Left: The Hemp Center’s current location at 4811 Geary. Right: Their new home at 5628 Geary will be in an old bank building.
The Hemp Center, a cannabis dispensary located on Geary near 12th Avenue, is moving its location further west on Geary Boulevard.
Starting May 29, The Hemp Center, the Richmond District’s only licensed dispensary, will reside at 5628 Geary, a former First Republic Bank that has sat vacant for nearly two years.
The current Hemp Center location sports Caribbean colors on the outside, no signage, and bars on the windows. We’re not sure if their new location will have a similar storefront. The business has been in operation since 1999, and in its current Geary location for the past 13 years.
The center’s new location will put it alongside Gables Stationery and a Subway Sandwich Shop. Subway is probably pretty happy about the new customers that The Hemp Center may send its way…
A sign on their new storefront also announces a new delivery service starting May 27th, however no information is available on their website yet.
On its website, the club promises a wonderful experience in its new “Lounge Location”, which like its current location, will allow on-site smoking (or vaporizing at it’s also called).
“Our experienced budtenders and state-of-the-art vaporizing equipment are only a few of the things that make The Hemp Center so unique. Our spacious club, incomparable amenities, and comfortable Caribbean atmosphere makes getting well a truly inspiring adventure.”
The new Hemp Center opens for business on May 29, and will be open Monday through Saturday from 11am until 8pm.
Thanks to Melvin and David H. for the budding news.
Sarah B.
Related stories:
Feds cracking down on Hemp Center marijuana dispensary on Geary (5/2/13)
Richmond District marijuana club robbed at gunpoint last Friday (11/22/10)
Isn’t this within 1,000 feet of St Monica’s School between 23rd/24th on Geary, within 1,000 feet of the YMCA, and within 600 feet of Argonne Playground?
http://planning.sanfranciscocode.org/7/790/790.141/
Best news ever for those of us who live near the current location and have to put up with street dealers who use this dispensary as a supplier.
according to Google maps – 800ft to St. Monicas, 780ft to Argonne Playground so not sure why the landlord or Blatteis would approve a lease… maybe they’re willing to turn a blind eye and hope for the best since the property “sat vacant for nearly two years”
I don’t think these kind of dispensaries need to be in the richmond district where it’s family oriented and there are a lot of schools/playgrounds nearby. I am surprised this was even allowed. This got passed? These places attract not the best type of people for this neighborhood. Other dispensaries downtown, in SOMA and Haight have druggie types. Not everyone who has a medical marijuana card medically needs one if you know what I mean.
Saint Monica’s ( anon-tax paying entity) is on 24th bet Geary/Clement, proposed location is 3-4 blocks away on Geary. YMCA is on 18th a full two blocks away. Smoking in front of ANY dispensary is NOT allowed regardless of proximity to schools.Time to let adults be adults and worry about your own kids and teach them well. Or better yet, ask Ed Lee why education funding is constantly being cut….
With all the near by schools and playgrounds there is no way this current location is going to be a permeant spot. There is going to be a legal uproar and complaints within the next month…
At first, it sounded like they were going into the old Radio Shack location. However, this storefront is between Gables and Blackwells. As to distances, it appears to be on average of .2 miles (a little over 1,000 ft) to Argonne Playground/YMCA afterschool, St. Monica’s, the Y on 18th Ave, and even a daycare that is on 20th and Anza. I imagine the dispensary researched all this before signing a lease.
That said, I cannot imagine Gables is too happy. They should have some interesting smells in their store; you can already smell Subway in there.
@HAZBEEN – yeah, drug dispensaries near schools and playgrounds is a great idea because ‘let adults be adults’… regardless, the location violates the planning codes so it’s strange that the business would invest in moving there when they’re likely to be kicked out pretty quickly.
Listen to all these old time NIMBY bigoted hate crimers. There is a bar and a liquor store across the street, and a discount pharmacy, but *grunt grun* “marijauna bad” … well thanks a lot Nancy Reagans … LOLZ
its not necessarily a judgement on pot vs. alcohol or pharmaceuticals but why they would move there in the first place when they’re not likely to be able to stay: http://hoodline.com/2012/07/vapor-room-to-close-july-31st
Add to the long list of recycled banks (mattress stores, martial arts studio, art supplies, and at least one bar).
Bon voyage!
So glad it’s moving away from its current location, too bad it isn’t closing for good.
Will a foot “massage” business be opened in the upcoming vacancy or will it become another nail salon?
Wonder what happened? I predict they’ll encounter far more resistance than 12th & Geary; that stretch has far more pedestrian traffic with high visability retail locations with tons of kids trawling the sidewalk on a weekday afternoon. Their parade of colorful “clientele” is going to stick out like a sore thumb in a supposedly family friendly neighborhood. At least on the south side there is a conspicuous lack of retail, especially on 12th and far fewer pedestrians than on 21st. It probably means it’s the beginning of the end and they’ll probably be booted out of the neighborhood altogether. It’s too bad as they were a quiet and unobtrusive presence where they were if there had to a 420 dispensary in the neighborhood.
