Pubdate: Sun, 10 Aug 2014
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Heather Knight
Page: C1

HIGH TIME TO REGULATE MOBILE POT STARTUP?

Vacation Rentals. Ride Sharing Services. Parking Apps.

City politicians like to regulate things, but they're struggling 
these days to keep up with ever-evolving technology and how it 
affects a host of industries. Just as officials begin to get a handle 
on how to, uh, handle companies such as Airbnb and Uber, up pops 
something like MonkeyParking.

(Officials didn't have to figure out how to regulate that obnoxious 
app, which allowed people to auction off public street parking 
spaces, after City Attorney Dennis Herrera pointed out the minor 
problem that the scheme was illegal. Hey, why don't I borrow a free 
library book and then sell the right to read it to somebody else? 
Wait, that idea is probably being worked on right now.)

Anyway, the latest industry to be "disrupted" is a lot more 
interesting than parking. It's pot - and now it's the Department of 
Public Health's turn to figure out how and whether to regulate the, 
ahem, hazy new landscape.

As The Chronicle reported recently, there's a new San Francisco 
startup called Eaze that bills itself as the "Uber of pot" because it 
allows medical marijuana patients to use their smartphones to order 
pot and have it delivered by people driving their own vehicles. No 
word yet on whether there will be big fluffy green marijuana leaves 
on the cars' grilles to identify them.

Well, now there's some, um, buzz around City Hall that Eaze could be 
the latest cutting-edge technology to face scrutiny from city 
officials - and it's already caught the attention of Herrera's office.

The Department of Public Health regulates and permits medical 
marijuana dispensaries, inspecting each of the 28 permitted pot 
dispensaries twice a year and responding to any complaints about 
them. Obtaining a permit requires filing a pile of paperwork, 
obtaining a criminal background check for the owner, providing a 
business registration certificate, and providing plans for security, 
lighting and ventilation.

Oh, and paying several thousand dollars.

Did Eaze do any of that? What do you think?

Rachael Kagan, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health, said 
that whether Eaze and similar startups will need permits is "a 
developing question" and that public health officials are examining 
the issue. The law, shockingly, doesn't address companies that 
deliver medical pot to homes and lack a fixed storefront. Some of the 
28 currently permitted dispensaries do, however, make deliveries to 
homebound patients.

Props to Eaze for having a media person who actually responds quickly 
to reporters, which is more than we can say for a lot of tech 
companies. Caroline Vespi e-mailed the following statement:

"Eaze is a technology service provider that links dispensaries and 
patients. If the Department of Public Health has any questions or 
concerns, we welcome the opportunity to speak with them. In the true 
spirit of Silicon Valley disruption, we recognize we are opening up 
new dialogues."

Michelle Aldrich, a member of the city's now defunct Medical 
Marijuana Task Force, is uneasy about Eaze. The 67-yearold Marina 
resident credits pot with helping her beat lung cancer and was at the 
forefront of the movement to legalize medical marijuana in 
California. She said it's not fair that traditional dispensaries have 
to jump through so many hoops to be legal, but that Eaze doesn't.

She added that since the company lacks a permit or any oversight, 
patients shouldn't trust the products it delivers.

"So it gets to patients in 10 minutes. So what?" she said. "Unless 
you're a Google bus, what difference does that make?"

Which industry will be disrupted next? Place your bets now.

Being a parent in San Francisco can be frustrating. So can dealing 
with homeless people. And with petty theft.

Kara McPhail, a North Beach mom, had the unfortunate experience of 
dealing with all three at once - but, hey, at least this story has a 
relatively happy ending.

McPhail, 40, has a $500 Bob stroller for her 2-year-old boy and keeps 
it locked to a rail on her front stoop. She returned home on a recent 
morning to find the stroller gone and its contents, including snacks 
and a baby blanket, tossed on the ground.

That afternoon, she was in Washington Square with her boy when she 
spotted a homeless man using her stroller like a shopping cart - 
filled with garbage bags and other junk.

"I freaked out, and I immediately started following him," she said.

She called 911, and the operator said they were too busy to deal with 
the problem but that they'd call back later. McPhail kept following 
the guy, carrying her child. When she passed Columbus Cafe, two 
bartenders hanging out in front asked if she was OK - and she 
explained what was going on.

"Literally, before I could even finish my sentence, they grabbed him 
right there in the street, grabbed all his stuff out of the stroller 
and threw it in the street," she recounted. "They said, 'You scumbag! 
You stole a mom's stroller?' "

McPhail said she grabbed the stroller and ran.

Hours later, an operator from 911 called back and asked McPhail if 
she'd still like to speak to the police.

"I said, 'No,' " McPhail recalled. "I actually found some great 
bartenders, and we took care of it ourselves."

Her tot's back in his (well-cleaned) stroller, but the family might 
not be here for long. McPhail said Burlingame is looking better and better.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom