flashing -- you can see the flashing led. now it is cancelled. it is going through the verification process. it starts with a minimum of 30 minutes. you can add or subtract time. [traffic] when you are ready, you can cancel or ok it. i am one to hit -- doh link to hit -- i am going to hit ok. it is verified. it has 53 minutes on it now. >> they are ready to go.

we have most of them out there already. if you recall, we have the sf park card. they will not work in the meters right now. the programming issues to deal with. we expect that within two month, the card will also be available. you will have coins, credit and debit cards, and the sf cards. there will be four different ways to pay to use the meter. you will not have to walk around with change. the ease of use will be some of the benefits of the meters. with that, i think we're done. thank you for joining us to help us get the word out. ♪

all cell phones, pagers, or other devices. their signals interfere with the sound system in the room. please refrain from flash photography during the course of the meeting. please stand to join the commission in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> do you have another marijuana packet? >> i am sorry?

>> ladies and gentlemen, please direct your attention to the roll call of commissioners. president marshall: present. vice president mazzucco: present. commissioner dejesus: present. commissioner hammer: present. >> you have a quorum. president marshall: this is the regular meeting of the sentences, police commission, august 4, 2010. before we move the agenda, we must introduce our new commissioners, commissioner carol kingsley. you are the first commissioner to get a hand. i do not know if they knew you. just say a little bit about

yourself and what you do in your other life now you have a second life on wednesday night. grab the mic there. cp,,ossopm commissioner kingley: i mediate business disputes as a business lawyer. i am a longtime resident of san francisco. i have been here over 30 years and have raised my son in sentences go. he is going off to college. i love the city and am pleased to be here to serve san francisco and work with the police department, the other police commissioners, and the office of citizen complaints. >> welcome. president marshall: we have a

full agenda tonight. we may be here when you are on -- when you are all gone in bed. but might still be here. we are taking an item out of order. the agenda says there is a special order right at the top. we are going to continue the call of item number four. >> thank you. before i proceed, let me introduce the assistant chief of police and the director of the office of citizen complaints. we are moving to item four, the presentation regarding the sf pd's medical marijuana policy. president marshall: present the presentation of the department first. >> thank you. standing before you is the

commanding officer of the investigations bureau. he will give the power point presentation and be available to answer any questions regarding the medical marijuana presentation. that is if he can get the computer to work. [laughter] >> good evening, president marshall, commissioners, director, and chief. i am the commander of investigations with the police department. i am here tonight to talk to you about the police department and the issues involving medicinal

marijuana. it has been two months since i spoke to you about this issue and our goal remains the same. we want to ensure that qualified patients have safe and legal access to their medicine. we have been gathering at meetings with the advocates for medicinal marijuana in the past. most recently, in july, we brought to city officials -- we brought two city officials of the board with us. tonight i will talk about the results of that meeting, some of our legal concerns, some issues involved with dispensaries, some of the problems we're seeing with cultivations, and answer some of the questions that were brought up last time i spoke to you. on july 14, we met with the marijuana advocates.

we brought into the meeting the planning department, the d.a.'s office, and the department of public health. it was a productive meeting. this group is moving forward in addressing these issues. with respect to the marijuana advocacy groups, they brought forth some different kinds of signup forms and some of the issues that would like to see the police department help them with, safety tips for the cultivation operations that they have developed. those are in your packages. i will address those in a couple of minutes. the legal issues around medicinal marijuana remained the same. we struggle with some of the ambiguities, as other cities in departments have done. there are some conflicts between local ordinances and state ordinances. what we would like to see is some more defined ordinances'

giving better guidelines. i would like to see more work on behalf of city departments in permiting licensing of these clubs and some inspection and compliance law. with respect to medical cannabis dispensaries, there have been no reported incidents at any in sentences "since we last met. -- nebraska in san francisco -- any in send francisco since we last met. [applause] there were some in l.a., involving robberies. we are going to send letters out to the 22 dispensaries in sentences go offering them some security training and inspections this coming week. hopefully we can help make their facilities a little more secure.

there has been a surge of growth in the applications for medical marijuana dispensaries here in san francisco. since 2007, only -- the department of public health received only one application for a new dispensary. in 2010, they have already received eight. we are expecting to see a lot more development in canada's dispensaries here in san francisco -- and cannabiin cann dispensaries here in san francisco. there are three types of cultivation going on in the city. there are patient cultivated gardens. a qualified patient can grow up to 24 plants. state guidelines limit it to six

plants. there are also collectives, where you get up to nine people cultivating together. this is where we are having a problem. some of the cultivators -- by state guidelines, if you have up to nine qualified patients as a cultivator, you can cultivate 54 plants. with san francisco the guidelines, we are talking 216 plants. when we have 216 plants in a house, that creates some of the problems we are going to be discussing. the final type of nursery is a commercial nursery that is grown in a commercial building somewhere. we have had, according to the department of public health, three applications for commercial nurseries here in sentences go in recent times. with these nursery's, there is a number of people that have

regulatory authority over these nursery'ies. there is the planning department, the fire department, and the san francisco police department. i will be meeting on tuesday of next week with many city agencies to discuss some of the things we are seeing in the cultivation of marijuana and what the future will hold for us. what we are seeing in san francisco with respect to cultivation -- there are two types of cultivation operations, operations taking place in residences and commercial operations. our concern is the safety of these cultivation operations, safety of persons involved in the operations, the safety of their neighbors, and the safety of the environment where these

operations are occurring. that goes along with the fast electric needs to power these facilities, some of the irrigation and waste issues, the ventilation, and the security. with respect to electricity, the sheer volume and power that has to power the lights and the ventilation systems is pretty extreme for some of the residences. i have brought pictures of some of our recent operations we have seen in some of the houses. to accomplish this, it is very common to see the pg&e box jumped. there are illegal wirings threat the house. this is what causes some of the fires we see. an additional concern of ours is the irrigation and the waste. obviously, there is

fertilization involved in the growing process. there is some use of pesticides. as you can see in some of the photographs, a lot of the waste water is vented directly into toilets and sinks. according to the department of building inspection, there is a problem when the irrigation signs -- irrigation supplies are directly plumbed in a housing system. without back flow valves, this could go right back into the water supply. president marshall: there are a couple of questions to ask as we go through. commissioner dejesus: on the previous lives, can you tell us where these pictures come from? do you know where they were taken? >> they come from the recent grows we have had in the city. i do not have the address for each picture. i can get up for you if you like. commissioner dejesus: i want to

talk about the medical cannabis dispensary and the compassionate growers. i understand there is also criminal activity regarding marijuana. i want to know -- are these non compassionate growers? are these taken from illegal activity -- people who have been prosecuted who are not related to the dispensaries? >> that are taken for a variety. the picture on the upper left with the blue boxes in the wiring going into the hallway -- that is a compassionate grower we found to have an illegal operation. in that house, which i believe was on crescent, there was an electrical box where the exterior of the electrical box -- the screw covers were melting because of the

electricity coming through the house. commissioner dejesus: i was talking about the previous slide. i wanted to know if any of those were from the medical compassionate growers. >> i apologize, but i am not exactly sure which grows these pictures came from. i can find out and provide that information. commissioner dejesus: my real question is are these photos taken from non-medical compassionate gardens or from files regardless of whether there is compassionate gardens? >> i would offer that the majority of these photos are taken from what we consider to be illegal grow operations. i say that because although we are diligent in our efforts to make sure we do not interrupt gardens we feel are in compliance, we also do not go to the trouble of taking as many

photographs there. wheat did a garden yesterday in the sunset district. we inspected the paperwork, inspected the garden, and our officers left with samples of the product being run there. >> you do not know where these were? >> i can find out where these individuals rose are, but i do not know tonight. commissioner dejesus: who selected these photos? >> the were collected from the narcotics division, because most of the follow-up investigation on these facilities is done by them. commissioner dejesus: that is why i asked. there is a time line between the compassionate gardens verses the illegal growers illegalversu --e illegal growers. when you throw them together like this, i think it is misleading and unfair. there are safety violations.

i do want to talk about that later. when i see pictures and do not know where they come from, i think that skews the presentation. i think what we are trying to get at is to work hand in hand with the medical dispensaries. they have a state right to have medical cannabis. i do not want people infringing on their rights. when we used derogatory representations' it seems unfair. i want a clear representation of how the department is working with them, had the department is educated to know the difference between compassion and growers -- compassionate growers and the illegal activity. we do not know if we are putting them in the same cattle as victim -- the same cattle as the compassionate gardens. >> i was here when the

commissioner asked for the power point presentation. i do not think it is fair to take it of context. i think it is fair for the commander to talk about issues we deal with on a daily basis. i think the folks in the crowd know that the commander has reached out to the community and has tried to work closely with the community. i think it is unfair for you not allowing us to give our presentation and show the context of the issues we deal with. this presentation was never put together to show any negativity toward the compassionate grows. we did not take these pictures on purpose to demean any compassion and grows. i think it is necessary to allow the commissioner to finish talking about the issues we deal with in reference to the bigger grows. commissioner dejesus: i understand, chief. my concern is -- this is the

second presentation. every time we give a presentation it seems a little skewed. i am seeing it for the first time. what i would like is for you to show us what you are doing in terms of educating the department, in terms of working with the dispensers and gardners, and then have a section saying you are also dealing with this illegal type. when you put them all in the same pot and people are just watching and you say this is what we deal with, and we are talking about medical cannabis dispensaries and compassionate gardens, it seems to imply this is going on with medical compassionate gardeners. i just want you to distinguish between the two when you can, rather than just a collection of photos. i understand there is criminal activity. we should make a clear presentation. this is what we are finding with the garden in people. this is what we're finding with the criminal elements. i am not trying to stop the presentation. i just need clarity.

