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THE GREENERY GIVES UP Phoenix loses a medical marijuana shop, gains another New dispensary expected to open soon at the Shoppes at Exit 24 Comment By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 4, 2015 at 10:39 AM Updated May 4, 2015 at 3:25 PM By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 4, 2015 at 10:39 AM Updated May 4, 2015 at 3:25 PM » Social News PHOENIX — Even though the city lifted a yearlong moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries Friday, The Greenery is throwing in the towel after a nearly two-year fight to serve patients. In the meantime, an application for a different dispensary in the city has cleared most of the hurdles needed to open. If approved, Top Shelf Wellness Center would be located at The Shoppes at Exit 24 shopping center. City Manager Steve Dahl said the year-long moratorium gave the city a chance to put rules into place governing dispensaries of medical cannabis. The new zoning would prohibit a dispensary at The Greenery's current location because dispensaries must be at least 250 feet away from city parks, Dahl said. "That location they are in now is right next to Bicentennial Park — a wetland area between Main Street and Bear Creek," Dahl said. "There's a road going in by the end of summer, and we have people cleaning up that area now. They basically wouldn't qualify to open there." Andrea Adams, director of The Greenery, released a statement on social media last week detailing the group's effort to establish a dispensary in the city. The Greenery was ordered closed last spring but remained open as a patient resource center — without medical cannabis. The facility closed its doors in February when a Jackson County judge deemed the city's yearlong moratorium was "valid and enforceable." "The city won't be seeing any applications from The Greenery moving forward," Adams said. "The last thing that happened while we were waiting for the court decision was that the city zoned out my building from being able to apply for a dispensary or medical marijuana business license of any kind. "They eliminated where my building was as a zoning option, so that the only place it can be is The Shoppes at Exit 24." Adams voiced support for the proposed new dispensary and said she'll find another use for her building. "I'm staying in Phoenix," Adams said. "I own the building, for one, so I need to make that functional financially. And I'm really passionate about, after all we've been through, making Phoenix better ... I'm just stepping out of the political side of things and I want to just do something good for Phoenix. I think more people need to do something good for this town." Dahl said Top Shelf Wellness Center had gone through much of the city's process, including paying $1,100 for a business license, and could open as soon as next week. "With the moratorium, that gave us the time we needed to go through and examine the process and see what other cities were doing inside Oregon and to develop rules the council felt were good for the city and also good for the businesses," Dahl said. Wade Hall, owner of Top Shelf Wellness Center, confirmed that he was going through the process of opening at The Shoppes at Exit 24 but said he would reserve comment until he had officially opened. Hall said his focus was to provide safe access for patients. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve patients," Hall said. "I think of all the people who were depending on The Greenery, and it just hits me. I was a big fan of The Greenery. I believe in what they believe in. "I believe in helping patients and that this thing we're doing is worthy. There are still a lot of patients who can't get access to medicine." Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. Email her at [email protected]. By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 4, 2015 at 10:39 AM Updated May 4, 2015 at 3:25 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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