Medical marijuana and the possibility of cooperatives coming to the Midway District, where such businesses are now allowed under a new city ordinance, was the main topic of discussion at the Midway-Pacific Highway Community Planning Group\u2019s meeting on April 16.
\nThyme Curtis, chief of staff for interim District 2 City Councilman Ed Harris, answered planners\u2019 questions about the particulars of the new ordinance.
\nThe new ordinance allows cooperatives only to be based in industrial-zoned areas, removed from residential areas, youth-oriented businesses or institutions and each other.
\n“Medical marijuana establishments are not allowed within 1,000 feet of schools, churches, public parks, playgrounds or minor-oriented facilities,” said Curtis, who passed out a city information bulletin on how to apply for a conditional-use permit for a medical marijuana consumer cooperative.
\n“That means us,” said planning group chairwoman Melanie Nickel.
\nCurtis said the number of cooperatives allowed was capped at four dispensaries per council district and that new regulations prevent them from being closer than 1,000 feet from one another or within 100 feet of a residence.
\n“Do they (cooperatives) have to be nonprofits?” asked Nickel.
\nCurtis said some of the regulations are in a gray area.
\n“Are there any limits on who can own and run them?” quizzed Nickel.
\nCurtis responded that an owner cannot have a felony.
\nAsked why the new regulations on cooperatives restrict them to industrial zones, Curtis replied, “They picked the least offensive place they could put them where they wouldn\u2019t be near residences.”
\nKyle Castanon of GroCal said he and his family have been growing medical marijuana and intend to apply for a Midway District cooperative. Noting his science background, Castanon said growers like himself have been able to develop marijuana strains which are low in psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) sought by recreational users, and high in medical properties benefiting patients.
\n“We want to be good neighbors and we would have to operate under stringent conditions, including having security on staff with specified operating hours from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.,” he said.
\nJoy Greenfield, who previously owned a cooperative, said she has already filed for an application for a new cooperative that she intends to locate in the building she owns at 3421 Hancock St.
\n“My paperwork is done,” Greenfield said. She added computer technology today allows cooperatives to closely track marijuana sold for medical purposes.
\n“There are many safeguards you can set up on how much and often patrons can buy,” she said.
\nThe process for prospective dispensary applicants may take on a little urgency.
\n“It\u2019s first-come, first-served,” said Midway planner Cathy Denton.
\nCommercial realtor Jeff Tate warned the group that he\u2019s been getting up to 30 calls a week from cooperative owners who are being displaced by new city regulations. He said they are inquiring about available properties and wanting to relocate to the Midway District.
\n“It\u2019s the Wild West out here,” Tate said, noting inquiries are being made by owners who\u2019ve been operating cooperatives illegally until now.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Medical marijuana and the possibility of cooperatives coming to the Midway District, where such businesses are now allowed under a new city ordinance, was the main topic of discussion at the Midway-Pacific Highway Community Planning Group\u2019s meeting on April 16. Thyme Curtis, chief of staff for interim District 2 City Councilman Ed Harris, answered planners\u2019 […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11561","_seopress_titles_title":"Medical pot dispensaries line up for Midway District","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11551,11593,11561],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-296780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-no-images","category-peninsula-beacon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296780\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}