cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Clubs Drawing Ire of Neighbors





Marijuana Clubs Drawing Ire of Neighbors
Posted by CN Staff on March 29, 2005 at 18:03:17 PT
By Marisa Lagos, Staff Writer
Source: San Francisco Examiner 
California -- South of Market residents packed a meeting Monday night to air their complaints about medicinal marijuana clubs in the area, just before the Board of Supervisors considers a zoning moratorium on new clubs at its meeting today.The neighborhood meeting, organized by the Southern District police station, attracted more than 50 people and included representatives from the office of Supervisor Chris Daly, the City Attorney's Office, the Planning Department and the Police Department's Narcotics Unit.
Anger has been mounting over SoMa's year-old club MendoHealing at 96 Lafayette St., where owner David Moore offers heavily discounted and sometimes free medicinal-use cannabis. Neighbors say the club's clientele illegally park in driveways and have become a nuisance, with some selling pot on the street in the area.There are 37 medicinal marijuana clubs in San Francisco, compared to the 125 that have sprouted up statewide since voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996, police Capt. Tim Hettrich said.The City can currently do little to regulate the clubs because there are no real policies set, said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who introduced the zoning ordinance as a way to "buy us a little time so we can get our house in order.""What that means is legitimizing clubs by doing what [previous laws] couldn't — by setting regulations on the books so [the clubs] don't have to operate in the shadows," he explained.Tensions ran high at the SoMa meeting, however, where one woman angrily stormed out as a representative from MendoHealing explained the club's perspective."My experience at the club is that making a profit is the goal, and all elements of people are now clientele and are harassing … many of the neighbors," said Robert, a neighbor who lives above the facility and who refused to give his last name."We know we've made mistakes," acknowledged MendoHealing manager Alan Norey, who said the club does turn a profit, but donates hundreds of dollars a month to city programs. "We want to move. … We'll work with the city attorney, we'll work with police, but you have got to give us guidelines and help us out here."Note: Supervisors to consider zoning issues today.Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)Author: Marisa Lagos, Staff WriterPublished: Tuesday, March 29, 2005Copyright: 2005 San Francisco ExaminerContact: letters sfexaminer.comWebsite: http://www.examiner.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmNewsom Declares Moratorium on MMJ Clubshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20387.shtmlCouncil Should Let Supreme Court Decide http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20331.shtmlResolve Issues on Medical Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20329.shtml 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on March 30, 2005 at 07:59:44 PT
Related Article from KCBS.com
SF Supervisors Approve Moratorium on New Pot ClubsMarch 30, 2005(KCBS) - San Francisco Supervisors have unanimously approved a 45 day moratorium on new medical marijuana clubs in the city. 
KCBS reporter Margie Shafer says Mayor Gavin Newsom asked for the moratorium after learning about plans to open a pot club at a city-funded welfare hotel that houses drug addicts. The moratorium puts a 45 day halt to new cannabis clubs, to give the city time to figure out how to regulate them. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi spoke in favor of the moratorium. "We have no laws to support or substantiate what it is that we've been trying to advance, known as medical cannabis," he said. "We do not want to trigger the intervention of federal and state government." Many pot advocates spoke in favor of a moratorium, indicating they would like to see some regulation. Supervisor Aaron Peskin said, "we should be prepared to extend this thing beyond the initial 45 days." There are now 37 medical cannabis clubs in San Francisco. http://www.kcbs.com/pages/kcbs/news/news_story.nsp?story_id=67969133&ID
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