Pubdate: Sat, 13 Nov 2010
Source: San Mateo County Times, The (CA)
Copyright: 2010 Bay Area News Group
Contact: http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-contact-us
Website: http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/392
Author: Joshua Melvin

POT DELIVERY SERVICE SEEKS SAN MATEO COUNTY APPROVAL

REDWOOD CITY -- A San Francisco man is asking for San Mateo County's 
approval to open the Peninsula's first officially sanctioned medical 
marijuana delivery service, but he's off to a rocky start.

James Sanabria will receive a hearing Monday in front of the San 
Mateo County License Board on establishing the MedWeedZoom 
collective, though a report from the sheriff's office already 
recommends that his request be denied.

Sheriff's Sgt. Bryan Cassandro notes in his report that Sanabria has 
been convicted of numerous felonies, including possession of PCP for 
sale and possession of cocaine, both from 1989, a 1993 robbery 
conviction, and of being a felon in possession of a firearm in 2007. 
San Mateo County's medical marijuana ordinance, which applies only to 
unincorporated areas, bans felons from working at medical marijuana 
collectives.

"For that reason, the Sheriff's Office has not conducted any further 
investigation of the application and recommends that the License 
Board DENY Mr. Sanabria a license," Cassandro wrote.

In a telephone interview Friday, Sanabria said he is willing to let 
someone else be the collective's operator if that means the 
collective can open.

"I came up with the business model," he said, adding that there are 
plenty of county residents who have medical marijuana cards but don't 
want to go to storefront dispensaries. "I'm not going to let myself 
be an obstacle."

According to his business plan, the collective's members would order 
pot at www.medweedzoom.com , pay by credit card and have the 
marijuana delivered to their home. Sanabria added, "It's like Netflix."

Delivery services have been around since voters legalized medical 
marijuana in 1996, but have become more common in areas where no 
dispensaries exist, medical pot advocates have said.

San Mateo County authorities have so far approved only one 
application to set up a medical marijuana club.

But the approval of the Sans Souci Medical Collective, to be located 
on Bay Road in North Fair Oaks, is scheduled to go before the Board 
of Supervisors later this month for an appeal hearing. The Sheriff's 
Office and a resident have questioned whether Sans Souci meets county 
requirements.

Other clubs have opened only to be shut down either by police or 
because they were denied licenses. There are currently no legally 
operating medical marijuana dispensaries in the county.

It's not clear where the MedWeedZoom site would be located. Sanabria 
said he favors industrial areas that are away from parks and houses. 
The county's ordinance prohibits marijuana clubs from being within 
1,000 feet of sites like schools and community centers.

Because Sanabria doesn't identify a location on his application, the 
Building and Planning Department wasn't able to make a recommendation 
on approval or denial.

"We'll see what happens (at the hearing)," Sanabria said.

The License Board meets at 9 a.m. Monday in room 402 at 455 County 
Center, Redwood City.

- ----------------------------

if you go

What: San Mateo County License Board meeting
When: 9 a.m. Monday
Where: Room 402 at 455 County Center, Redwood City 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart