Alameda County is on the verge of redrawing the maps about where three medical marijuana clinics can operate in unincorporated areas. If county supervisors approve a boundary shift: - - The Garden of Eden dispensary on Foothill Boulevard in south Cherryland would be added to east Ashland-Castro Valley, known as Area Three. - - The Garden of Eden would be a likely shoo-in for a prized permit in its new area. A Natural Source marijuana outlet on Foothill Boulevard in Ashland is just one strike away from being knocked out of the permit process. [continues 291 words]
Council Says Letting Clubs Peddle Marijuana Would Invite Fed Crackdown OAKLAND -- Measure Z, which made private, adult use of cannabis the Police Department's lowest law enforcement priority, does not allow commercial sales of the drug at private clubs, the City Council decided Tuesday. Brimming with outrage, more than a dozen supporters of the measure -- passed with 65.2 percent of the vote in November 2004 -- accused council members of thwarting the will of the voters by narrowing the measure's scope. [continues 327 words]
OAKLAND, Calif. - Police are investigating the death of a man who had just been arrested for dealing drugs. A preliminary autopsy found that Patrick Gaston, 34, may have died of asphyxiation after swallowing a plastic bag of drugs, Oakland police Sgt. Tony Jones said Friday. The exact cause of death has not been determined, but Jones said trauma and heart attack were ruled out. Neighbors and witnesses, including Gaston's mother, said they believe Gaston was beaten or choked and police did not help him when he stopped breathing. [continues 163 words]
SAN FRANCISCO - About 50 medical marijuana activists rallied under Wednesday's leaden skies near the United Nations Plaza farmers market, wielding a bullhorn and picket signs to demand that federal officials act on a formal request to loosen the drug's ban. This weekend, "Guru of Ganja" Ed Rosenthal of Oakland hosted a "Wonders of Cannabis" festival in Golden Gate Park featuring joint-rolling contests and an appearance by comedian and noted stoner Tommy Chong. Mixed messages, some drug policy experts say sadly. [continues 920 words]
SOMEWHERE ON the road to adulthood, Derek Cooper got lost - then found, then lost again. It would take the intervention of a stranger to set him back on track. Derek's start was promising: Upper middle class home, college-educated parents, great schools, plenty of money for extras. A bright, good-looking kid, he did OK in school and made friends easily in his Burlingame neighborhood. But his mom drank too much. Sometimes his dad overdid it, too. Along with plenty of love, the [continues 1922 words]
Group Touts National Policy That Would Encourage Teens To Discuss Experiences A new strategy that national drug-policy reform advocates say is a better means of keeping teenagers off drugs is partly based on a program used for years at Oakland High School. The Drug Policy Alliance on Thursday unveiled "Beyond Zero Tolerance," a booklet providing a blueprint for overhauling how schools address teen drug use. "Zero tolerance is the ideological basis for the practices we want to change -- it's the mantra of the drug war as we know it, and it applies to education as much as it does to law enforcement," said booklet author Rodney Skager, professor emeritus of education at the University of California, Los Angeles. [continues 407 words]
Dispensaries Get One More Chance to Apply for Three Operating Permits OAKLAND - Last October, with angry residents smoking mad, Alameda County supervisors banned new medical marijuana clinics in unincorporated areas and launched efforts to regulate seven existing dispensaries. A year later, one cannabis club has closed, but the county still hasn't succeeded in its announced goals of halving the remaining six outlets or stanching crimes that now include murder, robbery, violent assaults, holdups and related home-invasion robberies. County supervisors Tuesday revised and streamlined an ordinance originally adopted in June to give three dispensaries in Ashland and Cherryland one more chance to apply for three prized operating permits. [continues 566 words]
County Supervisors to Consider Time Limit for Application, Applicants' Right to Privacy OAKLAND - A key vote today may give owners of medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated Alameda County the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, or at least a lucky four-leaf clover. But vocal residents still are insisting the six clubs in Ashland and Cherryland must go because of crimes ranging from murder to robbery to assault. And without specifying locations, Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley told them last week that "a good number (of the clubs) are going to be closed down. We do know which ones." [continues 380 words]
Quicker than a puff of smoke, county efforts to clamp down on medical marijuana sales in unincorporated areas have been placed on hold. Alameda County has reined in its efforts to close three medical marijuana clinics by Oct. 1, and to subsequently issue three prized cannabis club operating permits in unincorporated areas, a county supervisor and sheriff's captain said Friday. Instead, We Are Hemp in San Lorenzo, the Garden of Eden in Cherryland, and A Natural Source in Ashland -- all of which faced closure after not applying in time for the county-mandated permits -- can continue operating while the application process is re-reviewed. [continues 342 words]
