420
Founder
To the frustration of residents and city officials, San Francisco's 2-month-old moratorium on pot clubs is apparently having little effect -- with as many as six new clubs opening in recent weeks.
This week, Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, joined by Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, introduced a resolution urging City Attorney Dennis Herrera to take action against the illegal clubs, which could now bring the total number of cannabis dispensaries in the city to 44, more than any city in America.
"I do have some concerns that people are flouting the law, making a mockery of it,'' Elsbernd said. "I appreciate it's a complex issue. But disagreement is not an excuse for inaction. We need to get going.''
The use of marijuana for medicinal purposes at the recommendation of a physician was deemed legal in California after voters in 1996 approved the Compassionate Use Act, also known as Proposition 215. However, any use of the drug remains illegal under federal law, and a ruling by the Supreme Court on Monday affirmed the right of federal authorities to seize marijuana plants and prosecute patients and their suppliers.
Elsbernd said he believes that Herrera will take legal steps to shut the clubs that opened after the moratorium took effect. But San Francisco's Planning Department has already referred four clubs, three of which have opened since the moratorium took effect in April, to the city attorney without any apparent action taken against them yet.
"It's been difficult just getting access to the clubs,'' said interim planning director Dean Macris of his staff's attempts to inspect and enforce zoning laws in the absence of clear regulation of the clubs.
Only a handful of pot clubs have obtained permits from the department to operate.
Matt Dorsey, a spokesman for the city attorney, said his office is continuing to analyze all of the complex legal factors surrounding the issue before taking action.
Asked this week about the violation of the moratorium, Mayor Gavin Newsom said, "It's wrong, it's illegal, it's inappropriate, and we're going to stop it. The intent is to close down anybody that's broken the intent of the board and the law."
Since 2003, the number of marijuana clubs dispensing pot supposedly for medical use has more than doubled, according to Wayne Justmann, a marijuana rights activist who has been working with supervisors to draft a new set of laws regulating the establishments.
"What we had probably from the start of 2004 are opportunistic individuals who saw San Francisco as a fertile area to come over and open up a cannabis dispensary,'' he said. "Their principal motivation is greed. I applaud and support what the city attorney and the supervisors are attempting to do. We were doing very well in 2003 with 18 or 22 clubs. We didn't have problems with our neighbors.''
In the 1900 block of Ocean Avenue, there are now two pot clubs operating virtually across the street from each other. The newest, at 1939 Ocean Ave., opened in early May and has upset area merchants.
"We don't think this is right,'' said one, who asked not to be named or his shop identified for fear of reprisals from marijuana club operators. "There's a moratorium, but it doesn't seem to be working. I'm not against marijuana, but it's got to be controlled better.''
Neither club was open on Thursday morning, and attempts to reach the owners were not successful.
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi spearheaded the effort to establish the moratorium, which the board extended by six months in May. He has been drafting a series of ordinances to control pot club proliferation and said the city's lack of proper regulation is partly to blame for the current situation.
"I don't know if the clubs are flouting the law,'' he said. "The responsibility lies with the city to project what the law is. (San Francisco) was becoming a sort of refuge for clubs."
Mirkarimi said any new laws governing pot clubs will be "commonsense regulation," such as distance requirements from schools, security and background checks, and an intense permitting process to open and operate a dispensary.
The supervisor also wants to be sure patient privacy is protected by whatever next step the city takes.
"This city and this state are intent on protecting the rights of the patients,'' he said. "San Francisco continues to be proud to protect the confidence of these patients.''
Chronicle staff writer Ilene Lelchuk contributed to this report.E-mail Charlie Goodyear at cgoodyear@sfchronicle.com.
Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jun 2005
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2005 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: letters@sfchronicle.com
Website: Home
This week, Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, joined by Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, introduced a resolution urging City Attorney Dennis Herrera to take action against the illegal clubs, which could now bring the total number of cannabis dispensaries in the city to 44, more than any city in America.
"I do have some concerns that people are flouting the law, making a mockery of it,'' Elsbernd said. "I appreciate it's a complex issue. But disagreement is not an excuse for inaction. We need to get going.''
The use of marijuana for medicinal purposes at the recommendation of a physician was deemed legal in California after voters in 1996 approved the Compassionate Use Act, also known as Proposition 215. However, any use of the drug remains illegal under federal law, and a ruling by the Supreme Court on Monday affirmed the right of federal authorities to seize marijuana plants and prosecute patients and their suppliers.
Elsbernd said he believes that Herrera will take legal steps to shut the clubs that opened after the moratorium took effect. But San Francisco's Planning Department has already referred four clubs, three of which have opened since the moratorium took effect in April, to the city attorney without any apparent action taken against them yet.
"It's been difficult just getting access to the clubs,'' said interim planning director Dean Macris of his staff's attempts to inspect and enforce zoning laws in the absence of clear regulation of the clubs.
Only a handful of pot clubs have obtained permits from the department to operate.
Matt Dorsey, a spokesman for the city attorney, said his office is continuing to analyze all of the complex legal factors surrounding the issue before taking action.
Asked this week about the violation of the moratorium, Mayor Gavin Newsom said, "It's wrong, it's illegal, it's inappropriate, and we're going to stop it. The intent is to close down anybody that's broken the intent of the board and the law."
Since 2003, the number of marijuana clubs dispensing pot supposedly for medical use has more than doubled, according to Wayne Justmann, a marijuana rights activist who has been working with supervisors to draft a new set of laws regulating the establishments.
"What we had probably from the start of 2004 are opportunistic individuals who saw San Francisco as a fertile area to come over and open up a cannabis dispensary,'' he said. "Their principal motivation is greed. I applaud and support what the city attorney and the supervisors are attempting to do. We were doing very well in 2003 with 18 or 22 clubs. We didn't have problems with our neighbors.''
In the 1900 block of Ocean Avenue, there are now two pot clubs operating virtually across the street from each other. The newest, at 1939 Ocean Ave., opened in early May and has upset area merchants.
"We don't think this is right,'' said one, who asked not to be named or his shop identified for fear of reprisals from marijuana club operators. "There's a moratorium, but it doesn't seem to be working. I'm not against marijuana, but it's got to be controlled better.''
Neither club was open on Thursday morning, and attempts to reach the owners were not successful.
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi spearheaded the effort to establish the moratorium, which the board extended by six months in May. He has been drafting a series of ordinances to control pot club proliferation and said the city's lack of proper regulation is partly to blame for the current situation.
"I don't know if the clubs are flouting the law,'' he said. "The responsibility lies with the city to project what the law is. (San Francisco) was becoming a sort of refuge for clubs."
Mirkarimi said any new laws governing pot clubs will be "commonsense regulation," such as distance requirements from schools, security and background checks, and an intense permitting process to open and operate a dispensary.
The supervisor also wants to be sure patient privacy is protected by whatever next step the city takes.
"This city and this state are intent on protecting the rights of the patients,'' he said. "San Francisco continues to be proud to protect the confidence of these patients.''
Chronicle staff writer Ilene Lelchuk contributed to this report.E-mail Charlie Goodyear at cgoodyear@sfchronicle.com.
Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jun 2005
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2005 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: letters@sfchronicle.com
Website: Home