i am looking at this and you're telling me this is what the medical compassionate growers are doing. >> no we are not. commissioner dejesus: that is the perception i am getting and i am sure other people are seeing it the same way. tell me as you go along with it is a gardener or criminal activity. i am trying to find the line where the department is respecting the rights of this community and at the same time doing their job. >> i think a portion of his presentation toward the end will be to talk about the issues with compassionate growers, the issues he is working with. that is going to be part of the presentation. it is just toward the end. i would request to let the commander finishes presentation. commissioner dejesus: i appreciate that. but that is my issue. does the department know what they are doing? are the educated in the field?

do they think this is what compression gardens are all about? if they do, i am concerned about the education within the narcotics unit. >> if i can attempt to clarify a little bit, i am here to talk about not just gardens but dispensaries. the good news is that we have had no problems with dispensaries. we are reaching out to the dispensaries which provide security inspections that make them safer because of what is going on outside of san francisco. when our officers get complaints and they follow up these investigations they know how sensitive these crows are. we are well aware of that. we have an officer of narcotics who is our point man for the dispenser is here tonight -- for these corporations that is. i am not trying to sue the pictures at all. what i am giving you is what we are finding. we are finding grows that are

even close to the guidelines, where the power has not been jumped, where there are not weapons, where it appears to be legal and they have some paperwork, even if it is expired. we are giving every excuse to them. we are doing the very best we can. but what we are seeing in some of these other operations -- and i do not mean to skew this against the people who are here, the people we are dealing with, who are working closely with us. we are of getting along well with them. this is the criminal element. when we go in the door, we do not know which side will be on. we do not know whether they will claim a medical marijuana defense or not. some of these are out right grow operations. nevertheless, this is what we are seeing. commissioner dejesus: as you go forward, tell me if it is a known compassion and gardeners or a different photoperiod that

would help me keep this clear. >> the back of your book gives you a little more information on some of the illegal gardens we are going to be seeing, a little more information on that. i think there are a couple more gardens mentioned on the final pages of your power point where no police action was taken. i will continue. finally, the last picture slide has to do with ventilation. basically, there are voters and there are ventilation systems installed in a lot of these grows, ventilating it, through a lot of houses using the pipes. all four of these pictures are

illegal grows where we have taken police action. the one on the lower right corner, they are bending its through the fireplace at a rental home. -- that are venting it to the fireplace at a rental home. some of the weapons we are seeing -- you have barricaded doors. you have covered fire alarms. when we do a residential grow, we consider a firearm to be an instrument of criminality. they are usually for protection. it tends to push our officers into the opinion that the grow would probably be illegal. finally, on some of our recent cultivation operations, july 19

we had a residential fire. that was an illegal operation. that was an operation in which a man rented a home to turn it into an illegal grow. you can see from our list that we had a cultivation operation at which no police action was taken. it was deemed to be legitimate. we did have a couple of home invasion robberies, one in late may, one in late june, at residential cultivations. both were illegal. on one of the cases, the subject in the home where a gunshot was fired had a job with a medical cannabis dispensary. he informed the officers that he has a sideline where he cultivates and grows for sale.

as i mentioned, there are a number of city agencies involved. there are a number of code violations we see throughout the city on some of these. what we are hoping to move forward to is some type of permitting process like when you attempt to remodel your kitchen or install a bathroom, where you go through the planning department or the department of building inspection and get a permit that is signed off. it is deemed safe. it is deemed secure. we have a legal growing operation. that is our intention. with respect to the questions that were asked, we are in compliance with the attorney general's office's recent case decision on the patrick kelly

decision. we are aware that the limits offered by the state for possession are merely guidelines. our officers are instructed to contact their supervisors before taking any legal action, whether it sighting, seizing evidence, or booking anyone with respect to these and other questions. that are to contact the narcotics division or our legal division. with respect to questions about educating our officers who are on patrol, we are getting very good feedback from our officers on patrol regarding these grows. the colorado markup this immediately. the officers that work with me are probably more familiar with the marijuana laws and i am. they are built -- they are very well informed. with respect to documentation,

the advocates have come forward. they have produced a packet of safety tips which is in the a detachment of your a o -- in the a attachment of your package. they put their drawers and cultivators work. they are operating in a safe and legal manner. finally, an update on the plans for the gore registry. there is a bit of a problem with the corps registry. when the police to permit registers grow operations that are operating outside of city codes, with respect to the building code, the planning code, and the rest -- that is why i am meeting with the other city agencies. we will hopefully have -- will hopefully be able to move forward together in that operation. annex