Mirkarimi proposal: Let S.F. sell medical pot MEDICAL MARIJUANA

DO NOT USE THIS AS A MUG SHOT FOR MIRKARIMI .... DJSan Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, speaks to the media on the steps of City Hall following a press conference about the proposed changes in the running of this years' Bay to Breakers foot race. less DO NOT USE THIS AS A MUG SHOT FOR MIRKARIMI .... DJSan Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, speaks to the media on the steps of City Hall following a press conference about the proposed changes in the running ... more Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Mirkarimi proposal: Let S.F. sell medical pot 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

San Francisco would be the first city in the nation to sell and distribute medical marijuana under legislation proposed Tuesday by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi.

Mirkarimi, who spearheaded legislation more than three years ago to regulate the city's proliferating medical marijuana dispensaries, asked the city attorney to craft a measure that would create a pilot program for medical cannabis sales. The details are still being worked out, Mirkarimi said, but he envisions a pilot program under which the Department of Public Health could distribute pot to medical marijuana patients of city clinics.

Mirkarimi called the legislation the "next step" toward codifying the state laws that legalized medical marijuana, adding that he wanted to introduce the legislation in 2005 when the city was passing the laws regulating the city's marijuana clubs. But he said he waited out of concern that federal law does not recognize California's legalization of medical marijuana.

However, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced last month that federal authorities would prosecute only "those people who violate both federal and state law," implying that the government no longer would try to shut down California pot dispensaries.

"We're spending much more money keeping marijuana underground, trying to hide a fact that is occurring all around us," Mirkarimi said. "Now is the time to take responsibility for something we've deflected to others and to test our ability to take responsibility."

Mayor Gavin Newsom's office wasn't so sure. Although the mayor supports medical marijuana, Newsom has said he does not favor efforts to legalize pot, and his office was noncommittal about the proposal for the city to sell it.

"The mayor will have to hash this out with public health officials," press secretary Nathan Ballard said. "It's the mayor's job to weed out bad legislation. And to be blunt, this sounds pretty bad."

San Francisco's successful dispensary regulations, which are now being used as a model for other cities, arose out of concerns that the clubs were operating with no oversight and often attracting criminal elements. The regulations mandate who can run cannabis clubs, limits where they can be located and requires the businesses to receive a city permit that must be approved by four agencies.

The city laws led to the closure of at least 15 clubs. Mirkarimi said he doesn't anticipate the pilot program putting the remaining clubs out of business but said it could "alleviate the burden on neighborhoods" and provide a more "prudent approach to regulation" by moving some pot purchases into city facilities.

Where the city would get the marijuana would be determined later, he said, adding that he views the proposal as "cost-neutral" because the city could recoup any money spent on acquiring and distributing marijuana through sales.

Federal authorities in San Francisco, who have clashed with local officials over federal prosecution of medical marijuana sellers, seemed caught off guard by the proposal. A spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Agency said only that federal law has not changed, while U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello said the proposal was too vague to comment on.

He noted that a municipality taking over the distribution of medical marijuana doesn't solve the problem that the drug is still illegal under U.S. law.

"I expect that their objective here is to avoid some problems of the disparity between federal and local laws, but I don't know that such an effort - that is, a government takeover - would be to the exclusion of other dispensaries," Russoniello said. "They would just be creating another entity ... and it assumes the city government would act in strict compliance with state regulations, which is a significant assumption."

At least one marijuana advocate praised the proposal. Richard Lee, director of the Oakland dispensary and education group Oaksterdam University, said it's a step in the right direction.

"In general I'm more of a private, free-enterprise guy - I'd rather see the free market do it than the government," he said. "But I'm in favor of anything we can do to legitimize (marijuana) and make the federal position out of date and unenforceable as possible."