Commission Grants Discretionary Approval for Medical Cannabis Dispensary at 1276 Market with On‑Site Consumption Allowed

The Planning Commission took discretionary review and approved a proposal to establish a medical cannabis dispensary at 1276 Market Street that would include on‑site consumption and limited on‑site cultivation for medical patients.

Applicant MoGreens (project lead Nate Haas) presented a security‑first plan developed in consultation with police and neighborhood safety stakeholders. The sponsor described prior work cleaning and coordinating with the Central Market community benefit district and city public safety liaisons, and pledged full‑time onsite security and both indoor and outdoor video surveillance. Proposed hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily; staff estimated the business would employ more than 30 people including security and operations staff.

Supporters — medical and patient advocates, clinicians and local business leaders — told the commission patients need safe indoor places to medicate (homes, SROs and some subsidized housing do not allow indoor smoking), and praised the sponsor's demonstrated neighborhood coordination and cleanliness improvements in areas where the sponsor already operates. The Planning Department noted that the Department of Public Health is the lead permitting authority for medical cannabis and that its review focuses on location and physical characteristics; planning staff concluded the site complies with applicable rules and is well served by transit.

Commissioners discussed window transparency, street‑facing activation and the presence of SROs and other vulnerable populations in the area; staff said the applicant is proposing a pony wall and interior waiting area to preserve transparency while offering patient privacy. The motion to take discretionary review and approve the MCD with conditions passed 4–1, with Commissioner Antonini opposed.