cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot Club Tests San Francisco Law





Medical Pot Club Tests San Francisco Law
Posted by CN Staff on July 12, 2006 at 12:17:38 PT
By Jordan Robertson, Associated Press Writer
Source: Associated Press
San Francisco -- Fisherman's Wharf is home to cable cars, postcard views of Alcatraz and the scent of sourdough. And now the fragrance of fresh marijuana?City planners are considering whether to issue a permit for a medical marijuana dispensary in the heart of the city's tourist hub, despite outrage from neighbors and businesses. The Planning Commission is scheduled to vote Thursday, and some have vowed to appeal any permit the city grants.
"The wharf is San Francisco's Disneyland," said Rodney Fong, president of the Fisherman's Wharf Merchants Association. "About half the people who come are with kids, and the things they are looking for are family attractions — sea lions, dining. So a marijuana dispensary doesn't really match the market we have."The Green Cross is the first cannabis club to seek a permit under strict guidelines the city adopted in November to curb street crime around its roughly 30 dispensaries and prevent sales to non-patients.This left-leaning city quickly became a hub for cannabis clubs after voters in 1996 made California the first state to legalize medicinal marijuana. But the Fisherman's Wharf fight highlights difficulties in the 11 states that allow medical marijuana as they seek to regulate the drug without banishing patients to dark alleys and rough neighborhoods.The city made the Green Cross close its previous location in the Mission District in March after neighbors complained about rising traffic and crime, which owner Kevin Reed said were unfounded. He said he was forced into the wharf after being rejected by dozens of other landlords."Nobody wants this in their back yard," Reed said. "They're fighting for their beliefs and their family values. But if they continue fighting on the path they're fighting now, they'll put us all out of business."Mayor Gavin Newsom said Reed has been responsible and should not be punished for flaws in the new rules, calling it an "unintended consequence" that the club wound up at the wharf."The intent of the legislation was to generate less controversy, not more," Newsom said. "We may not like what he is doing, but he is playing by the rules we set up."San Francisco's clubs were largely unregulated before the new rules, and according to some accounts, non-patients could freely acquire marijuana.Now the owners of dispensaries must submit to criminal and employment background checks, pay for a permit and business license, and are forbidden from operating within 500 feet of schools. That buffer zone grows to 1,000 feet if pot smoking is allowed on the property, as it is at most San Francisco dispensaries.The Green Cross storefront is already built out — minus the marijuana. It is all sleek sophistication, from the black walls and piped-in jazz to the swarm of security cameras. If the permit is granted, the Green Cross also would have to clear police and health department inspections before opening.Patients who present a government-issued medical marijuana card and a doctor's note will be presented with a selection of 55 different marijuana strains displayed in a glass counter studded with hundreds of tiny neon green lights. Prices are roughly $300 an ounce.Pot smoking would not be allowed on the premises, and security guards would patrol the area, Reed said."The criminal element that breaks the rules just doesn't want to come into a store like mine," said Reed, 32. "I've done everything by the book."An official with an Oakland-based pro-medical marijuana advocacy group said fears of such dispensaries are misplaced."What we're seeing ... is a 'Reefer Madness' frenzy that makes people act irrationally, and condemns dispensaries and dispensary operators," said Kris Hermes, legal campaign director for Americans for Safe Access. "And it ultimately prevents them from coming to the aid of patients."Reed has earned some supporters in the neighborhood, including the managers of Pergamino Coffee and Tea, a crowded cafe around the corner."It's not like he's opening up a drug haven," said manager Glendene "Peaches" Montague. "It's well-monitored, well-secured, and obviously he's done this before. But only time will tell."On the Net:Green Cross: http://thegreencross.orgSource: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Jordan Robertson, Associated Press WriterPublished: Wednesday, July 12, 2006Copyright: 2006 Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:Americans For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/Fisherman's Wharf Bid Tests New Pot Club Laws http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21978.shtmlSan Francisco Has a Problem With Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21961.shtml
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Comment #8 posted by mayan on July 13, 2006 at 05:46:22 PT
A Scanner Darkly
Has anyone seen it yet? Linklater On A Scanner Darkly: "It's The World We're Living In" - Surveillance, war on drugs and terror themes parallel reality:
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/july2006/120706scannerdarkly.htm
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on July 13, 2006 at 04:11:10 PT
Stan has, no doubt,
been a blessing to all of us for years and years, now.God bless you, Stan! 
