cannabisnews.com: Cannabis Clubs Put Council in Tight Spot










  Cannabis Clubs Put Council in Tight Spot

Posted by CN Staff on October 30, 2003 at 07:43:23 PT
By Laura Counts, Staff Writer 
Source: Oakland Tribune  

Oakland -- The city is grappling with the sticky issue of how to regulate medical marijuana outlets, and a three-hour committee hearing Tuesday did little to resolve key questions such as whether the number should be limited or whether special permits should be required. Cannabis clubs, attracted by the city's supportive view toward medical marijuana as well as cheap rents and camaraderie, have been proliferating downtown, especially in the triangle between Telegraph Avenue, Broadway and 17th and 19th streets. 
There are now seven to 11 cannabis clubs in town, and the "Uptown" area has taken on new life and a new nickname: Oaksterdam. The clubs are clustered around the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative, credited with pioneering responsible pot distribution methods but embroiled in federal litigation over its legality. The city had turned a blind eye to the dispensaries until recently, when council President Ignacio De La Fuente (San Antonio-Fruitvale) threatened to shut them all down and only allow a single outlet to operate. "I want to make it available for those seriously ill people," De La Fuente said. "We had a policy that was enacted for a reason. Now we have people doing it for profit and recreation, rather than medicine." The council's Public Safety Committee rejected the idea of a single operator last month, and De La Fuente has since revised his proposal to allow three cannabis clubs. But a working group composed of medical cannabis advocates, the police department and city officials was unable to reach a consensus on whether the number should be limited at all. Recommendations from the group include a limit of five clubs, seven downtown and one in each council district, or allowing an unlimited number. "We wouldn't want some to become Wal-Marts and not let smaller, more innovative dispensaries move in," argued Robert Raich, an attorney for the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative. Cooperative director Jeff Jones said his group has issued identification cards for 2,600 Oakland patients, as well as equal numbers in Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties. The co-op has about 20,000 members in all. Hayward also has been struggling with how to regulate cannabis outlets and recently reached an agreement to grandfather in three dispensaries on Foothill Boulevard for three years. Berkeley has four dispensaries, and San Francisco has about 18. Most other Bay Area cities and many surrounding counties have none operating aboveground, so patients come from all over to fill prescriptions here. City officials are debating more than just the number. Unresolved issues include whether to: Prohibit cannabis clubs within a fixed distance from schools or youth programs, as Santa Cruz and other cities have done. Require conditional use permits or create a special zone for them to operate. Allow smoking on-site and whether to impose ventilation requirements. Grandfather in the existing establishments. Limit hours. The situation is further complicated by the dilemma of a youth center, the Sexual Minority Alliance of Alameda County, which has watched Oaksterdam grow up around it and is now demanding the city help it relocate. Dozens of speakers packed the Council Chambers for Tuesday's public hearing, many of them sounding off in general terms about medical marijuana and giving testimonials to how much it has helped them or family members manage such diseases as AIDS, severe arthritis and ALS. Leaders of the movement made it clear they favor some sort of regulation and have no problem with taxation but fear any kind of record-keeping by the city will invite federal reprisals. That leaves open the question of whether the city should be able to audit their records, as is done for other businesses. Although medical marijuana was legalized by voters in California, federal policy still treats the drug as illegal under all circumstances. Councilmember Jean Quan (Montclair-Laurel) laid out a plan she described as a compromise, but the committee was too divided to make any decisions. Quan said she recently toured several of the cannabis clubs, which convinced her regulation is needed. While some are operating responsibly, "some of them, quite frankly, were more like the head shops of my youth when I visited the Haight Ashbury as a teen." The full council will discuss legal issues in closed session next week. A public hearing is also scheduled for the council next week, but it could be postponed until Nov. 18. Note: City officials hope to control 'Oaksterdam' neighborhood.Source: Oakland Tribune (CA)Author: Laura Counts, Staff WriterPublished:  Thursday, October 30, 2003 Copyright: 2003 MediaNews Group, Inc. Contact: triblet angnewspapers.com Website: http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Related Articles & Web Site:OCBChttp://www.rxcbc.org/Medical Pot Has Council in Dithershttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17424.shtmlCommittee To Study Oaksterdam Idea http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17388.shtmlDe La Fuente Declares War Against Oaksterdam http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17363.shtml 

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Comment #2 posted by FoM on October 30, 2003 at 09:08:53 PT

New Article from Snipped Source
Man Says Pot Was Medicine But he faces trial for growing it. By Sharon Coolidge, The Cincinnati EnquirerThursday, October 30, 2003 
Chemotherapy for cancer racked Carter Singleton's 6-foot, 230-pound frame. The 65-year-old Mount Healthy man couldn't eat; food tasted like sawdust. He lost 80 pounds in five months. He was so weak he could barely move. Then a friend suggested he try pot. The marijuana, he says, stimulated his appetite, allowing him to gain weight. It gave him the strength he needed to beat the non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma he was diagnosed with in the fall of 2001. It also cost him his first criminal charge - cultivating marijuana. And it thrust him into a national debate over the right to use the illegal drug for medical purposes. "I was starving to death," he says. "I did what I had to do." A Hamilton County grand jury indicted Singleton earlier this month. Trial is set for Nov. 17. Singleton doesn't deny that he grew marijuana in his basement and then used it to stimulate his appetite and ease his pain. "I'm not encouraging people to smoke it. I'm not telling them it's the only answer," he says. "I just want people to know it's an option." The law says growing and using marijuana is a criminal act in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. It's legal for medical reasons in nine states - Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court said doctors in all 50 states could recommend marijuana to their patients, but most possession and distribution of the drug remains illegal. Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen says his office had no choice but to prosecute Singleton. "What he did is a violation of the law," Allen says. "However, if he pleads guilty or goes to trial his reason for growing marijuana is something the judge can take into consideration." Local prosecutors can't recall another case here in which a defendant argued he grew marijuana for medical reasons. But others say the drug's benefits are well known, especially for easing the pain of debilitating illnesses - including AIDS and cancer. "It's pretty sad that someone like Carter is arrested," says Cher Neufer, president of the North Ohio chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "People can get morphine ... if that's legal, marijuana should be, too." Hunger pangs Singleton grew up in the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky, the son of divorced parents. He dropped out of school in the fourth grade. "Back then I never heard of marijuana," Singleton says. "We drank moonshine. There were no drugs, at least not any we'd heard of." In fall 2001, Singleton slipped into a low-sugar coma. He was rushed to Fort Hamilton Hospital, where he was revived and sent home - only to slip into another coma that night. This time he was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with cancer. He underwent chemotherapy once a month after that. "I kept losing weight," he says. "I went from a 38 pant to a 30 pant, I went from an extra-large shirt to a large. My butt and arms were all skin. I couldn't eat." His doctor, who he declined to identify, could give him nothing to make him want to eat. Then a friend at the Eagles lodge suggested marijuana. "At that point, I would have tried anything," he says. He says he smoked it alone for the first time on Easter Day 2002. Then he ate ham and turkey and dressing. Cherry pie. Pumpkin pie. Strawberry shortcake. "I ate till my belly about busted," Singleton says. Mike Singleton said he was shocked by his father's change in appetite. "He looked like a skeleton. He usually ate like a bird,'' Mike Singleton said. "But that Easter, he got a big plate heaping full of food. It was the most we'd seen him eat in months." After that, Singleton says, he smoked marijuana twice a day. He declined to say where he got it. His weight crept back up, but it came at a cost, Singleton says. The drug was expensive. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/10/30/loc_marijuanamed29.html
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on October 30, 2003 at 08:11:36 PT

A question for the wind
Why does AG Lockyer not sue the federal government to end the states rights controversy/subordination? Has he ever heard of the head of a nail or a hammer? 
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