ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A proposal before the Albuquerque City Council would limit where in the city marijuana can be sold in Albuquerque. The mayor’s office introduced a zoning change that would restrict how close marijuana businesses could be from the main streets as well as residential and mixed-use areas.
The amendment asks to change zoning rules to restrict cannabis businesses from operating within 660 feet from main street areas and 300 feet from residential or mixed-use areas. Customer visits and deliveries would also be prohibited from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. The amendment does not distinguish between medical or recreational dispensaries.
Councilor Pat Davis is against the proposal, arguing it steps on the toes of the state which already has experience regulating medical dispensaries. ” I think the early fears about sort of that reefer madness, that this would cause some big chaos, that hasn’t produced in New Mexico. And remember, these are the folks that are gonna still be in our neighborhoods, these are the ones that are gonna be growing,” said Davis.
Davis says the rules would also keep cannabis businesses out of popular areas like Nob Hill and downtown and hurt the city’s economy. Councilors are set to vote on the measure in June. Davis does not expect it to pass as is.
