Plans for Cannabis Club Nearby Castro Up In Smoke

By Kellie Ell

Marijuana drama has been playing out for months over the hill on Divisadero Street, leaving a would-be cannabis club for the Castro bummed out.

San Francisco entrepreneur Joseph Hunt’s request to open a medical cannabis dispensary (MCD) in the nearby Divisadero corridor was denied last month by the Board of Appeals. The idea of the club has been stirring up controversy since June 2 when Hunt held an open house at 350 Divisadero St., the impending site, for neighbors to meet him and learn about his plans for the space.

The Alamo Square Association expressed disapproval because Hunt tried to open the store using an expired permit from the previous owners, SF Patients Co-op, which closed in February 2008.

“We are glad that the Board of Appeals listened to the testimony of the neighbors,” said Ben Allison, president of the Association. “Any business in any neighborhood commercial district needs to follow due process to operate in San Francisco. Allowing this MCD to break the rules would give the green light for others to do the same.”

Hunt could not be located for comment.

On their website, the Alamo Square Association expresses concern that Hunt’s proposed MCD would pose “a major safety risk” and that “a mismanaged MCD will attract gang activity.” The site referred to what it said was “a substantial increase in gang related crime in the immediate area, including shootings” in 2006 “when the MCD called Happy Days on Divisadero and Grove” was in operation.

However, Happy Days has long been replaced by another MCD, Bay Area Safe Alternatives Collective, in the same location.

Allison said the organization is concerned about three issues: safety, the three other dispensaries in the area within a five-block radius, and the potential store’s proximity to a school. According to the planning process, medical cannabis dispensaries are not allowed within 1000 feet of a school. The Ida B. Wells High School is four blocks away on Hayes and Pierce streets.

In Allison’s view, while there is “a potential for a new club to be permitted in the neighborhood” in a different location if all of the Planning Department’s procedures and regulations are followed, he hopes the Planning Commission will “factor-in” the large number of clubs already in the area.

At present there are no MCDs located in the Castro. Steve Adams, president of the Merchants of Upper Market and Castro (MUMC), says he would be open to “talking” about future clubs with potential owners “to see what they had to say.” “It’s legal,” says Adams, although he specified that it would largely depend on the “type of dispensary and what they would bring to the neighborhood.”

On June 9 the Board of Appeals denied Hunt’s request to open the store using the old permit. The following day he filed for a new license.

Still, some residents are apprehensive about problems they say the club could bring to the neighborhood. “We’re not OK with it,” said Jim Cheung, accounts manager of the adjacent Kelly Moore Paint Store at 364 Divisadero. “It’s not good for business.” He said the store posted a petition that neighborhood occupants and businesses can sign to uphold the Board of Appeals ruling.

Alamo Square’s Allison concurs. “Even Supervisor Mirkarimi, who authored the MCD legislation in 2005, wrote a letter in opposition to the new MCD, stating that each dispensary is unique and must go through the proper process for approval,” he said. “We are not against MCDs in general, just this one because they were trying to circumvent the current regulations to open.” Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi did not respond to requests for comment.

Copyright 2010 Castro Courier