is going to do for you and to you and make sure you’re...just going about it the right way,” added Remme.
