POT-CLUB POLITICKING

Editor -- San Francisco Supervisor Sean Elsbernd's proposal to limit
the number of medical cannabis dispensaries in San Francisco to eight
is built upon faulty logic ("Political fight looms over pot clubs,"
June 30).

California citizens voted to allow medical cannabis to be available to
sick people, who doctors determined could be helped by its use. The
current number of cannabis dispensaries hovers around 40, and Elsbernd
and others of his ilk claim that number is too high.

Such a statement seems more than arbitrary, considering the glaring
dearth of complaints from San Francisco residents concerning
dispensaries that are often described as "great neighbors" by nearby
businesses.

Employing Elsbernd's logic, one could argue there are too many
pharmacies in the city (I see a Walgreens almost every three blocks)
and therefore their number must also be limited. Why is Elsbernd
concerned with what is essentially a nonissue when one looks at the
many other problems facing San Francisco? The answer, sadly enough, is
that his concern is fostered by a deeply held fallacy that cannabis is
a dangerous drug requiring more stringent oversight than morphine,
valium and other commonly abused prescription drugs.

We hope other supervisors will see the absurdity of Elsbernd's
proposal and will not limit the number of dispensaries in the city.

David Lawlor

San Francisco