a little history and questions about the possible influence of money as a relates to the bernal heights branch library merrill, which features an unidentified african-american singer. two years ago, the library commission approved a compromise to restore the front of the mural at a cost of $18,000, but expressed great concern as to where that $18,000 funding would come from. a so-called community process was to decide the other two sides. two years went by. in june and july of 2011, the so-called community process task force came to the library commission with a plan that was to get rid of all three sides, despite the previous resolution. and no budget was discussed at all.

we found on line with that budget would be. the burn all library and art project -- bernal library art project had a budget 10 times would have -- what had been proposed two years prior, or $185,000. over here all was friends of the public library, with a fiscal fee of $16,800. we have also found the city librarian sending a letter in which he suddenly and without explanation has money for this project, $20,000 worth. it was never discussed at the library commission. city librarians are getting $35,000 each year from the friends. think about it.

>> good afternoon, board. i am the patient advocates seat of the can of this task force. -- cannabis task force. it was encouraging to see the mayor in attendance of the board meeting. we are hoping to create some dialogue. i write to alert you to an -- an impending health care crisis. hundreds of thousands of disabled americans, who i represent in the patient advocacy seat, are facing a federal block in needed and physician-recommended medical supplies. this embargo is unconstitutional, as well as a backslide with regard to united nations resolve for health care.

i asked that our city officials of hold city laws regarding our sanctuary status. our city has two decades of laws on our books in support and project support of safe and legal access to cannabis, evolving from the aids crisis. 16 states have fallen in our footsteps. our city has a medical cannabis task force comprised of legal experts. this major media attention and concern, as this also affects a leading contributor to the general fund. we asked the mayor to step up, speak up for the patients. thank you. >> my name is denise story. herbal medicines are under attack, and so are the commons, which covers public space and

libraries. the dea and drug companies seem to want their bill money back. they miss it. we, the people, have seen victims of casualties of election-time politics. the middle class are mainly liberal. we need to preserve the middle class, what is left of them. i worry about increasing corporate control of government and vulture capitalists eroding our democracies around the world, privatizing to serve their own interest, buying our government. they do not want to pay taxes, but they will by governments. public space is vital to a fair and vibrant bubble-up economy, as opposed to a trickle-down, mussolini-style subsidized corporate economy in this country, thanks to the corporate media and numbing and diming us

down, thanks to rupert murdoch and the koch brothers. the can of this community -- canabis community is the canary in the mind of democracy. we are willing to pay taxes. yet the people who want a small government to drown in a bathtub, because the one to shrink the government so small they can drown it in a bathtub -- this herb has killed no one. yet they are giving untested drugs to my mother, who lost her memory because she took cholesterol drugs. that is a burden on me. the crackdown of legal dispensaries -- expect to see a large jump in crime statistics when those dispensaries are gone. i can guarantee it.

>> good afternoon. supervisor olague, congratulations to you as well. my name is greg ledbetter. before i start the day, i would like to express to you guys the idea that i stand for the patients that are not able to stand to talk to you today. we have a crisis in our community right now. it seems the federal government has chosen to take dispensaries that are serving sick and dying patient and close them down without regard to the human life and the quality of life that these patients are trying to achieve. at this present moment, we do have allies sitting in the board of supervisors. but at the present moment, you guys have chosen to be silent.

please take a stand. let the federal government know that the city and county of san francisco stands behind their medical cannabis patience and are willing to put in place laws that will govern our community. we are a public entity that you guys are supposed to help. i ask you urgently, speak out before it is too late. thank you. >> good afternoon, members of the board. i am here representing the green cross. i am here to ask will the real san francisco please stand up and defend safe access? the u.s. federal government continues to undermine our local laws, resulting in the closure of some of san francisco's oldest and best-regulated

dispensaries, with more warnings that "nobody is immune from federal prosecution." while resolutions and press statements are welcome, patients and providers deserve concrete and specific action from this board to send a clear message to federal officials that medical marijuana is medicine, and interference with local laws is neither welcomed nor warranted. you could consider passing an ordinance to direct the city attorney's office to enthusiastically support an amicus brief to reschedule marijuana. or you can pass an ordinance directing the city attorney's office to join the state petition to consider marijuana. you could be the first city to join a multi-state effort, and send a clear message to the state of california that marijuana is medicine and the fed's need to butt out. in closing, you're going to hear

a lot more examples behind me. thank you for listening to all of us. we are urging you to have a heart and defend it safe access. -- defensive access. >> happy valentine's day. my name is tony. i have been in medical cannabis advocate for 10 years. i am here to ask you to take access -- take action. i moved back from maryland in april, where are was working to build safe access on the east coast. in 2005, and helped pass the regulations we have now. i am amazed to find our community under attack. i saw many great new dispensary models that i was proud to see when i first arrived. we have had only five complaints in the five years we have had

those regulations. i was very proud of that. to see this crackdown happening is a shame. with resolutions and press statements, they are welcome leadership, but we need more than that. we need to introduce an amendment to article 33, establishing an emergency plan forre- permiting-- for re- permitting, and to follow up the board letter to president obama. say something that appropriately reflects the circumstances of the interference into our local laws, and make clear it was neither welcome or warranted. we can direct the city attorney and all city agencies to refuse any request for information about the program that is not publicly available, unless under subpoena and required by city agencies. thank you.

>> hello, ladies and gentleman. my name is john stone. i live in district 6. some of you i am acquainted with. others i am not. either way, what i wanted to bring to your attention was the issue surrounding the recent closures of many of the dispensaries for medical marijuana, and it particularly affects me and the people around me in my district, because we are running out of places where we can get it close by. it is not a simple thing of walking a few blocks anymore. even with public transportation, i have a friend who has a mobility program, who lives a couple of blocks from it. she is also a can of this patient -- she is also a cannabis patient. she has an extremely hard time getting medicine.

these things need to be considered when the closures are taking place. we do need to get the fed pro- government to cease crackdown. those of you who are allied with this, please speak out. we need you. >> good afternoon, members of the board. my name is john gallo. i am a patient advocate. being a student and a patient, and you get harassed by the fence, because you are supposed to not have medicine. federal benefits. federal restrictions. we are supposed to be a sanctuary city. stand up with our patients and speak up with us. please, on behalf of students and patients, stand up with us

and ask the fed to butt out. thank you. >> my name is marquise. i am a member of access of love. i have seen five clubs close that i was a member to. now i do not have the ability to get my meds like a used to -- like i used to. i am going up for back surgery. i am in pain. this is the medicine that helps me get through every day. without this, if more clubs close, if more places cease to exist, if the federal crackdown continues, i am afraid that most of our city residents will vanish without this madison. please stand up for your members of your community that need

this. we're depending on it. you should too. >> good evening, board of supervisors. i am a member of access of love. i want to stand in solidarity with access for safe medicine. i am troubled by the attack on the dispensaries and the patience, and the right to medical cannabis. we as americans have a right to fair health care. i support you officials. i have voted to put you in office. i just want to be represented. >> i am edmund. i want to say as a patient an advocate, the day they started out with ♪ i left my heart in

san francisco ♪ -- a green heart is no more than what we want. we do not want to end up with pills, the way they have taken out whitney houston and michael jackson. pills are prevalent in our society today. this earth is from the earth. this is what, when you have a green heart right here -- this is broccoli and asparagus. it is shaped in a green heart shape. this is a good curveball apple pie. it was -- herbal apple pie. it was inspired by san francisco golden gate park. you see that right here? our hearts need the green herb. with bond wednesday and black history month, this is another thing for african-americans. our ancestors could put marijuana in their food. mexican women used marijuana as

antiseptics to put on their bodies. on this great chinese new year, medical marijuana week, president's day, red heart month, groundhog's day, leap year -- for us to leap ahead and take this forward to all our home was sapiens. thank you. -- homo sapiens. thank you. >> i was not sure what i was going to say. but dan made a good point. this is the chamber that brought us compassion. and what is going on? why is everybody folding under federal pressure, when everybody feels it is right. it is healthy. i have worked with homeopathic pharmaceuticals when i was 19.

i am 51 now. things have come a long way. herbal medicine is something i need. i am not a pill popper. i am allergic to codeine. i have pain. i have hunter issues. i feel this is the chamber that brought us some compassion. why is everybody backsliding now, when we needed the most? as i got older, as i age out, i cannot even afford tobut i don'e fabulous dispensaries that have been so kind enough to donate cannabis medicinal who axis of love that i am part of the. think you for giving us a voice. i hope that you revisit this issue, and really kind of stand behind the heart and soul of it. there are people in pain all over the city.

take notes, thank you. >> i am a patient advocate as well as a member of excess of love community center. the of the board of supervisors or whoever can send a letter to the federal government telling them to back off of medical patients, most of the closures of the center. i see about a month ago, they shut down a dispensary. patients are now suffering. what is going to happen, you will see dispensaries, we will see patients going from a dispensary to the streets. once you see the patient going to the streets, what is the next place they are going to go?

