Wharf businesses oppose pot club

San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf neighborhood, known for attracting tourists and sea lions, could start attracting medical marijuana patients as well if the San Francisco Planning Department approves a proposed cannabis dispensary in the neighborhood.

The proposed dispensary at 2627 Taylor St., which is expected to come before the Planning Commission for approval next month, has drawn some opposition from members of the Fisherman’s Wharf business community.

A petition launched on Change.org by the Fisherman’s Wharf Community Benefit District, which has drawn 81 supporters in four weeks, urges San Francisco Planning Commission president Rodney Fong to deny the request to open the dispensary at 2627 Taylor St.

The petition states that Fisherman’s Wharf, “is not a suitable site for the proposed dispensary” and that there is nothing to prevent additional dispensaries from moving to the wharf and “the beginning of a corrosive effect on its status as a family friendly destination.”

However, a competing petition launched in favor of opening the dispensary by Russian Hill resident Ray Connolly, the prospective chief executive officer of the proposed dispensary KRINZE, already has over 5,570 supporters, and is gaining fast.

Connolly wrote in his petition that he wants to start the non-profit dispensary to help families with loved ones suffering from chronic pain or other illnesses:

“I started KRINZE because my father died of cancer, and medical cannabis would have helped him. … By opening this dispensary, I hope to serve residents in SF neighborhoods that do not have dispensaries.”

Connolly’s petition argues that Fisherman’s Wharf is already home to a host of bars and nightclubs that are not “family friendly,” yet the benefit district has chosen only to protest medical marijuana dispensaries.

Connolly said today that he expects to present his petition and the collected signatures to the San Francisco Planning Commission on Dec. 17 when the commission is scheduled to consider his application.