What's He Smoking?: Mirkarimi's Head Shop Ban

Haight supe Ross Mirkarimi is following the tried-and-true "This Street Has Too Many (Insert Business Here)" formula and taking a stand on the very biz that's made the Haight... well, the Haight: head shops.There are just freakin' "way too many" of the pot paradises tobacco paraphernalia stores says Mirkarimi, and he's kind of walking the walk on this one. Yesterday the supe, following a restriction imposed last week on head shop permitting, went a step further and introduced legislation that would ban new head shops along Lower and Upper Haight. If it seems a little outlandish that he'd want to ban head shops in the place that practically invented them, Mirkarimi's obvs not feelin' it. He's thus far unmoved by fears that the ban would kill Haight-Ashbury's "flavor"— yes, that sweet, sweet flavor: "You do not need, within less than one mile, close to a dozen head shops." No? At least he's not asking for more shoe cobblers.
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