2 Henderson marijuana dispensaries seek approval

Henderson is set to approve two more medical marijuana dispensaries this month, one of which nixed its first potential site after neighborhood opposition.

The City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday to approve a new location for Jenny’s Dispensary, which scrapped its original plan in February. The state approved the new site in late April.

And on June 16, the council could vote to approve another dispensary, Clear River Wellness, about a mile and a half west of Jenny’s.

They would become the second and third dispensaries approved in Henderson. The first, Great Basin Care, co-owned by Las Vegas Sun publisher Brian Greenspun, was approved by the council in February and was scheduled to open later this year.

Jenny’s former location, near Sun City Anthem, was in a quiet shopping center at the southern end of Eastern Avenue. Homes were close by, and neighboring businesses would have included a dentist, a barber, a Realtor and a financial adviser.

The new location, about 2½ miles north on Eastern, is in a busier shopping center and surrounded by a Hooters, a pub, a hotel and a Social Security office.

“It seems more appropriate. It definitely is more of a commercial strip than the original location,” said Sam Vott, one of the residents who opposed Jenny’s first site choice.

Jenny’s CEO David Rosen said the dispensary could be open at 10420 S. Eastern Ave., south of St. Rose Parkway, by the end of the year.

“We’re really excited,” Rosen said.

The owners had to hold a community meeting when proposing the first location, and they scrapped their plans after public opposition became clear.

But no neighborhood meeting was required for the new site because it’s “within a completely commercial center,” interim city manager Bristol Ellington said.

The public will be able to comment before the City Council votes Tuesday on Jenny’s.

The process of locating dispensaries in Henderson has become a game of musical chairs. At one point, four of the five state-approved shops, including Jenny’s and Clear River, had decided to seek new locations.

And the city had already approved Jenny’s new location as a potential site for Clear River.

On June 16, the City Council is expected to vote on the new home for Clear River at 3195 St. Rose Parkway, according to a notice posted in the area. The medical office building also includes an optometrist and ear, nose and throat practice, among other tenants.

A woman who works in the building, who wouldn’t give her name, said she and her coworkers had heard nothing about a marijuana dispensary moving in. She called the news “shocking.”

Ellington said Clear River hosted a neighborhood meeting May 26 after sending notices to 31 property owners, but no one attended.

Contact Eric Hartley at ehartley@reviewjournal.com or 702-550-9229. Find him on Twitter: @ethartley