Pot clubs vs. kids & neighborhoods, part 2

The op-ed below was written by a neighbor of the embattled Green Cross pot club on 22nd Street. There's an update since she wrote it: the current proposal being considered by the supervisors would not allow pot clubs in areas zoned NC-1 for small neighborhood businesses. That's one piece of good news. But they would still be allowed close to schools, and customers could still buy a pound a day.

I'll add my own disclaimer &mdash I fully support patients' access to medicinal marijuana, and I'm OK with legal recreational use too. But the distribution system must not harm children, families and neighborhoods.

A neighbor's troubling experience
with the pot club down the street

By Anne Crawford

San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors is working on regulations for medical cannabis dispensaries (pot clubs) that legally distribute marijuana to patients with medical needs.

I support providing medical marijuana to patients, but as the neighbor of a problem pot club in Noe Valley, I’ve learned the hard way that the clubs must be regulated.

The pot club moved in around the corner about a year ago. Everything seemed fine at first. It was clean and unobtrusive, and the owner was eager to work with neighbors.

But soon the club became a magnet for patrons from a wide area. The owner began advertising on AM radio, and we became a "destination," since so few Bay Area cities allow pot clubs.

Customers arrived by car, circling the block, double parking, blowing stop signs and speeding through alleys. Many customers re-sell the pot.

One day last summer, my young daughters and I were trapped in my house for two hours while a pair of drug dealers parked outside. Every 15 minutes a car would roll up. One of the dealers would get out of the parked car, jump in the other car, and take a trip around the block. I called 911, but there was no response, because police have a non-enforcement policy for pot clubs.

My kids can no longer ride their bikes in the neighborhood because of the heavy traffic and dealers reselling marijuana. There is a K-8 school next door to me, and teachers say kids have been offered marijuana and girls have been propositioned.

This is not what supporters of medicinal marijuana had in mind.

Our neighborhood pot club has agreed to relocate, but our experience shows why tougher regulations are needed.

Pot clubs should be located at least 1,000 feet from schools so children do not have to walk by dealers and dodge the traffic they attract.

The proposed legislation allows customers to buy a pound a day from every pot club in the city. Regulations should limit the amount to discourage reselling.

Our neighborhood pot club is in a district zoned NC-1, for small businesses such as corner stores, which serve neighbors who come on foot. NC-1 districts rarely have parking, and the volume of customers overwhelmed our neighborhood.

The Planning Department and police did a count and tallied 200 per day people on weekdays and 300 on weekends.

Our neighbors are not NIMBYs. We welcomed the club initially. It’s not just our neighborhood we’re concerned about, either. Allowing pot clubs in NC-1 zones encourages them to locate in disadvantaged neighborhoods. We don’t want to see low-income residents subjected to these problems either.

If clubs are allowed only in higher-volume, established commercial districts with parking and public transit, they will be less of a nuisance. Streets like Valencia, 24th Street, Market Street and Van Ness can accommodate this type of business.

The supervisors must find a way to allow patients access to medical marijuana without damaging neighborhoods or endangering children.

&mdash Caroline