Fucking lame. Get this shit out of the neighborhood.
Maybe Geary should be rezoned at least partly for more housing. Seems like way too many empty storefronts, and when they finally get filled it’s with crap like this or worse.
I am really sad for humanity and in particular my own community at these hateful, moronic, discriminatory comments. Fortunately, these shortsighted attitudes are no longer the norm, they are the dinosauric imbecilic squeals of your typical racist/bigots of the “Star of the Sea” variety, vitrol from clowns who find it no longer so easy to publicly hate black people or gays etc, so they rather hate on sick people surviving outside the maw of the mafia health care industry. Well take a look at the electorate, you think sick people using marijuana is bad well hang onto your panties because it will be 100% legal here in another year or two, just like is happening in the rest of the USA as you hateful old SOBs die off or slip into (doubtless heavily corporate medicated) doddering old time irrelevence
WHAT CAN I DO AS A RESIDENT TO STOP THIS PLACE FROM OPENING? Its not far from Joe’s ice cream, the comic store, hi 5 sports where there are lots of kids around. Where is Eric Mar? What the hell? This is not good for our neighborhood. This part of Richmond has more families. More schools. There are preschools nearby, day cares. It’s definitely a more family vibe here which is great. I’m not against cannibis but we know what kind of crowd these dispensaries attract. And it’s not something that I hope the residents here want in their neighborhood. I don’t want to sound like a NIMBY but there’s a place for these kinds of business. Downtown, haight, SOMA, mid market, etc. There aren’t even any smoke shops here? What’s next? A massage parlor?
How did this happen and why are we only learning about it now?
wow, i will never go to the richmond for anything again. I had no idea so many haters live there. maybe they should switch from cheap wine n beer n try a doobie 🙂
Been there since ’99, one of the earliest dispensaries in the city and longest operating. They have been a model for others. Must be doing something right. Many neighborhood residents never even notice its there. Probably been here longer then some of these commenters have lived here.
Lived here 30 years – never liked the place. Where’s Mar?
Call Supervisor Mar’s office. They only heard about the move today. We need a community hearing. Also, Hemp Center opens on May 29, hours are Mon-Sat 11 am to 8:00 pm. Yes there are users ( legitimate or not) who will be visiting.
“What’s next? A massage parlor?”
Prostitution? In the Avenues? Moooooo.
By the way, once you figure out where these parlors are, you may get an answer to your question about our supervisor’s whereabouts…
Hear, hear, Mel. Fellow residents, it is only moving 8 blocks. That means it has always been in the neighborhood!
Yes, be adult and be honest: how many of you naysayers have been in an uproar about this dispensary sometime in the last 30 years?
Anyone read the news about nail salons lately? Now, there’s an actual problem.
What is wrong with you people? I’m a native Richmond District resident and I have absolutely NO problem with a dispensary opening here. My husband and I happen be medical marijuana card holders, and it would be really nice to not have to go all the way to SOMA or the tenderloin to re-supply.
Have any of you ever even set foot inside a dispensary? They aren’t dingy, shady or janky like most of you are probably imagining. My husband and I are not druggies or losers– STOP with the unfair stereotyping and prejudice, these comments make me so angry.
And to the people saying “the Gables won’t be happy about this”- uh, do you even know them? I’m willing to bet that you don’t.
Awesome news. The old location was in such an inconvenient location.
Just chiming back in to say that it was a lot of the clientele that was the real problem when it was near 12th – I often felt unsafe waiting at the bus stop or walking nearby. If people need medical marijuana, fine, but sorry, 20 something skaters who skate up to the front door don’t look unhealthy to me. Regulate it like any other drug you need a prescription for and I’ll be happy.
Not a fan of dispensaries. Yes, some are legitimate users, but not all. Isn’t it 3 blocks from Alamo, close to family restaurants, Subway, upscale wine shop, the card shop where many family’s go there, four major banks, and post office. Maybe we might get a whiff of people lighting up or it will bring business to the area. When you smoke MJ, you get hungry means more business to restaurants. Having it open till 8 pm does bring foot traffic in a very quiet neighbor. Let’s see if crime rate will increase.
I think a lot of the undesirable people that some of these commenters associate with the dispensary are actually homeless people that populate the greenbelt and end up near Geary because that’s where the foot traffic and the 7-11s are. They have nothing to do with the club. The people sitting in bushes on Funston don’t go in there, hence they’ll most likely be sticking around. Wait and see.
Great news!! At least it’s not another Chinese market
Not a smoker myself and don’t have a problem with those who imbibe. But srsly, I lived overseas for years in a place where adults could smoke/drink what they wanted without having to be “sick” or have a “health condition.” The pretense is embarrassing, gtfu already. Re:Dispensary closer to me in the ‘hood…meh, yeah the clientele around the old location was sketch.
I was curious if there has been much/any crime related to the hemp center – I’ve posted a question to Captain Silverman on the Police Blotter. Hopefully that will put minds at ease (or on edge?).
@ john stahl or another chinese resturant!
A few guys unloading boxes from a U-haul and moving them into the store today. Looks like they’ll be opening on schedule on the 29th. @toby: this is no longer “a very quiet neighborhood.” It’s full of aggressive, horn-honking drivers and pedestrians that barely make it across the street without getting hit.
@ amanda & john stahl
I’m sure you’re already voting w/ your wallets and not going to Chinese establishments; next step should be opening your own non Chinese businesses…
Here’s my take on marijuana: It’s bad enough we already have to put up with those stinking cigarettes. And then we also have to put up with people who drink too much alcohol and get stupid. But with marijuana, we have to put up with both the stinking smoke and the stupid person all in one, plus they get hungry, so pot smokers basically wind up being like a baby. A stinking, stupid, hungry baby.
They say that marijuana gets you high. No it doesn’t. This is high: “Yay, my team just won the Super Bowl!” or “Wow, I just got laid by 20 cheerleaders at once!” That’s high.
Marijuana gets you low, not high. Marijuana makes you say dumb things like: “Hi, refrigerator. You’re my coolest friend.” or “Hey, Dave. Look at my feet. They smell like the universe.”
They say: “How do you know you don’t like marijuana unless you try it?” Well I say: Why don’t you try eating jello with anchovies? How do you know you won’t like it unless you try it? Why don’t you staple your tongue to a pigeon? How do you know you won’t like it unless you try it?
And they say that pot smokers aren’t violent. Okay, pot smokers aren’t violent, but they cause people around them to be violent because we have to put up with a stinking, stupid, hungry baby.
News flash! A whole lot of people can’t stand the smell of pot!
Just like cigarettes and cigars, marijuana is also pollution. It’s like being in the middle of a skunk civil war! So, pot smokers, the only place you should be smoking marijuana, is straight up your stinking a##!
By the way, local news in San Francisco Bay Area reports how pot growers are stealing water from a children’s school, to the point that the school had to shut down for a while, and place locks on their water supply. And how pot growers are poisoning owls, because the owls are eating rats killed by rat poison spread by pot growers trying to protect their stinking crops. The pot industry will become as evil as the tobacco industry.
Don’t celebrate yet. NIMBYs, looks like another pot shop is going to be moving into the same space. Ah Shucks, I guess.
http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/san-francisco-chem-tales-marijuana-weed-pot-cannabis-shop-dispensary/Content?oid=3659642
I am glad that the 12th ave location is gone; that old place was disconcerting to go into, to say the least. It was gross and …janky? Jenky? Jinkies? oh you kids today and your “nonsense sounds my mouth can make”- slang…
Any way, that hovel had lots of bizzare people in there smoking away and talking to themselves. I don’t feel comfortable in that environment. The place caters to lower income people, and it can potentially draw lower income people into the new area. So i cannot help but wonder, if they stay low income-centric in the new location, how long it will take until Blackwell’s will start selling Four Loco and crack pipes?
…like most of the other corner/liquor stores on geary already do or have done so in the past.
With a less sarcastic and much more positive outlook,however however; i think the delivery service they are offering could potentially keep most of the shambling masses out of there, and breed a more positive cafe-like setting.
It is all so fun to hear people bristle about this. We all know the Broken windows theory. but that isn’t a positive predictor of each case that can occur.
…Nobody is going to hook your stupid kids on marijuana, even though that is really hard to manage in the first place, and is psychological and not physiological, but themselves. Stop saying that shit about how the presence of the store will corrupt the kids, and think more about how you are raising them in the first place. You know that line is just scaremongering, unless you actually believe that shit. in which case, facts won’t help you.
The move could be really good for the corridor, and bring some much needed youth and money to the area, or it could go downhill. Looking at the trend, I’d say that it looks like more of the former, than that of the latter.
best of luck Hemp Center! I have been a loyal customer for about three years and I am so glad it’s still in the neighborhood I am a 66 year old woman property owner who has lived in the Richmond district for 33 years . I am not a low life and neither are most of the Hemp Center customers. I have a lot of health problems and it would be a hardship to have to go downtown for my medication. Wake up people! This is legal and helps a lot of people.
What are you people all so afraid of? It’s just a pot club. Who cares if there are parks or schools in the area, its not like the business is going to blanket the area with leaflets and entice kids to visit. It’s not like kids are going to randomly wander in and be offered a joint. You need a doctors note to even step foot in the place.
I think we should all be more worried about our neighbor “Danny,” who thinks that a real high is banging “20 cheerleaders at once.” I’d much rather have a pot club near my kid’s school than that guy. Also, there are smoke shops on practically every block. They just happen to be called corner stores, and all of them sell cigarettes and alcohol, which are far more dangerous than pot. Hell, that cigarette shop on the corner of 17th Avenue and California sells bongs. Nothing bad is going to happen. Everyone needs to relax.
I’m going to hold Danny down and force him to smoke weed just to see what other wacky things that fucker can think up.
I feel bad for Gable’s stationery next door. It’s a family-owned business that has been there for years. I can’t imagine this is going to good for their business. Side note: that bank building is hideous and had an obnoxious LED sign never should’ve been allowed in that neighborhood.