SUPES PANEL OKS A GRACE PERIOD FOR POT CLUBS

A Board of Supervisors committee voted Wednesday to relax the city's
new medical marijuana regulations to give pot clubs operating in
residential neighborhoods a grace period before they have to shut down
and relocate.

An ordinance passed in November establishing rules for where cannabis
outlets can be located, how they are run and by whom restricts them to
commercial and industrial areas.

The proposed change -- approved by the supervisors' Land Use Committee
and sent to the full board for the first of two votes on Tuesday --
would give clubs in residential areas at least a year longer to remain
in business while searching for a new location.

Critics of marijuana clubs assailed the move as tolerating
neighborhood nuisances, while supporters said it was important not to
cut off access to the drug as suppliers adapt to the new rules.

"This area in the Haight is known as a drug-dealing corner," said
Arthur Evans, referring to a section of his neighborhood that is home
to a cannabis outlet. "Supervisors, this club has a record of lying in
representing itself, and it continues to be in violation of the law
that you yourselves passed and promised to enforce."

But Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, an advocate for legalization of
marijuana for medicinal purposes and author of the new pot club
regulations, said it isn't surprising that adjustments need to be made
to ensure the results are what lawmakers intended.

And that should not be a surprise given that that this was an 84-page
document initially. This is the first time as a city and county that
we have invented a complex regulatory system.

In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 215 legalizing pot for
people who have a legitimate medical need. Mayor Gavin Newsom, all 11
members of the Board of Supervisors and the city's elected district
attorney are on record in support of making marijuana available for
medical purposes even though sale of the drug remains illegal under
federal law.

Until supervisors took action last year, San Francisco officials were
in legal limbo, watching as the number of clubs dispensing marijuana
grew from nine to more than 40 in a five-year period. Residents across
the city complained that the clubs were operating in close proximity
to each other, attracting drug dealing and other criminal activity and
in some cases doing business near schools or youth centers.

The new ordinance, which took effect Dec. 30, prohibits a club from
operating within 1,000 feet of a school or youth facility, bans the
clubs from residential neighborhoods and requires all clubs --
including those already in business -- to apply for permits from the
Planning and Health departments starting next July.

Last month, the city's Planning Commission voted down a proposed club
near Fisherman's Wharf after area merchants and residents protested.

Today, between 30 and 40 clubs are believed to still be in operation,
city officials say.

The amendments proposed by Mirkarimi and approved by the committee
Wednesday would allow a club operating in a residential area since
April 1, 2005, to stay in business provided it submits an application
by June 30, 2007, for a permit to move to a new site. The club would
be able to stay open while the permit application is under review.

The amendments also would clarify notification rules for permit
applicants, saying that all residents and owners of property within
300 feet of a proposed club must be advised before the city takes action.

One other proposed change that has troubled some residents is the
elimination of employment history checks by the San Francisco Police
Department for anyone wanting to work in a pot club. Police would
still perform a criminal background check on dispensary workers.

Mirkarimi said his office has been contacted by dozens of people
objecting to his proposed amendments, with some of them "calling us
drug lords or potheads."

The supervisor said he wants to be responsive to complaints from
residents, but added: "I'm also very concerned about the alarm that
has been manufactured by various entities in the public who are
misinterpreting or misconstruing these amendments."

Medical marijuana advocates lauded Mirkarimi's proposed amendments as
sensible. Dale Gieringer, of the California branch of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said a pot club "adds
to the local color" of the city.

"This is San Francisco. This isn't Los Altos. I really think we have
to take a common-sense view on this," he said.