It's only fitting that San Francisco – where the medical marijuana movement started – has developed a workable set of guidelines for pot clubs that will maintain patient access to the medicine and allow neighborhood residents a say in where the clubs can operate. The compromise that was approved unanimously Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors has the support of Mayor Gavin Newsom and medical cannabis advocates.
Under the legislation brokered by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, most of the 33 dispensaries will stay open and allow the Planning Department to hold public hearings on the location of all clubs. Patients will be allowed to buy an ounce of marijuana per visit, instead of a pound as previously proposed. Additionally, new clubs cannot be located within 1,000 feet of a school, youth center, or similar facility, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle. Clubs that have been in business before April 1 can remain in their location, but if they are near a school, pot cannot be smoked on site.
Significantly, Mirkarimi's legislation also will provide increased legitimacy for medical marijuana. Clubs will be required to include in any advertising a notice that patients need an identification card to make a purchase. That provision goes hand in hand with the ID card program that the Department of Public Health created several years ago; to date, there are about 8,000 people who have been issued the ID cards.
Kris Hermes, legal director of Americans for Safe Access, told the Associated Press that most patients and club owners generally were pleased with the new rules and see them as a stamp of approval from the city – an important distinction.
The new rules continue the national debate over medical marijuana and, once again, San Francisco is in the forefront. Despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in July that medical cannabis patients can be prosecuted for illegal drug possession under federal law, the city has shown no signs of bowing to federal pressure. A majority of California voters decided to embrace medical marijuana in 1996 and the issue has been gaining public support ever since. Nine other states have similar laws, and cities in those states continue to grapple with the issue of providing safe spaces for patients to get their medicine.
The court cases over medical marijuana likely will continue. If Judge Samuel Alito is confirmed to fill Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's seat on the Supreme Court, he will join Chief Justice John Roberts, another recent appointee. It is this change in the makeup of the high court that may bode well for a favorable decision in the future on medical marijuana based on states' rights.
Supervisor Mirkarimi deserves credit for the new San Francisco guidelines. A newcomer to the board, he reached out to critics on both sides and listened to their concerns. The result is something that the city can live with and that can serve as a model for other jurisdictions. People with HIV/AIDS and other conditions can continue to use marijuana, which has demonstrated benefits for those who suffer from wasting and helps to alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy. In short, local government has done what it's supposed to do.