Renters in San Francisco may soon be unable to legally smoke any sort of substance —including tobacco and cannabis— in their own apartments.
At least, that’s a proposal the SF Board of Supervisors is considering for buildings of three or more units. But the pot part, at least, is likely to not going to go over too well in a city full of cannabis fans.
Board President and District 7 Supervisor Norman Yee, who is termed-out and leaving office in January, was the one to propose it. The board’s Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee voted to bring it to a full board vote on December 1. His reason: protecting people from second-hand smoke.
“We are discussing the right of our residents to breathe clean air,” Yee told the SF Examiner.
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Many apartments already ban smoking tobacco, but banning smoking weed would be a whole different issue in this city.
After criticism, Yee allowed an exemption for those using cannabis for medicinal purposes with proof of a doctor’s recommendation. But cannabis advocates are still furious with the proposal and called for the board to reject it.
The San Francisco Cannabis Oversight Committee, in its letter arguing against the ordinance, called the measure classist. They argue that people who have enough money to buy a home would be unaffected; they also criticized the ordinance’s call for $1,000 per day in penalties for repeat violators of the ban.
“San Franciscans who can afford to buy free-standing homes would be unaffected and could still smoke in peace,” the letter said. “The $1,000/day penalty adds insult to injury, since only wealthy people can pay such fines, but wealthy people are already exempted by virtue of owning their own free-standing homes.”
The vote happens tomorrow — and we’ll be watching and updating you here. If you want to let you supervisors know how you feel in SF, email them here.
