Pot times July 17, 2005
San Francisco Officials Target Proliferation Of 'Pot
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1127/a07.htmlNewshawk: Humphrey Ploughjogger
Pubdate: Sun, 17 Jul 2005 SAN FRANCISCO OFFICIALS TARGET PROLIFERATION OF 'POT CLUBS'
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
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Copyright: 2005 Globe Newspaper Company
Author: Bobby Caina Calvan, Globe Correspondent
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm
(Cannabis - Medicinal)
Unregulated Sites Anger Neighbors; DEA Makes Raids
SAN FRANCISCO -- When California considered becoming one of the first states to
allow the sale of medicinal marijuana a decade ago, nearly three-fourths of this
city's voters embraced the idea. Elected officials, including the district
attorney, the city's top law enforcer, openly campaigned for passage of the
statewide measure.
But now nearly as ubiquitous as coffee shops in some San Francisco
neighborhoods, marijuana dispensaries are the subject of increasing scrutiny by
city officials who say the proliferation of so-called pot clubs has gone
unabated for too long. In April, the city imposed a moratorium on new pot
clubs. "We have more medicinal cannabis clubs than Burger Kings and
McDonald's combined," said Sean Elsbernd, a member of the city's Board of
Supervisors who has called for a cap on the number of such clubs -- to as few as
eight, far less than the dozens currently operating. The board serves as
the city's legislative branch.
No one is sure how many pot clubs exist in San Francisco -- because the city
currently has no regulatory control over them -- but estimates range as high as
four dozen, many concentrated in the city's Haight-Ashbury district, the
birthplace of this city's counterculture.
California is one of a dozen states, including Maine and Vermont, with medical
marijuana laws that allow those with a doctor's prescription to use the drug to
alleviate often-painful symptoms from a vast array of ailments, including
glaucoma, muscle spasms, cancer, and AIDS. San Francisco's scrutiny comes
amid increasing anxiety over the possibility of an impending crackdown by the
federal government. Last month, the US Supreme Court decided 6-3 that
marijuana users, even with a doctor's prescription, can be prosecuted under
federal drug laws, although the decision did not strike down medicinal marijuana
laws in California and other states. About two weeks after the Supreme
Court decision, federal agents raided three pot clubs as part of an
investigation into money laundering and gang activity. A spokeswoman for
the Drug Enforcement Administration's San Francisco office said the clubs were
not targeted specifically for selling marijuana. As for a potential
crackdown on the city's pot clubs, "We're not going to discuss whether we
will or will not take any enforcement action," said Special Agent Casey
McEnry, the DEA's spokesperson in San Francisco. Meanwhile, the recent
court decision has prompted the state to rethink its plan to issue state-issued
identification cards that were intended to help people prove -- particularly to
police -- that they had legitimate reasons for possessing marijuana.
While some city officials doubt that drug agents will seek to shut down pot
clubs en masse, local regulation of the clubs could forestall federal action.
"In an environment where federal authorities are clearly watching for any
misstep, our best hope . . . is to bring accountability and
transparency to the operation of medicinal cannabis dispensaries in San
Francisco," said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi.
"The failure to enact any kind of regulation has left our neighborhoods
without a voice in the decisions for far too long," Mirkarimi said.
In a 60-page proposal introduced late last month, Mirkarimi wants to require
medical marijuana dispensaries to apply for permits from the city's Department
of Public Health and to pay annual license fees. Criminal background
checks would be conducted by the Police Department, and public hearings would
take place before any permits could be approved.
Pot clubs would be prohibited from residential neighborhoods and sites near
schools. And to help ensure that owners of pot clubs aren't in it purely
for the money, Mirkarimi is proposing that the clubs operate as collectives or
cooperatives to limit "excessive profits."
Enacting local regulations "would give less reason for the DEA to come and
raid these clubs," Mirkarimi said.
Many pot club operators declined to be interviewed for this story. Soon
after passage of Proposition 215, the 1996 ballot measure that made medicinal
marijuana legal in California, pot clubs began popping up across San Francisco,
ranging from hole-in-the-wall outfits that offer "take-out" marijuana,
in its raw form or in baked goods, to larger clinics that allow customers to
smoke the drug on the premises.
In some cases, residents were unaware that a pot club was moving into their
neighborhood until they were already open. Some residents have complained
about noise, loitering, littering, and traffic.
"It isn't so much the medicinal marijuana people are complaining
about," said Elsbernd, "but all the activity -- some of it criminal -
-- happening all around." Noting that the city of Oakland, across the bay
from San Francisco, has only four pot clubs, Elsbernd said a cap of eight would
be appropriate for his city. "We have twice the population as
Oakland, so it would make sense to cap the number at eight. The vast
majority of the clubs would have to close." Until the city can develop
acceptable regulations, he and other elected officials say the moratorium on new
clubs must remain in place. The Board of Supervisors probably won't take
up the matter until the fall. When it does, most agree that the debate
could be contentious.
"Clearly, we're not just talking about any other type of business.
Massage parlors and fortune tellers are the subject of more regulation"
than pot clubs, said Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, who says his city needs to
make it tougher for pot clubs to open. "It shouldn't be a matter of
right." But despite the call to rein in marijuana dispensaries, elected
officials don't support their outright ban.
"There's nothing intrinsically wrong with allowing [pot clubs] to supply
medicinal cannabis. In fact, just the opposite," Sandoval said.
"For the ill who need it, we should be making it easier and just as
convenient for them to get it as it is to get drugs from a pharmacy."
