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Williams' medical marijuana dispensary looks to expand operations

Route 66 Wellness Center, a marijuana dispensary in Williams, hopes to move into a larger building equipped with a kitchen to make infusion foods. The dispensary’s owners will go before the Williams Planning and Zoning Commission tomorrow. Ryan Williams/WGCN

Route 66 Wellness Center, a marijuana dispensary in Williams, hopes to move into a larger building equipped with a kitchen to make infusion foods. The dispensary’s owners will go before the Williams Planning and Zoning Commission tomorrow. Ryan Williams/WGCN

Almost a year after opening, Williams' medical marijuana dispensary may be on the move pending two public hearings and a City Council vote.

Route 66 Wellness Center opened Jan. 21, 2013 at 341 E. Route 66. Now the dispensary's owners hope to move to a location behind its existing building, to 324 E. Railroad Ave.

"The main reason they want to move is because they need an approved kitchen to make infusion foods, or put this medical marijuana into foods," said Tim Pettit, the city's chief building inspector.

The potential new location was previously Hop Sings restaurant, which Pettit said has a kitchen that would meet county and state health department standards.

Williams' medical marijuana ordinance allows dispensaries in the Central Business District, Commercial Residential District, or Light Industrial district under a conditional use permit.

Route 66 Wellness Center's current location, as well as the possible new location, is in the Central Business District.

Cannabis Research Group, which runs the dispensary, applied for a conditional use permit for the potential new location on Dec. 12.

"No matter if they've been approved once, if they change locations they have to be approved again," Pettit said. "And they wanted that for the medical marijuana dispensaries just because of the nature of it, the sensitivity and how the public would react to it."

Cannabis Research Group's application for a conditional use permit has met all of the necessary criteria, according to Pettit.

"There isn't anything in their application that would disallow it per code, but it has to go through the process, get public input," Pettit said.

In the year that Route 66 Wellness Center has been open in Williams, Pettit said he has not received any complaints.

"We've had even people say, 'When are these people going to open?' And they've been open," Pettit said. "So that's doing exactly what we wanted it to do and what they said it would do. You wouldn't even know it was there unless you actually needed the marijuana."

Officials with Cannabis Research Group did not return repeated calls for comment.

The Williams Planning and Zoning Commission will put on a public hearing tomorrow and the Williams City Council will put on a public hearing Jan. 23. Both meetings start at 7 p.m. in the council chambers, 113 S. First Street. The council and commission welcome oral and written comments. More information is available at (928) 635-4451.


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