just for getting the medicine i need on a daily basis. i have a seizure disorder. without the medicine, i can slip into a seizure and died. can you please tell the medical cannabis community? >> ha my name is david goldman, i am a former member of the san francisco medical cannabis taskforce. i am also the core leadership group of americans for safe access, he oldest and largest organization dedicated to advocacy for medical canada's access and research. i like to present and reiterate practical solutions to the crisis of losing five of brick and mortar dispensaries and the fact that the dea is investigating 12 more. what will be next?

i would like the board of supervisors to introduce and pass an amendment establishing an emergency plan as a result of federal interference, and it was otherwise in comply with local law and in good standing with the san francisco department of public health. i would like them to file enthusiastic amicus brief in pursuit of americans for safe access's petition to reschedule asa vs dea. to join the tenth amendment california lawsuit seeking to stop medical marijuana crackdowns. next, to introduce and pass an ordinance in directing the office to join the state's petition to reschedule marijuana. san francisco can join the

multi-state effort and said they should follow san francisco's model. please help support the model program in the country. >> my name is michael cohen, i am here today to ask you to take action and defend safe access. i have several specific actions that i would like you to do. the first one is to direct the city attorney and all city agencies to refuse any request for informational about our medical canada's program -- canada's program that is not available but public request unless under the direction of a subpoena.

and requires city agencies that receive requests from the federal government to convey that information to the board of supervisors to the task force. in the second one i am asking you to do is introduced and passed an ordinance in directing and our city attorney jose office to reschedule the petition to marijuana. will be the first to send a strong central to the state of california that they should file san francisco's lead. my third request by the board of supervisors is to follow up to the board posey said yuri a., 2012 letter to the president obama pursuant ordinance no. 297-062 more appropriately

reflect the circumstances of the -- and make clear that the laws are neither welcome or warranted. please protect and defend the safe access. >> hello, supervisors. we have had an emotional day to day, we have that in the company of giants. you are in a unique position to be giants yourselves. i am here to speak to the protection of medical marijuana. i am a medical marijuana patient myself. have seen the most admirable people of my life working in this field, and specifically, i would like to ask you to pass an ordinance directing the city attorney's office to join the

petition to reschedule marijuana. the first county to join the multi-state ever to send a strong signal to the state of california that they should follow san francisco's lead, it is in some ways, the tempo of the world, and i think we all know what that means. a s q to be among the company of cheyenne's that we have been enjoying today, so please protect safe access for medical cannabis. >> in the afternoon, her supervisors. happy valentine's day. i am a disabled senior citizen and also a great grandmother. i have been in medical marijuana activist for over 20 years.

and a patient for about 10 years. i am here to urge you to stand up for safe access in your city. it is really important for the people that depend on this urban live. what the dea is using is playgrounds and children to attack these dispensaries. it is absolutely totally ridiculous. the principal said that in three years, he has had no problem, but they would not listen to him. they closed the market street co-op which has been in operation for god knows how long because they build a playground on octavia boulevard. those children would have to be able to walk through walls to get to the market street suspensory. most of the people that say, the

children, they are seeing it with a cigarette in one hand and a cocktail and the other hand. the pharmacy was to get a hold of this, they don't want us to use the natural urge to heal. the want to make the dough out of the bill will affect our liver and you will see a class- action suit on daytime sheehy because people have died from what ever. i know a lot of people on it makes us sick. i don't understand all this, please help us. >> i want you guys to support access of love end access of marijuana.

>> good evening, board of supervisors. i am a patient advocate, and i do mean that i have a health issue myself. not just me, but everybody else in the community. it is hard for us to get our medicine. we're trying to make sure we can live for ever instead of wasting our dreams down the drain. please help us do this, and all of the people around here that have the health issue need that medicine. >> i am here to represent the thousands of patients, i'd just feel that we should have the right to alternative medicine other than harmful such the

tropics. -- psychotropics. >> i am also vice chair of the patient advocacy. i need the medicine because it helps me with knowledge of what i take my age of the medication. >> high made tenderloin the activists, and diane alexian's activists. today, we recognized and honored a woman working for the collaborative that i have been working with a long time. the very first program manager many years ago, i was at a low point and he encouraged by activism. he suggested that some day i'd participate in the reform of

what was being called instant run off voting. i was just speaking generally about elections, there is no perfect election system. if you think about it, the thing to focus on, the decision making is the ultimate pain. turnout is one component of that. right now, and the republican party, we have a lot of people complaining that republicans are doing things actively designed to suppress the vote. i don't see how democrats can complain about voter suppression when the democratic party isn't even have aing a primary for the democratic candidate. primaries don't weaken candidates, they make them stronger.