Problem Especially Bad in the Gay Community SAN FRANCISCO -- Mark Rhoades never intended to do drugs. He was the kind of kid who was taught to "just say no." But one day when he was 20, he woke up in a hospital bed after a night of bingeing. Rhoades had developed a methamphetamine habit and could not go more than 72 hours without the drug, a stimulant that makes it possible for a user to have lots of energy even without food or sleep. [continues 761 words]
OAKLAND -- In a month's time, the once-thriving Oaksterdam district has lost all but one of its medical marijuana outlets, and the number of permitted pot clubs citywide has dwindled to two. California Advocate Relief Exchange has taken root at Seventh Street and Broadway, sandwiched between a tattoo parlor and bail bonds business, across the street from Oakland police headquarters. The owners were forced to relocate from 19th Street and Telegraph Avenue because city laws do not allow medical pot outlets within 1,000 feet of churches or schools. Mayor Jerry Brown's School for the Arts relocated to the Fox Theater last year, and CARE had to move to keep its permit, said Stacey Traylor of CARE. [continues 518 words]
AGUA PRIETA, Mexico - For years, the Mexican state of Sinaloa and its capital Culiacan have been the administrative headquarters for many of the country's most fearsome drug cartels. But like most things in Mexico for which there is a demand farther north, the drug trade has migrated, too. It has come here, to the state of Sonora, and the teeming, dusty border cities like Nogales and Agua Prieta that fan out into the desert just across the fence from Arizona. [continues 1331 words]
Oaklander Argues Even Light Sentence For Pot Convictions Too Harsh; Feds Want 2 To 5 Years More than two years after being convicted and sentenced for growing marijuana, Oakland's self-styled "Guru of Ganja" will make his appeal Tuesday for why even a slap on the wrist was too much. Ed Rosenthal, a renowned pro-marijuana author, activist and cultivation authority, claims he never should have been convicted of three marijuana-growing felonies. The government claims he not only deserved conviction, but he also deserved at least two to five years in prison instead of his one-day, time-already-served sentence. [continues 760 words]
Oakland Opening New Play Spaces, Renovating Old Ones While Exploring Ways To Keep Bad Elements Out OAKLAND -- From the inside, the office of Fruitvale's new Carmen Flores Recreation Center looks something like a command post. Wrap-around windows afford panoramic views of the soccer field and the playground equipment at Josie de la Cruz Park. A monitoring system allows staff to keep tabs on how long the facility's public restrooms are in use, a defense against vandals and drug users. [continues 744 words]
ASHLAND -- The six medical marijuana clinics in unincorporated Alameda County have begun fighting to stay in business now that a county ordinance states only three clubs can operate. The six rival pot club owners began drawing applications for the available slots on July 21, launching into a competitive review process that, if you believe the lore of local pot club employees, is as rigorous as that a U.S. Supreme Court appointee faces. County supervisors, frustrated by the number of medical marijuana dispensaries that had sprouted up in the small unincorporated areas of Ashland, Cherryland, San Lorenzo and Castro Valley, voted in June to create an ordinance that limits the allowable number of dispensaries to three. [continues 310 words]
Program Resumes After Lockyer Says Workers Who Assist Patients Won't Face Federal Prosecution California's medical marijuana identification card program was reinstated Monday, according to state Health Director Sandra Shewry. Shewry on July 8 had ordered the program -- created by a 2003 state law and about to expand from a three-county trial run to statewide implementation -- suspended until Attorney General Bill Lockyer could give an opinion on whether it put state workers at risk of federal prosecution. Lockyer repeatedly has said last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which upheld enforcement of the federal marijuana ban even in states with medical marijuana laws, should not impact enforcement of California's own law. [continues 143 words]
Local Governments Wary As Feds Target Marijuana Businesses PLEASANTON -- For better or for worse, "pot clubs" -- places where medical marijuana is sold legally under California's Proposition 215 -- are no longer just a big-city concern. Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin and Danville all are considering drafting rules that would ban or restrict the establishment of businesses that sell or distribute medicinal marijuana. Manteca has adopted a temporary moratorium on marijuana clubs while the city decides whether to ban or restrict them through a permanent ordinance. The Pleasanton City Council will consider adopting a moratorium when it meets Tuesday. [continues 783 words]
