Pubdate: Fri, 22 Apr 2005
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2005 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact:  http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Rachel Gordon, SF Chronicle Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

NEWSOM OFFERS PLAN TO REGULATE POT CLUBS MAYOR SAYS S.F. IS THE ONLY
COUNTY WITHOUT OVERSIGHT

With the number of known medical marijuana clubs in San Francisco now
up to 43, Mayor Gavin Newsom proposed on Thursday a number of
regulations he hopes will "address legitimate neighborhood concerns
regarding the location, proliferation and security of these
dispensaries."

The recommendations -- many already outlined in state law pertaining
to medical marijuana -- range from forbidding the clubs to operate
within 1,000 feet of places where young people congregate, such as
playgrounds and schools, to requiring that operators adhere to
good-neighbor policies.

The mayor wants to make sure no one drinks alcohol on the premises,
that minimum security, ventilation and lighting standards are
maintained, and that enforcement procedures are put in place to assure
that no one is selling or buying the controlled substance in violation
of Proposition 215, the California law approved by voters in 1996 that
sanctioned medical marijuana for qualified patients.

Dispensaries would have to open their books to city inspectors to
verify that they're operating as a not-for-profit business cooperative
or collective, as required by the state, and that only primary
caregivers and authorized patients are buying the marijuana.

Advocates may fight that provision for fear federal authorities could
seize those records in a raid. The U.S. government and federal courts
have held that cannabis, even if used for medicinal purposes, is illegal.

Another Newsom recommendation: Prospective operators would be required
to notify neighbors of their intent to open a club, and the Planning
Department would have to OK the operation.

The closest municipal regulation pertaining to medicinal marijuana
clubs the city now has on its books is the requirement that operators
secure a building permit if the existing use of the property needs to
be changed. However, only a handful of the dispensaries have complied.

"The fact is," said Newsom, who described himself as a strong
proponent of medical marijuana, "we're the one county left to our
knowledge in the state (with) multiple marijuana dispensaries that has
no regulations whatsoever."

Among the issues still to be worked out is which agency or agencies
would be in charge of regulation, and whether a special operating
license would be imposed on the clubs in part to raise the money to
pay for enforcement.

Many of the proposed restrictions would have to be approved by the
Board of Supervisors; the mayor could enact a handful of others
through executive fiat.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who has taken an active interest in the
issue, called Newsom's plan a "good generic outline" that needs to be
fleshed out.

"It's a starting point, and it presents an early forecast that we're
all leaning in the same direction," said Mirkarimi, who also has been
devising regulations. "It's really at the level of legislative
minutiae when there may be disagreement."

Newsom, for instance, suggests banning clubs from operating within 500
feet of one another; some on the board may push to allow closer
proximity to keep some existing clubs from having to close or move.

Mirkarimi is holding a City Hall hearing Monday to kick-start public
discussion on the city's options.

In late March, the Board of Supervisors and the mayor imposed a 45-day
moratorium on new pot clubs, which have been sprouting in the city
with eye-popping speed -- including a few new ones between the time
the moratorium was proposed and enacted. City officials wanted the
timeout to keep more clubs from opening while they craft regulations.
Newsom wants the moratorium, which expires May 15, extended.

Less than two years ago, there were fewer than 20 dispensaries in the
city, but when Oakland and surrounding cities and counties set their
own limits, San Francisco became a magnet.

"I think regulations could do nothing but help us," said Chris
Montana, who operates the Love Shack medical cannabis club in the
Mission, which serves about 200 clients a day and has a reputation of
working well with neighbors and adhering to strict, self-imposed
operating rules.

"Right now, some of the clubs are having problems," Montana said.
"Maybe some of them are in it just for the money, or for some illegal
purpose. With regulations, they'll have a harder time getting into the
system."
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MAP posted-by: Derek