Exactly one year ago today, the Vapor Room was ordered to cease operations at 607A Haight.
The closure was the result of a controversial crackdown on California medical marijuana dispensaries by the Department of Justice. The Vapor Room, which had been in the Lower Haight since 2004, was forced to switch to a delivery-only model.
Owner Martin Olive tells us it's been an interesting twelve months since the closure.
"This past year away from the Lower Haight has seen its shares of ups & downs for the Vapor Room Cooperative," Olive writes. "We had to lay off most of our staff members right after the initial closure of our facility, which was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. The second hardest was saying goodbye to so many amazing members and neighbors who helped make us a family. We miss the Lower Haight!" While Olive would like to find a new retail space for the business, city and state restrictions make finding such a location challenging. The Haight Street address was supposedly too close to the Duboce Park playground, or so the Justice Department claimed in its letter to Olive last year. Proximity to parks and schools has been the main justification for the federal crackdown, which has only continued since the Vapor Room closed. The Justice Department is currently threatening to seize the property of three Bay Area dispensaries, Shambhala in the Mission, and Harborside Health Center and Berkeley Patients Group in the East Bay. Given the climate, "it seems like we may choose to continue operating as a delivery for the time being," Olive tells us. But if he could find a safe, compliant space in the city's restrictive green zone, he would consider reopening the shop. In the meantime, he's encouraged by the support being shown for medical marijuana across the country. "[We] are proud to see the cannabis movement gaining ground across the country. We now have nineteen states that have enacted laws that protect medical cannabis users and providers in some way. The tide is turning across the United States and it feels good to know that we helped plant the seed (I know, bad pun) in some small way." As for 607A Haight, it remains vacant a full year later. To find out more about the Vapor Room's delivery service, visit vaporroom.com.
"This past year away from the Lower Haight has seen its shares of ups & downs for the Vapor Room Cooperative," Olive writes. "We had to lay off most of our staff members right after the initial closure of our facility, which was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. The second hardest was saying goodbye to so many amazing members and neighbors who helped make us a family. We miss the Lower Haight!" While Olive would like to find a new retail space for the business, city and state restrictions make finding such a location challenging. The Haight Street address was supposedly too close to the Duboce Park playground, or so the Justice Department claimed in its letter to Olive last year. Proximity to parks and schools has been the main justification for the federal crackdown, which has only continued since the Vapor Room closed. The Justice Department is currently threatening to seize the property of three Bay Area dispensaries, Shambhala in the Mission, and Harborside Health Center and Berkeley Patients Group in the East Bay. Given the climate, "it seems like we may choose to continue operating as a delivery for the time being," Olive tells us. But if he could find a safe, compliant space in the city's restrictive green zone, he would consider reopening the shop. In the meantime, he's encouraged by the support being shown for medical marijuana across the country. "[We] are proud to see the cannabis movement gaining ground across the country. We now have nineteen states that have enacted laws that protect medical cannabis users and providers in some way. The tide is turning across the United States and it feels good to know that we helped plant the seed (I know, bad pun) in some small way." As for 607A Haight, it remains vacant a full year later. To find out more about the Vapor Room's delivery service, visit vaporroom.com.