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on July 12, 2006 at 22:11:41 PT
Hope
He really does a good job and gets published frequently. Somone is reading what he writes for sure.
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on July 12, 2006 at 21:50:32 PT
Thank you, FoM.
Perhaps Stan enjoyed the extra blessing of Mrs. White's approval, but it seems like his best letter yet. It sure is a wonderful, hard hitting letter. I don't see how it can be ignored by people who love God.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on July 12, 2006 at 21:34:00 PT
Hope
Thank you for posting his letter to the editor. Stan has always done a good job.
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on July 12, 2006 at 21:28:01 PT
Stan was already blessed in his letter writing,
but, somehow...I think he got blessed in his work even more this time. Got to post it.US NV: PUB LTE: Substance Created By God Should Not Be
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n920/a08.html
Newshawk: Kirk
Rate this article Votes: 0
Pubdate: Tue, 11 Jul 2006
Source: Lahontan Valley News (NV)
Copyright: 2006 Lahontan Valley News
Contact:
http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/misc/letter/index.pbs
Website: http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3456
Author: Stan WhiteSUBSTANCE CREATED BY GOD SHOULD NOT BE CONDEMNEDAs a Colorado Christian, like citizens throughout America, I am hoping Nevada citizens vote to re-legalize cannabis and thank you for your editorial in helping see positive results.I also enjoyed Al Engleman's letter: "Time For Legalization Of Marijuana Is Now." I also encourage all Nevada politicians to join in ending the policy of caging humans for using the plant cannabis. And I encourage this Biblically by pointing out that God indicated He created all the seed bearing plants saying they are all good on literally the very first page of the Bible ( see Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30 ).Isn't it hypocritical and discrediting for government and politicians to say they support their constituents and support caging them for using a God-given plant at the same time?Truthfully,Stan White (Way to go, Stan! Halleleujah!)
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on July 12, 2006 at 20:26:21 PT
Stan White did it again!
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n920/a08.html?397
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Comment #1 posted by mayan on July 12, 2006 at 17:53:20 PT
Disneyland???
"The wharf is San Francisco's Disneyland," said Rodney Fong, president of the Fisherman's Wharf Merchants Association. "About half the people who come are with kids, and the things they are looking for are family attractions — sea lions, dining. So a marijuana dispensary doesn't really match the market we have."Doesn't Disneyland now have a brew-pub? The difference is that people drink because they either want to or they are alcoholics - people use medical cannabis because they have to. Would you rather have your kids be around folks under the influence of alcohol or folks under the influence of cannabis? It sounds like Kevin Reed really knows how to operate a dispensary. Maybe other dispensaries could learn from him.The wharf is San Francisco's Disneyland? BWAHAAHAAA!!!THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Barrett Challenges Nass to Debate the Facts!
http://mujca.com/nassdebate.htmNass seeks Barrett's firing:
http://www.wrn.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=63D9C85E-C214-40FE-8FE7D6AC982B5164&dbtranslator=local.cfmAssembly Refuses To Consider Resolution Demanding UW To Fire Instructor:
http://www.channel3000.com/news/9506494/detail.htmlDouble Triumph for Kevin Barrett & 9/11 Truth in Wisconsin:
http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=2006071109412435UW backs instructor from censure for 9/11 views:
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/breaking_news/15013288.htmScholars for 9/11 Truth Under Attack:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/7/prweb406904.htmHit Movie Director says Hollywood stars, including Bruce Willis, having political paradigms changed by 9/11 conspiracy documentaries:
http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=13156Michelle Malkin's Neo-Con Blog Fears Bruce Willis Now 9/11 Truther:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/july2006/120706fearswillis.htmExposing the 9/11 Conspiracy Wingnuts:
http://www.911blogger.com/2006/07/exposing-911-conspiracy-wingnuts.html
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