SAN FRANCISCO OFFICIALS TARGET PROLIFERATION OF 'POT CLUBS'

Unregulated Sites Anger Neighbors; DEA Makes Raids

SAN FRANCISCO -- When California considered becoming one of the first
states to allow the sale of medicinal marijuana a decade ago, nearly
three-fourths of this city's voters embraced the idea. Elected
officials, including the district attorney, the city's top law
enforcer, openly campaigned for passage of the statewide measure.

But now nearly as ubiquitous as coffee shops in some San Francisco
neighborhoods, marijuana dispensaries are the subject of increasing
scrutiny by city officials who say the proliferation of so-called
pot clubs has gone unabated for too long. In April, the city imposed
a moratorium on new pot clubs. "We have more medicinal cannabis
clubs than Burger Kings and McDonald's combined," said Sean Elsbernd,
a member of the city's Board of Supervisors who has called for a cap
on the number of such clubs -- to as few as eight, far less than the
dozens currently operating. The board serves as the city's legislative branch.

No one is sure how many pot clubs exist in San Francisco -- because
the city currently has no regulatory control over them -- but
estimates range as high as four dozen, many concentrated in the
city's Haight-Ashbury district, the birthplace of this city's counterculture.

California is one of a dozen states, including Maine and Vermont,
with medical marijuana laws that allow those with a doctor's
prescription to use the drug to alleviate often-painful symptoms from
a vast array of ailments, including glaucoma, muscle spasms, cancer,
and AIDS. San Francisco's scrutiny comes amid increasing anxiety over
the possibility of an impending crackdown by the federal government.
Last month, the US Supreme Court decided 6-3 that marijuana users,
even with a doctor's prescription, can be prosecuted under federal
drug laws, although the decision did not strike down medicinal
marijuana laws in California and other states. About two weeks after
the Supreme Court decision, federal agents raided three pot clubs as
part of an investigation into money laundering and gang activity.
A spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration's San
Francisco office said the clubs were not targeted specifically for
selling marijuana. As for a potential crackdown on the city's pot
clubs, "We're not going to discuss whether we will or will not take
any enforcement action," said Special Agent Casey McEnry, the DEA's
spokesperson in San Francisco. Meanwhile, the recent court decision
has prompted the state to rethink its plan to issue state-issued
identification cards that were intended to help people prove --
particularly to police -- that they had legitimate reasons for
possessing marijuana.

While some city officials doubt that drug agents will seek to shut
down pot clubs en masse, local regulation of the clubs could
forestall federal action. "In an environment where federal
authorities are clearly watching for any misstep, our best hope . . .
is to bring accountability and transparency to the operation of
medicinal cannabis dispensaries in San Francisco," said
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi.

"The failure to enact any kind of regulation has left our
neighborhoods without a voice in the decisions for far too long,"
Mirkarimi said. In a 60-page proposal introduced late last month,
Mirkarimi wants to require medical marijuana dispensaries to apply
for permits from the city's Department of Public Health and to pay
annual license fees. Criminal background checks would be conducted by
the Police Department, and public hearings would take place before
any permits could be approved.

Pot clubs would be prohibited from residential neighborhoods and
sites near schools. And to help ensure that owners of pot clubs
aren't in it purely for the money, Mirkarimi is proposing that the
clubs operate as collectives or cooperatives to limit "excessive profits."

Enacting local regulations "would give less reason for the DEA to
come and raid these clubs," Mirkarimi said.

Many pot club operators declined to be interviewed for this story.
Soon after passage of Proposition 215, the 1996 ballot measure that
made medicinal marijuana legal in California, pot clubs began popping
up across San Francisco, ranging from hole-in-the-wall outfits that
offer "take-out" marijuana, in its raw form or in baked goods, to
larger clinics that allow customers to smoke the drug on the premises.

In some cases, residents were unaware that a pot club was moving into
their neighborhood until they were already open. Some residents have
complained about noise, loitering, littering, and traffic.

"It isn't so much the medicinal marijuana people are complaining
about," said Elsbernd, "but all the activity -- some of it criminal
- -- happening all around." Noting that the city of Oakland, across the
bay from San Francisco, has only four pot clubs, Elsbernd said a cap
of eight would be appropriate for his city. "We have twice the
population as Oakland, so it would make sense to cap the number at
eight. The vast majority of the clubs would have to close." Until the
city can develop acceptable regulations, he and other elected
officials say the moratorium on new clubs must remain in place. The
Board of Supervisors probably won't take up the matter until the
fall. When it does, most agree that the debate could be contentious.

"Clearly, we're not just talking about any other type of business.
Massage parlors and fortune tellers are the subject of more
regulation" than pot clubs, said Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, who
says his city needs to make it tougher for pot clubs to open. "It
shouldn't be a matter of right." But despite the call to rein in
marijuana dispensaries, elected officials don't support their outright ban.

"There's nothing intrinsically wrong with allowing [pot clubs] to
supply medicinal cannabis. In fact, just the opposite," Sandoval
said. "For the ill who need it, we should be making it easier and
just as convenient for them to get it as it is to get drugs from a pharmacy."