The Planning and Zoning Commission told Mark Steinmetz, owner and general manager for the Nature’s AZ Medicines marijuana dispensary in Fountain Hills, that they believe the current hours of operation are more than enough for him to serve the roughly 350 marijuana card holders here.

The commission voted 6-1 at its April 23 meeting to recommend the Town Council not grant extended hours for the dispensary.

Commissioner Eugene Mikolajczyk was the lone no vote, but he did not comment on his position.

Currently the dispensary on Enterprise Drive operates from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, and is closed on Sunday.

That is a total of 62 hours per week.

Steinmetz told the commission he is asking for better patient access, saying he gets daily complaints that people cannot get to the dispensary before 7 p.m.

He is asking the town to increase his allowable hours to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, a total of 98 hours per week.

“Virtually all of the (dispensaries) in Arizona are open on Sunday,” Steinmetz, although he retracted to say he believes there is just one other closed on Sunday.

“I’m asking for the same access as a traditional pharmacy, and consistent with my Phoenix (dispensary),” he said.

Shelly Mowrey, director of the Fountain Hills Coalition, noted that the 98 hours Steinmetz is asking for is 23 hours more than the average operating hours for Fountain Hills pharmacies.

A Times Internet check of six pharmacies in Fountain Hills shows they are open for an average of 73 hours per week.

Walgreen’s pharmacy is open a total of 87 hours each week, although store hours are longer. The Target pharmacy is open just two hours more per week than Nature’s AZ Medicines, and the pharmacy in the Bashas’ supermarket is open just 60 hours, two hours fewer per week than the dispensary.

Mowrey said the greatest concern for the coalition is access by juveniles.

“We don’t believe that extending these hours is in the best interest of children,” she said.

She added that she believes that some of the products at the dispensary are deliberately packaged and named to appeal to young people, much like the marketing for cigarettes 50 years ago.

“They are taking a page from big tobacco in marketing,” Mowrey said. “We can’t afford to make the same mistake with this that was made with ‘Joe Camel.’”

Coalition program coordinator Maria Perreault said she believes that Steinmetz is positioning himself to be a major player in the market should voters approve retail use of marijuana in the future.

State Senator John Kavanagh was present at the meeting and spoke up in opposition to the change.

“The activities that take place here are illegal under federal law,” Kavanagh said.

“I think your (current) hours are perfectly fine,” commission Vice Chairman Mike Archambault said. “I am only here to determine how you serve Fountain Hills residents. I find it hard to believe you can’t serve 350 card holders with the hours you have.”

Chairman Lloyd Pew agreed saying, “The hours you have seem to be sufficient.”

The original town ordinance established the hours for the dispensary operation at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Steinmetz requested and received the change to the current hours in March 2014.

The Town Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing and consider the request at its regular session Thursday, May 21.