cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot Has Council in Dithers Medical Pot Has Council in Dithers Posted by CN Staff on September 29, 2003 at 09:58:01 PT By Peggy Stinnett Source: Oakland Tribune The Oakland City Council wants to crack down (sort of) on the medical marijuana outlets that have cropped up in downtown Oakland. Some members want to get tough and some aren't sure what they want to do. Whatever they do will be locking the barn door after the horse is out and running. It makes you wonder how seriously council members looked at this issue when they approved it after Proposition 215 (legalizing pot for medical use) was approved by state voters. What were they thinking when they set up the operation? I won't even try to answer that one. Let's just say they were out to lunch. Yes, medical marijuana is legal in California, and even in Oakland. We can say the same for alcohol. But the feds refuse to recognize state's rights on this issue. This is bad because if the issue becomes widely negatively viewed by the public because of mishandling, the outcome could be a referendum in California on medical marijuana. These are serious issues for people who need an effective drug for pain, and who use medical marijuana. If the weed's use is for recreational purposes, then it is illegal. Oakland's own Ed Rosenthal was the target of the federal government's attempt to kill medical marijuana use in California so there has been plenty of media coverage of the subject. He was given a sentence of one day in jail which unfairly makes him a "convicted felon." You would think the Oakland council with all the problems it has had with liquor stores would have had the smarts to figure the same problems would come up with medical marijuana. But it appears there wasn't one bureaucrat in City Hall who knew the new businesses opening on Broadway and Telegraph had the mission of providing medical marijuana. So now that the council knows to some degree what's going on under their noses they are threatening to "crack down" on the owners of the businesses and maybe even throw them out. The council isn't satisfied that it has enraged a nest of hornets, they are threatening to close some of the outlets. And what for? So they can be empty again? As they were for years before. Now they exist and were apparently quietly benign until some watchful eyes found them operating. Now the city is floundering in its usual fashion, blaming staff and wringing its hands. Their profound solution is to wait a month to take official action and meanwhile have a closed session on the legal issues. Sounds pretty typical. All they need to do is look at the regulations they have for liquor stores and use them as a model for regulating medical marijuana. It's basically the same concept. The community and the folks who rely on pot for health reasons would probably think that was a fair way. As for what's already been done, it looks like we'll have to live with it. It's hard on the eyes visualizing the city evicting sick people from their source of pain killers. The youth group that has space in the midst of the pot shops may have to educate its youthful clients to the dangers of recreational marijuana and, on the other hand, the benefits it provides to the sick, some who are in the terminal stages of their diseases. Young people need to know the complete picture of pot so they can make a reasoned decision on drug use and what it does to the body -- for good or bad. If that doesn't work, they could move to a new location. The best thing that can come from this fumbled operation would be if we all learned more about the need for medical marijuana but also the critical need to control it properly. It could become such a problem for Oakland and other California cities that the electorate might be persuaded to repeal the law that allows medical marijuana's sale. That would be a very sad outcome. An Oakland think tank, the Independent Institute, will sponsor a forum on "The Truth about Medical Marijuana"at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Nikko Hotel, San Francisco. Ed Rosenthal and three additional panelists will discuss the issue facing Oakland and other cities because of the conflict between the feds and the state. Call 632-1366 for more information. Source: Oakland Tribune (CA)Author: Peggy StinnettPublished: Monday, September 29, 2003Copyright: 2003 MediaNews Group, Inc. Contact: triblet angnewspapers.com Website: http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:OCBChttp://www.rxcbc.org/Ed Rosenthal's Pictures & News Articleshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmCommittee To Study Oaksterdam Idea http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17388.shtmlDe La Fuente Declares War Against Oaksterdam http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17363.shtmlMarijuana Clubs Create California's Oaksterdamhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17040.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by Max Flowers on September 30, 2003 at 10:12:47 PT Dear Jose Well okay maybe mercenary was too strong a word... but I just think that if he were 100% into helping the cause he would find ways to do events like this without charging people money to attend. The patients who stand to benefit the most from such current information and political action are the very people who can't afford the price of admission (that's not me, but it certainly is many many others).You wrote: The man puts his name and his freedom on the line for folks like us who either pay or charge these rates, and you want to deny him a $20 bill? -Well that's a very romantic image you paint there indeed. Let me shed some light though. He put his freedom on the line, yes, but if you think he did it totally altruistically and without some very healthy compensation, I'm sorry to burst your bubble... what he was doing when busted, *directly* supplied the same Oakland clubs which are selling medicine at the same street prices I think you're complaining about ($50/eighth, SAME as street prices)... so yes he risked his freedom to be involved with people who charged the high prices. If you think that stuff was being given away or sold to patients at low prices they could afford, you should know the truth. Come to Oakland some time. On the other hand for Ed's sake I really shouldn't say any more... If I were in his position, I would be finding ways to rally people in a populist, not capitalistic manner. With his current popularity/notoriety, Ed could gather thousands of people in a big public event, and