Zusha Elinson/The Bay Citizen

The city has shuttered Nor-Cal Herbal Relief Center for 30 days after a fire spawned a criminal investigation

A small fire at a San Francisco pot dispensary has spawned a criminal investigation after police say they found a gun and an illegal marijuana growing operation there.

Firefighters responded to a call on Dec. 26 at Nor-Cal Herbal Relief Center in the Ingleside neighborhood. Although the fire department has yet to complete its probe, an inspector from the city’s building department said this week that the likely cause of the fire was funky electrical wiring used to fuel high-powered grow lights.

“They bypassed the meter; they were sucking so much power that that’s what caused the fire,” said Ron Allen, chief electrical inspector with the Department of Building Inspection. “It was an overloaded circuit.” 

As a result, the city suspended Nor-Cal’s medical marijuana dispensary permit for 30 days, said Larry Kessler of the city’s health department, which regulates dispensaries in the San Francisco. “The reason for that was that the dispensary was operating an illegal grow,” Kessler said.

Nor-Cal now faces fines from the building department for jumping the electricity — a common issue with underground growing operations — as well as for cultivating “hundreds” of pot plants in a residential unit on the second floor, converting a crawl space into an office and not having the proper plumbing to mix the chemicals for the growing operation.

Sgt. Michael Andraychak of the San Francisco Police Department said that while no charges have been filed, there is an open and ongoing criminal investigation.

Nor-Cal Herbal Relief Center has a trim green storefront on a quiet commercial stretch of Ocean Avenue. The SF Weekly reported last year that neighbors had no trouble with the dispensary. But over the years, under various owners, the establishment attracted the attention of law enforcement.

In 2005, federal agents raided the club as part of “Operation Urban Harvest.” The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration claimed at the time that the dispensary was a front for illegal drug trafficking.

Then in 2007, the Chronicle reported that the club under new ownership had failed to get a permit from the city. The paper also reported that the building was owned in part by scandal-plagued Supervisor Ed Jew, who is now in prison after being convicted for taking a bribe in an FBI sting. The building is still owned by a trust, of which Jew is a part owner, in the name of his parents, Howard and Ann Jew.

People familiar with Nor-Cal say that the dispensary was managed by Daniel Mendez. Mendez didn’t return an e-mail seeking comment, and the dispensary’s phone line no longer works. A visit to Nor-Cal Tuesday revealed that the dispensary was gated and apparently not open for business. A lawyer contacted who used to represent the dispensary said he no longer does.

Nor-Cal has received positive reviews on Yelp. “Strain selection is pretty good.  Prices are about average.  I was not put off with the security layout and I would definitely go there again.  Great location if you live in Ingelside or around Park Merced,” wrote one reviewer.

And Ed Sweeney, deputy director at the Department of Building Inspection, said that customers were still trying to get in as he inspected the fire-damaged building.

The incident highlights the hazy regulations on growing medical marijuana in San Francisco. “It’s one of those things we didn't really deal with years ago because it was very complicated,” Sweeney said.

In the case of Nor-Cal, the dispensary didn’t have permits to grow anything in the second-floor apartment. Dispensaries that grow marijuana often apply for nursery permits in off-site warehouses, said Kessler.

Meanwhile, in Oakland, the City Council is moving ahead with plans for massive pot farms within city limits.