Cops Can't Connect Cannabis to Crime

San Francisco's Police Commission has been sparring with the Police Department over a controversial assertion by Taraval Station Captain Denise Schmitt that pot clubs are crime hubs.

So Police Commissioner Petra DeJesus asked Chief George Gascon to run a search on the SFPD's computerized crime database for crimes near two dispensaries on Ocean Avenue, where a third is soon set to open.

However, in two weeks Gascon has yet to be able to come up with any numbers, even though reportedly patrol officers have been walking around the area asking residents if they've seen an uptick in incidents.

All of which left Commander John Loftus in the awkward position of admitting that what crime there is near dispensaries in the Mission District can't be directly correlated to the presence of dispensaries there.

In fact, by his own estimation, crime has actually gone down since the clubs opened.

The SFPD is on the record as supporting state and local laws regarding the trade in medical marijuana, however it has been accused of assisting federal law enforcement raids.

Jackson West wonders why Gascon didn't just point commissioners to.