disseminate the same information he is charging $22 for in the private event, and get people mobilized, help the community much more, and make a much bigger impact... GIVE of himself more... but then he wouldn't make any money that way. So I doubt he will do it.I'm not sure where you live Jose, but I live in the same region as Ed and have talked to some people who had intimate knowledge about his dealings and well, trust me, you don't want me to say any more regarding what he has made money from, how, where and when, okay? He's no angel (nor am I or anyone else of course). I wouldn't complain if he would every now and then do something with his high profile that *doesn't* result in a bunch of money coming his way.Other than all that, hey, he's a great guy!By the way, the current price of gold is about $387/oz and at the Oakland dispensaries the price of an oz of their "best" is in that same range so I don't know where you're seeing pot at $775/oz but I encourage you to find a better source.cheers, MF [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Jose Melendez on September 29, 2003 at 13:54:45 PT mercenary? Marijuana is more than double the price of gold. The man puts his name and his freedom on the line for folks like us who either pay or charge these rates, and you want to deny him a $20 bill?Dick Cheney stands to make a billion dollars, although he swears he has no idea or control of those Halliburton contracts. Ken Lay is free, claiming the fifth and refusing to release documents that surely would show he had knowledge of Enron's fraudulent business practices. The "Justice" Department is dropping charges against Zacharias Moussaui, the alleged terrorist. But Tommy Chong is facing 9 months in prison, for licensing his last name on water pipes. I say ENCOURAGE people like Ed Rosenthal and Mark Emery to MAKE MONEY, so they can keep FIGHTING for US. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on September 29, 2003 at 11:19:40 PT Press Release from EurekAlert University of Toronto Professor Turns Hemp Into Auto PartsPress ReleaseIf Mohini Sain has his way, cars of the future may be fitted with tough, durable and completely biodegradable bumpers made of hemp. Sain, a professor in the University of Toronto's Faculty of Forestry and Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, creates biocomposites from processed plant fibres. His latest research, published in the August issue of Materials Research Innovations and the July issue of Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, describes a way to create a material from hemp (a member of the cannabis family) that is both strong and lightweight. "We hope to develop this technology for automotive interior parts like instrument panels, structural applications for buildings and sports equipment and, ultimately, for medical devices such as cardiac devices and blood bags," says Sain. In the studies, Sain treated stalks of hemp with chemicals to break down the "glue" that holds clumps of fibres together. The plant material was then combined with synthetic plastics. However, if it is mixed with plastics made from soy beans or pulp and paper sludge, researchers can create tough biocomposites that are completely biodegradable. Finally, using a combination of heat and pressure, they compressed the material into a variety of shapes. While these studies used hemp, the process also works with flax, wheat and corn. Sain says these "green" materials could ultimately help Canada reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. "One of the greatest benefits of this technology is that we will not harm our environment by overproducing these natural fibres," says Sain. "It's a step towards reducing petrochemical-based material consumption and living in a bio-based economy." CONTACT: Professor Mohini Sain, Faculty of Forestry/Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, 416-946-3191 -- m.sain utoronto.ca or Janet Wong, U of T public affairs, 416-978-5949 -- jf.wong utoronto.ca http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-09/uot-uot092903.php Hemp Links [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Max Flowers on September 29, 2003 at 10:55:48 PT Ed is not "free" -------- An Oakland think tank, the Independent Institute, will sponsor a forum on "The Truth about Medical Marijuana"at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Nikko Hotel, San Francisco. Ed Rosenthal and three additional panelists will discuss the issue facing Oakland and other cities because of the conflict between the feds and the state. Call 632-1366 for more information. --------I received a flyer/ad in the mail about this, which I found interesting because the only way they knew my address was that the OCBC had it from my registering with them for a card (which you need to get into any Oakland dispensary). So it seemed to me they were sending out targeted advertising using addresses without permission (spamming, in other words). But hey, no problem, I thought, this is for a good cause.Then I read it and saw that they are charging $22 to get in. This rubbed me the wrong way because if it is truly a public forum on the issue of medical cannabis, why do they charge money to get in like it's a concert? The flyer gives Ed Rosenthal "top billing" in the event.This reminded me of when I learned that for his book "The Big Book Of Buds", Ed contacted many breeders and seed companies and charged them $ to be listed in his book, which makes it a catalog and not a well-rounded compendium. If they didn't pay, they were excluded from the book.It also reminded me of Ed's many efforts to have people donate money to his defense while he was facing his charges. I didn't contribute because while I didn't want to see him in trouble, I also know that he makes hundreds of thousands of dollars on royalties from his many cultivation books and so I found it slimy of him to ask that the public pay his lawyer bill.With this issue as important as it is, why would they charge money ($22?!) to attend a forum ostensibly designed to clarify the issues surrounding medical cannabis? Shouldn't they be trying to get as many people there as possible, as in a true democratic gathering? As a medical patient I find it insulting that to go to a supposedly cutting edge event covering the latest legal strategies and developments, I have to pay for it like it was a rock concert or privileged information.I'm not anti-Ed or anything, but I think he has a quite mercenary side to him that he shows quite often and uses his celebrity to make money.MF [ Post Comment ] Post Comment