cannabisnews.com: Hayward Pot Facility Waits for Deal Hayward Pot Facility Waits for Deal Posted by CN Staff on September 15, 2003 at 16:09:43 PT By Michelle Meyers, Staff Writer Source: Argus Online Hayward -- Just when the issue of how to deal with Hayward's medical marijuana dispensaries seemed almost nipped in the bud, the city has some new issues to weed through, sprouting from a B Street dispensary in limbo. Earlier this summer, a city ad hoc committee on the subject agreed to a plan -- subject to the City Council's approval -- that would allow two dispensaries on Foothill Boulevard to exist for three years under certain conditions. The plan was predicated on the assumption that a third existing dispensary on B Street was moving to a new location on Foothill Boulevard on vacant county land just north of the city border. The dispensary, Helping Hands Patients' Center, had posted a sign about its proposed move. That move may be in limbo. HHPC's owner, Phillip Mol, was in the Santa Rita jail Thursday on a charge of spousal abuse. Bail was set at $5,000. The county has received no permit or business license applications from him or anyone for the Foothill site, a former French restaurant. Meanwhile, Mol's employees allegedly have gone a month without pay, said Jane Weirick, a Foothill Boulevard shop owner and president of the Medical Cannabis Association. She plans to help HHPC staff reopen in a different location on Foothill Boulevard in order to serve its many patients. Mol also may have thrown a wrench in the ad hoc committee's plan -- scheduled to go to the City Council by mid-October -- with a claim he had been misrepresented by his fellow dispensary proponents who served on the committee. From City Manager Jesus Armas' prospective, one of the more worrisome allegations in the letter is that there are two other dispensaries operating downtown: one out of Weirick's shop, which she denies; and another out of a downtown coffee shop, which one of the shop's owners also denies. Armas said the city has a responsibility to look into the allegations, but isn't likely to do so until the issue goes before the council. Weirick, who was one of the first owners of the old Hayward Hempery dispensary on Main Street, said the plan is to reopen a well-run site on the east side of Foothill Boulevard, between A and B streets. Weirick didn't see a new dispensary as being in conflict with the ad hoc committee's plan, because it would be on the stretch of Foothill slated for demolition several years from now as part of a proposed road improvement project. Committee members, in her opinion, seemed OK with dispensaries on this stretch, which is not a focal point of downtown beautification efforts. But Armas said the agreement was to grandfather in just the two existing dispensaries, not a third.> The ad hoc committee was formed to look into the possibility of sanctioning, even if informally, the dispensariesoperating against zoning law. They also may be in violation of criminal law. Proposition 215 legalized marijuana for medical uses in California, although it still is considered illegal under federal law. The Hayward Police Department declined a seat on the committee because of the inherent conflict. As part of a larger discussion on whether to consider an ordinance recognizing certain medical marijuana identification cards, the council next month also will consider the deal hammered out by the committee. Specifically, it allows the two existing Foothill Boulevard dispensaries to operate for three years if the owners agree to: * Limit the amount of pot on site each day. * Try to keep people from hanging out near the facilities. * Ban advertising. * Recognize that the operation is subject to police inspection. * Encourage patients not to smoke on-site or on the streets. Weirick said she plans to follow those guidelines by the book with a reinvention of HHPC. "I want to be the model that Hayward can be proud of," she said, adding that the new operation would concentrate three dispensaries between A and C streets. "We'd be as safe and secure as possible." At the end of three years, if the state and federal governments have worked out the jurisdictional conflict, the city might consider amending its zoning law to allow the dispensaries to operate under a conditional use permit, Armas said. One step in that process could be a state bill, likely to go to the Gov. Gray Davis soon, which requires the state to establish and maintain a voluntary program for the issuance of identification cards to qualified patients. It also would also establish procedures under which a qualified patient with an identification card may use marijuana for a medical purpose. Note: Helping Hands Patients' Center in limbo over move.Source: Argus, The (CA)Author: Michelle Meyers, Staff WriterPublished: Friday, September 12, 2003Copyright: 2003 ANG NewspapersContact: arguslet angnewspapers.comWebsite: http://www.theargusonline.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmHayward Discusses Rezoning Pot Clubshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16361.shtmlPot Facilities in Hayward Highlight Viewpointhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15764.shtmlHayward Council To Review Pot Dispensarieshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15753.shtmlHayward Sees Growth in Pot Dispensarieshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15496.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by motavation on September 17, 2003 at 14:01:53 PT: Restrcitions What are the plans and guidelines?Also will they grow all the pot? IS this a club, co-op, or community center?Can patients smoke inside a safe secure place?Will pot be the main services?Cannabis Community Center Forum!Also when will the rest of California help patients and realize the demand and profits that the government controls. More raids=more value!It seems the gov want it worse then the blackmarket dealers..Some street dealers are cheaper then the clubs, and besides that where should we go?"supply is left in the patients hands"Anyone got idea's for California Cannabis Problems? Cannabis Community Center- NEW approach for patients! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment