cannabisnews.com: Brown Embarks on Probe of 'Oaksterdam' Pot Clubs





Brown Embarks on Probe of 'Oaksterdam' Pot Clubs
Posted by CN Staff on August 09, 2003 at 08:26:57 PT
By Elvira Viveros and Alex Katz
Source: Oakland Tribune 
Oakland -- Mayor Jerry Brown has ordered an investigation of medical marijuana clubs in the northern downtown area becoming known as "Oakster-dam." Brown said he wants to ensure dispensaries are observing the "spirit" of the state's compassionate use laws. "No one is questioning the availability of medical marijuana," the mayor said Friday. "The question is, under what circumstances should use take place?" Brown said a city complaint investigator looked in on the clubs. But the mayor said, "I'm not going to tell you what he found." 
Brown said he does not want to come to a "flip conclusion" about whether the businesses encourage recreational pot smoking in the area. "It's very preliminary," Brown said. "We're going to be looking into this in greater detail." Since an Oakland Tribune story Thursday reported the clubs were not regulated by the city, a few nearby businesses and some Oakland leaders have voiced their frustration. "These clubs are totally illegal and none of them ever came to the city to seek permits," said City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente (San Antonio-Fruitvale). "I'm requesting the police get involved and do their job." De La Fuente said the only club that ever operated legally in Oakland was The Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative, but it was eventually shut down under federal laws that contradict California statutes. "(Pot clubs) are coming here to make money, and we're going to shut them down," De La Fuente said. No representatives from the dispensaries were willing to comment on Friday. The owner of the Four Seasons Garden Center, who did not want his name published, said he is not against the clubs, but worries media attention could hurt his business. A photo on the front page of Thursday's Tribune showing the Garden Center's facade and sign sandwiched between two dispensaries prompted the business owner to assert that he is not involved or associated with any of the dispensaries' operations. Brown added he dislikes the term "Oaksterdam." One of Brown's main goals as mayor has been to revitalize the downtown area by attracting more families and residents. Leaders of a youth center located in the heart of "Oaksterdam" also criticized the pot dispensaries that surround it. The center, which provides services to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth, cannot preach a drug-free message when their clients are exposed to the wafting smell of marijuana from the clubs next door, said Roosevelt Mosby, executive director of the Sexual Minority Alliance of Alameda County (SMACC). "If there were 10 liquor stores here, I'm sure the City Council and other community members would do something about it," Mosby said during a press conference at the center Friday morning. The gradual influx of marijuana clubs and related suppliers has compromised the center's ability to serve its members, Mosby said. When the center first moved in at 1738 Telegraph Ave. five years ago, there was only one dispensary. Since then, about five more have set up shop, said Crystal H. Weston, the center's director of training and development. Note: Mayor adopts cautious stance as council head vows to shut dispensaries.Source: Oakland Tribune (CA)Author: Elvira Viveros and Alex Katz, Correspondent & Staff WriterPublished: Saturday, August 9, 2003Copyright: 2003 MediaNews Group, Inc. Contact: triblet angnewspapers.com Website: http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Related Articles & Web Site:OCBChttp://www.rxcbc.org/ It's Almost Like Visiting Amsterdam http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17025.shtmlPot Clubs Grow Below City's Radarhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17015.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by john wayne on August 09, 2003 at 19:55:40 PT
Oakland has 1000 liquor stores
> "If there were 10 liquor stores here, I'm sure the City Council and other community members would do something about it," Mosby said during a press conference at the center Friday morning.There are at least 10 to 100 times the number of liquor stores in Oakland than there are cannabis dispensaries.In this way, Oakland is much like any other low-income minority-populated city in the U.S.A.Make no mistake, crypto-religio-fascist Jerry Brown and his cohorts have been sic'ced on the pot clubs of downtown Oakland by the feds and the prohibitionist cops.  The idea that a club for gay teens would object to the smells of "wafting smoke" from nearby pot clubs is ridiculous.  Do the gay youth object to the tobacco smoke from the tobacco users clustered around each and every corporate doorway in downtown Oakland? Well, do they, punk?
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