Pubdate: Tue, 01 Jun 2004
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)
04local.htm
Copyright: 2004 Santa Cruz Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/394
Author: Amy Ettinger, Sentinel Correspondent
Cited: Drug Enforcement Administration ( www.dea.gov )
Cited: Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana ( www.wamm.org )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)

SANTA CRUZ 'BUD AND BREAKFAST' IS FOR THE MAINSTREAM, TOO

Breakfast at the Compassion Flower Inn isn't always "mellow." When Ray 
Manzarek, keyboardist for The Doors, stayed there two weeks ago he argued 
that the minimum voting age should be raised to 35.

It's not unusual for guests at the "bed, bud and breakfast" to debate 
politics into the early afternoon, but it's caffeine that fuels the morning 
conversation.

"Pot isn't what drives the topics," says co-owner Andrea Tischler.

The inn on Laurel Street opened four years ago, on 4/20, and its friendly 
attitude toward medical-marijuana users made front-page news across the 
country. Tischler and her partner Maria Mallek run the inn with the help of 
their two children.

"We're a mom-and-pop operation," Tischler said. Despite the inn's hemp 
mosaics and vast cannabis library, only a small percentage of guests who 
check in are medical-marijuana users. The majority are vacationers 
attracted to the downtown location of the gothic revival Victorian, which 
is listed as a member of the California Bed and Breakfast Association and 
AAA approved.

The four rooms range in price from $115 to $175; medical marijuana users 
get a 10 percent discount. Over the past few years, Tischler said she's 
learned to balance marketing the inn to a more mainstream clientele while 
still being an activist for the legalization of marijuana, a cause she's 
promoted for nearly 20 years.

Tischler and Mallek helped put Proposition 215 on the state ballot and have 
stayed true to their activist roots. Their latest efforts include pushing 
the county Board of Supervisors to adopt guidelines on how much marijuana 
can be grown by medical-marijuana patients in the county. Current state 
guidelines call for 8 ounces a year and the recommendations are asking for 
a considerably larger limit of 61/2 pounds per year. Tischler said only 
those who need the greater dosage will take advantage of the larger limits, 
if they're approved.

"It's a lot of work for people who don't have green thumbs," Tischler said. 
"Sick people are not going to grow in excess of what they need." Tischler 
also wants to push for a new city ordinance for dispensaries and co-ops in 
town.

Recent court decisions have improved the climate surrounding the 
medical-marijuana issue. In April, a federal judge in San Jose issued a 
preliminary injunction banning the Justice Department, including the Drug 
Enforcement Administration, from interfering with the Wo/Men's Alliance for 
Medical Marijuana, the 250-member local co-op.

Tischler said the estimated 3,000 medical marijuana patients who live in 
the county should be allowed greater access to cannabis. But working 
18-hour days limits how much Tischler can push for the cause. After a slow 
year for the inn last year, business has picked up again and Tischler 
expects a packed summer season.

The strategy of catering to a wide range of clients seems to be working for 
the inn. In fact, many who stay at the inn don't even know it's 
pot-friendly politics until after they check in.

Doug Cutrell of San Francisco stayed at the Compassion Flower Inn last 
week. He said when he booked a room he had no idea the place was a 
pot-friendly establishment. Cutrell learned more about medical marijuana 
from his visit.

"I got a better sense of the larger community of people for who it's an 
issue," said Cutrell. "I don't usually think of it so much as such a broad 
spectrum -- people who have cancer or Hodgkin's disease, where they find it 
helpful."

John Dennis of Ithaca, N.Y., visited the inn last month. There isn't 
anything like the Compassion Flower Inn back home. Dennis said he enjoyed 
his stay at the inn and mostly talked with fellow guests about the shared 
passion of renovating old homes.

"I had so much in common with them," said Dennis.

For more information visit www.compassionflowerinn.com.
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