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Mayor Calls Proposed Law To Regulate Pot Clubs Too Soft
Charlie Goodyear | San Francisco Chronicle | 10/06/2005

Legislation regulating medical marijuana clubs in San Francisco that comes today before a Board of Supervisors committee isn't tough enough, according to a letter sent by Mayor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday.

Newsom is taking issue specifically with a bill proposed by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who has spearheaded the effort to standardize how the approximately 35 pot clubs currently selling marijuana operate in the city. Under Mirkarimi's proposed legislation, pot clubs could operate within 500 feet of a school and could sell up to a pound of marijuana a day to customers.

Since 1996, when a state measure permitting marijuana use for medical purposes was passed by California voters, San Francisco has become a haven for operators of medical marijuana dispensaries who now serve more than 7,000 registered patients. But police say the system is widely abused, with drug dealers and gang members buying at the clubs along with patients who have a legitimate need for weed.

Residents complain that the clubs bring traffic into their neighborhoods where reselling of the marijuana occurs in plain view on the street. In May, supervisors voted to extend a moratorium on the establishment of any new pot clubs in the city.

"While I believe the legislation currently being considered by the board goes a long way to regulating (pot clubs), I have concerns that it does not go far enough," Newsom wrote in his letter. The mayor is proposing a 1,000-foot limit from schools, recreation centers and parks for pot clubs, strict regulations on what type of advertising the clubs can use and limiting the amount a patient can buy each day to 8 ounces.

"Considering how large an amount of medical cannabis this amount represents, I do not believe that our city should increase the amount of medical cannabis a person can possess to one pound -- as currently proposed," Newsom wrote. "Such a limit appears to allow an individual to purchase a full pound of marijuana in a single purchase at a dispensary."

Mirkarimi said Newsom's proposed restrictions on proximity to schools would essentially banish pot clubs to the outlying areas of the city, making it harder for patients to obtain medical marijuana.

"I believe that the mayor is sending a very inconsistent message," Mirkarimi said. "In the very recent past he had stated that he would like to see a regulatory scheme that allows clubs who want to comply with the law to thrive. But under his letter this would in essence ban practically all the clubs that exist into areas on the far outskirts of the city. Those issues need to be reconciled."

The board's Budget and Finance Committee is scheduled today to consider Mirkarimi's legislation along with additional pot club ordinances proposed by Supervisors Sean Elsbernd and Gerardo Sandoval. It is unclear if any of the legislation will be forwarded by the committee for a vote at the Board of Supervisors. Mirkarimi said he expected a "healthy debate" on the issue.
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E-mail Charlie Goodyear at cgoodyear@sfchronicle.com.

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troublemaker_42

Personally, i don't see the problems with limiting pot clubs to 1000 feet from school, or limits of 8 ozs a purchase. Yes, people may have to make the trip more frequently, but I don't see it as too major of an inconivence. Even at the extreme of an oz a day, it would mean less than a weekly trip. Personally, I think a 1/2 lb per purchase is too much, but then again, thats only my opinion.

Arise -SWS-

Honestly, an ounce per week is more than enough bud for the average person, medically disabled or not. If you have a perscription for ritallin, they don't give you 5,000 pills in a one gallon jar, they give you a small bottle- and you know what, that system works fine. I think that if they dropped the amount you could buy down a maximum of an ounce a week, and suspended the liscences of dispensaries who sold to non-cardholders, they should allow them to be within 500 feet of a school. Additionally, they should maintain steady police control around the dispensary in order to prevent rip-offs and blatant open-air reselling. The crime they attract (thanks to prohibition) is a big issue in any community.