Head Shop Moratorium A Head-Scratcher

[Ganjarden]

The ban on head shops on Haight Street sounds like a joke. Of course there are head shops on Haight. Isn't that the whole point for the home of the Summer of Love?

Nevertheless, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a moratorium Tuesday on new "tobacco paraphernalia establishments" for at least three years. Not that much will change.

There are an estimated dozen smoke shops along Haight Street with handcrafted pipes, bongs and bubblers. Really, this isn't so much about law and order, or preserving the culture of the Haight, but rather good old profits in dollars and cents.

In February, when a local merchant opened Goodfellas - which one competitor calls "the Wal-Mart of bongs" - the rest of the smoke shops began to feel the pinch. If any more of those places opened, they'd drive the old incense-burning, tie-dyed head shops right out of business. The result was the moratorium, introduced by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi.

But that doesn't solve the underlying problem.

"It's too late," said Mark Faigenbaum, who manages the Into Video store. "I've been here since 1982 and it has just gotten worse and worse with stores selling all that hippie crap."

The ordinance is just a symptom of the bigger problem, which is that the residents of the Haight have to decide what they want to be. Do they want to gentrify the Haight or hate the gentrification?

I'd say the answer is already clear. Having verged dangerously close to becoming a hippie theme park, the area is now bustling with business activity. Families continue to move in with children, determined to make life in the city work.

There are going to be some tough calls as the Haight moves toward a vibrant business area, and this is one of them. Goodfellas isn't my idea of a great addition to the neighborhood, but if it works and makes money, residents are just going to have to deal with it.

Mirkarimi's legislation says the smoke shops "contribute directly to numerous problems in the city, including violations of the peace, and health, safety, and general welfare problems."

That's a nice thought, but let's be honest, the problems on the sidewalks of the Haight are the seedy-looking guys who are panhandling, drinking and yelling at tourists.

A better argument is that mega-shops are not in keeping with the culture of the neighborhood.

"Quite honestly what set everyone off was Goodfellas," said Joey Cain, president of the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council. "This uber-giant bong shop."

Goodfellas and Puff Puff Pass across the street have shelves of bongs that stretch from the floor to the rafters. Legally, those products should not be visible to pedestrians under 18 years of age from the street, but the displays are so large they are impossible to miss.

"When tourists come here and see a Wal-Mart of pipes, that's not what Haight is all about," said Elissa Fircano, who works behind the counter at Distractions, a Haight Street fixture for 33 years. "We want Haight back to what it used to be. These other stores are not Haight Street friendly."

I don't know about being Haight Street friendly, but they certainly aren't media friendly. Neither store wanted anything to do with an interview. At Puff Puff I was told the owner was "away," for at least "a week," and if I wanted to talk to somebody else there was "nobody."

There isn't any question that the bulk bong folks are hurting business for the old timers. Distractions has a for-sale sign over the door - "legendary head shop for sale" - and other stores admit to feeling the pressure.

However, the irony of head shops campaigning for regulation of head shops isn't lost of some of the residents. Praveen Madan is co-owner of Booksmith on Haight.

"Would I like a moratorium saying that there would be no more bookstores?" Madan said. "Of course I would. That's what we are struggling with here. Do you really want the government to step in and decide which is a good business and which is bad?"

And then Madan really goes off the deep end.

"In a free market," he said, "if there are too many head shops, some of them will go out of business."

As difficult as it is to say, he's right. Personally, I don't like the idea of a big, flashy, obnoxious bong store. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have a right to exist. You can't legislate against the poor taste of tourists. No matter what they're smoking.


News Hawk- Ganjarden http://www.420Magazine.com
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Author: C.W. Nevius
Contact: San Francisco Chronicle
Copyright: 2009 Hearst Communications Inc.
Website: Head Shop Moratorium A Head-Scratcher