San Jose

SF's Last Gun Shop to Reopen as a Free Pot Dispensary for the Poor: Report

San Francisco's last gun shop closed its doors last fall. Now it is reopening - as a pot shop, according to a 7X7 report.

High Bridge Arms, known for fighting vigorously against the city's tough gun regulations until it permanently closed in October, is set to reopen this summer as a medical marijuana dispensary called High Bridge, the report says.

The owner, Sean Killen, intends to operate as a nonprofit with a focus on keeping medical cannabis prices low and providing it for free to those who can't afford it.

Killen, a San Jose native, used to manage nearby dispensary Bernal Heights Cooperative. Killen could not be reached Thursday.

High Bridge Arms opened at 3185 Mission St.in the Bernal Heights neighborhood in 1952. Andy Takahashi bought the business in 1988 and began exporting firearms in 1993, according to its website.

The shop closed briefly in 2010, and Takahashi had given thought to renting out the space before he decided to reopen the gun shop, despite neighbors' attempts to block it.

In October, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance requiring firearms dealers to videotape all gun and ammunition sales and share data on ammunition sales with the San Francisco Police Department.

It was the final straw for High Bridge Arms.

"I’m not doing that to our customers. Enough is enough," manager Steven Alcairo told the Associated Press at the time. "Buying a gun is a constitutionally protected right. Our customers shouldn’t be treated like they’re doing something wrong."

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