POT DELIVERY SERVICE SEEKS SAN MATEO COUNTY APPROVAL

REDWOOD CITY -- A San Francisco man is asking for San Mateo County's
approval to open the Peninsula's first officially sanctioned medical
marijuana delivery service, but he's off to a rocky start.

James Sanabria will receive a hearing Monday in front of the San
Mateo County License Board on establishing the MedWeedZoom
collective, though a report from the sheriff's office already
recommends that his request be denied.

Sheriff's Sgt. Bryan Cassandro notes in his report that Sanabria has
been convicted of numerous felonies, including possession of PCP for
sale and possession of cocaine, both from 1989, a 1993 robbery
conviction, and of being a felon in possession of a firearm in 2007.
San Mateo County's medical marijuana ordinance, which applies only to
unincorporated areas, bans felons from working at medical marijuana
collectives.

"For that reason, the Sheriff's Office has not conducted any further
investigation of the application and recommends that the License
Board DENY Mr. Sanabria a license," Cassandro wrote.

In a telephone interview Friday, Sanabria said he is willing to let
someone else be the collective's operator if that means the
collective can open.

"I came up with the business model," he said, adding that there are
plenty of county residents who have medical marijuana cards but don't
want to go to storefront dispensaries. "I'm not going to let myself
be an obstacle."

According to his business plan, the collective's members would order
pot at www.medweedzoom.com , pay by credit card and have the
marijuana delivered to their home. Sanabria added, "It's like Netflix."

Delivery services have been around since voters legalized medical
marijuana in 1996, but have become more common in areas where no
dispensaries exist, medical pot advocates have said.

San Mateo County authorities have so far approved only one
application to set up a medical marijuana club.

But the approval of the Sans Souci Medical Collective, to be located
on Bay Road in North Fair Oaks, is scheduled to go before the Board
of Supervisors later this month for an appeal hearing. The Sheriff's
Office and a resident have questioned whether Sans Souci meets county
requirements.

Other clubs have opened only to be shut down either by police or
because they were denied licenses. There are currently no legally
operating medical marijuana dispensaries in the county.

It's not clear where the MedWeedZoom site would be located. Sanabria
said he favors industrial areas that are away from parks and houses.
The county's ordinance prohibits marijuana clubs from being within
1,000 feet of sites like schools and community centers.

Because Sanabria doesn't identify a location on his application, the
Building and Planning Department wasn't able to make a recommendation
on approval or denial.

"We'll see what happens (at the hearing)," Sanabria said.

The License Board meets at 9 a.m. Monday in room 402 at 455 County
Center, Redwood City.

if you go

What: San Mateo County License Board meeting
When: 9 a.m. Monday
Where: Room 402 at 455 County Center, Redwood City