DEA moves to pull pot out from under San Francisco landlords

DEA moves to pull pot out from under San Francisco landlords
Phillip Matier,Andrew Ross

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

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DEA moves to pull pot out from under San Francisco landlords
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The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is pushing to close San Francisco's cannabis clubs by turning its guns on their landlords - warning them that renting to pot dispensaries could cost them their buildings.

The agency intends to send letters by week's end to 80 owners of buildings housing medical marijuana clubs, similar to notices it fired off recently to landlords in Los Angeles and Sacramento, according law enforcement sources.

"By this notice, you have been made aware of the purposes for which the property is being used," said a copy of the letter sent to Sacramento landlords, signed by the special agent in charge of the DEA's San Francisco office, Javier Pena.

"You are further advised that violations of federal laws relating to marijuana may result in criminal prosecution, imprisonment, fines and forfeiture of assets."

In other words - your building.

The letters set no deadlines for owners to evict the clubs.

At one time there were more than 40 cannabis clubs in San Francisco, although only 28 have applied for licenses under a city permit process that took effect in July.

State law, of course, has no problem with cannabis clubs as long as they are genuinely dealing in medical marijuana, under the terms of the 1996 ballot measure Proposition 215. The feds, however, don't recognize medicinal uses for pot and have periodically raided clubs in San Francisco and elsewhere.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who helped write San Francisco's permit rules, said Tuesday he wouldn't be surprised if the DEA launches a new crackdown.

"The feds do as they please ... (and) they've done it before," he said. "I would only hope they would coordinate with local law enforcement and that they are aware of the new regulatory system we have in place, and are sensitive to it."

Pena would not comment, saying only that he would discuss the new strategy at a later date.

One recipient of the DEA's watch-out letter could be suspended Supervisor Ed Jew, who with family members owns a building on the 1500 block of Ocean Avenue that houses a pot club.

It turns out that Jew has other pot-related tenant issues as well. A house he co-owns on the 1100 block of Ocean Avenue was raided by police over the weekend after the person living there allegedly turned it into a flourishing pot farm.

Police confiscated more than 200 marijuana plants and scores of grow lights during the raid and took an unidentified man into custody.

Records on file at City Hall show that the two-story duplex was owned exclusively by Jew until October, when he sold a partial ownership to a relative for $155,500.

"Ed has got nothing to do with any of this," said lawyer Steve Gruel, who is defending Jew on federal bribery, extortion and mail fraud charges and is also trying to keep the Board of Supervisors from giving him the permanent heave-ho from his seat.

"The police have not even spoken to him," Gruel said.

The Ocean Avenue pot club housed in the building owned by the Jew family was raided by federal agents in June 2005, and for a time was shut down. It now has new owners and has reopened under the name Norcal Herbal Relief Center.

And from the sound of it, business is going strong. An employee told us Tuesday they are open seven days a week.

Divorce court: Looks like 49ers great Jerry Rice may be about to jump from TV's "Dancing With the Stars" to "The Bachelor."

Records on file in San Mateo County family court show that the ex-wide receiver's wife, Jacqueline Rice, filed for dissolution of the couple's marriage back in June, and they are due back in court in mid-January. Meanwhile, their Atherton estate is listed for sale for a reported $22 million.

Jacqueline Rice's attorney, Lindy Barocchi, told us only that "when the parties are ready to talk about it, they will. They have three children, and they would like the media to be mindful of the fact this is very private matter."

Jerry Rice's attorney, Stephen Montalvo, did not return calls seeking comment.

No-ho-ho: What better way for oh-so-PC San Francisco to kick off the holidays than with a memo outlining the dos and don'ts of the season?

First up, let's get the name right: It's not Christmas, it's either the "holiday season" or the "winter season" - at least if you go by the Nov. 21 memo issued to department heads by Human Resources Director Micki Callahan.

Second: Remember that holiday events "should be designed to be inclusive and welcoming to employees from the highly diverse groups that make up our workforce."

(And just in case workers don't get the message, the words "diverse" and "inclusive" appear no fewer than seven times in the memo's first three paragraphs.)

Public displays of religion, of course, are out.

Department bosses can, however, set up "inclusive displays" such as plants, snowflakes or trees - as long as they use nonreligious and nonallergenic decorations.

And definitely no stars on top of trees.

Depending on departmental rules, employees may be allowed to decorate their personal work spaces with religious decorations - as long as they are not visible to the public.

And of course, any decorations must comply with the city's disability access rules and environmental policies on energy conservation, recycling and composting.

"Thank you for your consideration and sensitivity regarding these issues," the memo concludes.

And finally: The Public Policy Institute of California had a forum Tuesday up in Sacramento during which Willie Brown was asked to cite his greatest accomplishments.

Willie: My terms as Assembly speaker and mayor of San Francisco "and never getting indicted."

To which former state Senate leader John Burton quipped, "Yeah, but the statute of limitations hasn't run out yet."

EXTRA! Catch our Web page at http://www.sfgate.com/matierandross.


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Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Phil can be seen on CBS-5 morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call them at (415) 777-8815 or drop them an e-mail at matierandross [at] sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle