The award for political sanity went Monday to Sup. Sandra Lee Fewer, who pointed out that too much high-end job growth was a factor in the housing crisis. Tuesday it went to Sup. Hillary Ronen, who put the board’s entire six-hour debate over cannabis policy in perspective.
The issue at hand was whether to ban all cannabis sales within 1,000 feet of a school or day-care center, which would amount to about 90 percent or more of San Francisco and restrict sales of legal weed to a few blocks in a few neighborhoods.
There were maps of where the “green zones” would be, there was discussion about whether retail outlets should be restricted or limited in some neighborhoods … and then Ronen spoke:
“You know, I didn’t want to get into the big philosophical conversation yet, but I think by expanding the limits around schools and day-care centers what we are saying is that there’s something inherently dangerous or bad about these shops, and I just really disagree with that premise. I actually think that the war on drugs has been dangerous for our society…. This is an exciting moment in our country’s history, of finally waking up and saying we have been mistaken about how we handle drugs in our society and it’s time to start with cannabis and legalize this drug. But I’m shocked with my colleagues, quite frankly, on this board and I don’t understand why this is dangerous for children.
“I have a five-year-old daughter and she doesn’t know if she’s passing a café or a cannabis shop or a library. I understand maybe high-school students, we should have this conversation – but day-care centers? Five-year-olds and two-year-olds don’t know a cannabis shop from any other shop, so I think this is a bit nonsensical.”
In the end, the board came to its senses, and the amendments that would set up a 1,000-foot buffer around school and child-care centers were defeated. The rule under what the board passed is 600 feet, which is also in the state law that legalized adult use of cannabis.
So if the mayor signs the bill as soon as he gets it, we will have legal cannabis as early as Jan. 5th.
At first, the permits will go to existing medical dispensaries, 30 of them, and 15 delivery services. After that, the next 30 permits will go to equity applicants – people who have been directly or indirectly harmed by the war on drugs – and the city will have to ensure in the future that 50 percent of all permits fall into that category.
So assuming the mayor doesn’t do anything weird (and he supported an earlier version with a 600-foot buffer zone) San Francisco will wind up where it should be – out front on the issue of legalizing drugs.
I think it was in the Bay Guardian that I read about DiFi’s threat against then SF District Attorney Kamala Harris when she almost endorsed Prop 215 (medical use).
Basically that if she endorsed it, Feinstein would make sure she never got elected again.
I smell the machinations of Senator Feinstein as being behind much of this resistance. She has a history of trying to legislate morality since she was mayor and more than once has publicly refused to accept that marijuana has any medicinal value.