San Francisco Supervisors Approve Medical Marijuana Regulations

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve regulations that limit the amount of marijuana a patient can purchase and prohibit the establishment of marijuana dispensaries in certain areas, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Under the legislation, proposed by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi:

Patients will be able to purchase one ounce of marijuana per visit to a dispensary;
Dispensaries will be required to post a notice on all advertisements that an identification card is needed to purchase marijuana;
Dispensaries, patients and care givers can grow as many as 24 marijuana plants (Goodyear, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/16);
Marijuana dispensary owners must submit to criminal and employment background checks and pay $6,610 to obtain a permit to sell marijuana, as well as $3,100 for a business license;
Dispensaries will be prohibited from opening in industrial or residential areas; and
Dispensaries will be prohibited from opening within 500 feet of a school, or 1,000 feet if marijuana is smoked on the premises.

Dispensaries in operation as of April 1, 2005, will have 18 months to obtain a permit and background check (Leff, AP/San Diego Union-Tribune, 11/15).

Supervisor Chris Daly said the regulations will allow about 31 of the estimated 33 marijuana dispensaries in the city to remain open.

Peter Ragone, a spokesperson for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D), said the legislation satisfied concerns the mayor had about dispensing marijuana in the city, adding that Newsom would work to make it "law as soon as we can" (San Francisco Chronicle, 11/16). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.