COUNCIL MIGHT TAKE LID OFF POT RULING

Decision To Close Hempery May Be Re-Examined At Future Meeting

HAYWARD -- The City Council might reconsider a decision it made Tuesday
that forces the closure of the Hayward Hempery's medical marijuana dispensary.

At the request of Mayor Roberta Cooper, who is concerned about "fairness
issues," the council is scheduled Tuesday night to decide whether to
revisit a surprise decision it made a week before.

Earlier that night, Cooper warned the crowd of medical marijuana proponents
to keep testimony brief because the council's ability to make rational
decisions drops significantly after 11 p.m.

At 11:13 p.m. the council voted unanimously to allow two other dispensaries
to continue to operate in downtown Hayward, but not The Hempery.

The council was scheduled to consider grandfathering in The Hempery and the
Local Patients Cooperative -- both on Foothill Boulevard near B Street --
as part of a compromise agreement that evolved from a city task force on
medical marijuana. The dispensaries, including a third that opened recently
in the same vicinity on Foothill, have been operating in violation of
Hayward's zoning law.

Instead, based on the facilities' reputations, the council sanctioned Local
Patients Cooperative and the new Hayward Patients' Resource Center (HPRC),
a revival of the former B Street Helping Hands Patients' Center.

Cooper, who was later contacted by Hempery owner Cheryl Adams, said the
council's late decision may have been made unfairly and in haste. She's not
sure the city did its part in notifying Adams of the meeting.

She also said many dispensary proponents had mistakenly concluded, based on
an earlier work session, that the council was going to grandfather in all
three existing dispensaries.

"We didn't have a deal," she said, chalking up their interpretation to
"naivete."

Cooper and other council members also said they were dismayed to learn,
after the fact, that The Hempery was robbed earlier this month, but Adams
didn't report it to police at the urging of HPRC owner Jane Weirick.

"Any robbery of any significance should be reported to police," Cooper said.

Councilman Joe Hilson said he felt that, by hiding the robbery, people
weren't being "straight" with the council.

Tuesday's discussion is expected to be quick and purely procedural. If the
council wants to reconsider the item, it will be put on a later meeting agenda.