Medical marijuana advocates are mounting a double-barreled attack this week on what they say is California's reticence to uphold its own compassionate use law, putting Attorney General Bill Lockyer in the hot seat. On one front, Oakland-based Americans For Safe Access filed papers Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court seeking an injunction to halt the California Highway Patrol's policy of seizing marijuana from qualified patients, even if those patients have county-issued ID cards or a doctor's recommendation. [continues 496 words]
County Supervisors Set Fees for Dispensary Applications OAKLAND -- As the train to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas picks up speed, local law enforcement officials are scrutinizing pot club clients as closely as transit police keep an eye on BART riders. Baby-faced pot-club patrons, beware: Alameda County Sheriff Charles Plummer has his eyes on you. The number of dispensaries will drop from six to three by fall, and the sheriff's department will step up its inspections and oversight under the terms of a county ordinance adopted in June. [continues 292 words]
Compassionate Use Law Is Put To The Test Medical marijuana advocates are mounting a double-barreled attack this week on what they say is California's reticence to uphold its own compassionate use law, putting Attorney General Bill Lockyer in the hot seat. On one front, Oakland-based Americans For Safe Access filed papers Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court seeking an injunction to halt the California Highway Patrol's policy of seizing marijuana from qualified patients, even if those patients have county-issued ID cards or a doctor's recommendation. [continues 491 words]
THE recent U.S. Supreme Court decision invalidating California's medical marijuana law has come under fire -- correctly -- from both the left and the right for undermining federalism. But observers have missed the real culprit in the court's flagging interest in balancing federal and state powers: the Bush administration. Justices Clarence Thomas and Sandra Day O'Connor explained the problem in their dissents. Granting Congress the authority to regulate small amounts of marijuana grown in a backyard -- marijuana that is not sold and never crosses state lines -- makes a mockery of the efforts of the Constitution's framers to place limits on federal powers. [continues 523 words]
Montel Williams Joins Oakland Woman In National Campaign The voice of Oakland's Angel Raich might soon be emanating from radios near and far as medical marijuana advocates launch a nationwide advertising blitz. The Marijuana Policy Project on Monday sent CDs with 30- and 60-second spots to 1,000 radio stations from coast to coast. The campaign includes ads with Raich, a plaintiff in the recently decided U.S. Supreme Court case, and television talk show host Montel Williams speaking about how medical marijuana has helped them survive serious illnesses. Raich uses marijuana for a variety of maladies, including a wasting syndrome, while Williams uses it to control symptoms of multiple sclerosis. [continues 107 words]
Arrests In San Francisco Tied To Alleged Drug-Trafficking Operation SAN FRANCISCO -- Three medical marijuana dispensaries and 23 other sites raided by federal agents Wednesday were part of a big trafficking operation that used sick people as a front for street sales -- illegal under both federal and state law, federal officials said Thursday. U.S. Attorney for Northern California Kevin Ryan said the raids were unrelated to the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision authorizing federal agents to enforce the federal ban on marijuana even in states with medical marijuana laws. Rather, he said, the investigation -- dubbed "Operation Urban Harvest" -- has been under way for about two years. [continues 837 words]
It's The Only City In The County Where A New Dispensary Could Open; Extending The Ban Failed By One Vote The Morro Bay City Council on Monday did not extend a temporary ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, making it the only city in the county where a new dispensary could open. Extending the ban required a four-fifths vote; only three council members supported the extension. Police Chief John DeRohan and City Attorney Rob Schultz had encouraged the council to extend the ban, which was set last month, to provide time to craft regulations on future dispensaries, such as how many patients they could serve, where they could be located and what their hours could be. [continues 248 words]
Results Released One Day Before Congress Considers New Bill On the eve of a vital vote in Congress, medical marijuana advocates Monday unveiled a new poll showing significant public opposition to federal raids on patients who use pot. A poll of 732 randomly selected registered voters across the nation found 68 percent said the federal government should not prosecute medical marijuana patients now that it has been given the go-ahead to do so by last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling. [continues 371 words]
Problems of Affiliate in Los Angeles Lead Sanctioned Club to Shut Its Doors OAKLAND - One of the city's four sanctioned medical marijuana outlets quietly closed its doors this week; not because of a negative Supreme Court ruling but because of problems with one of the organization's sister pot clubs in Los Angeles. The doors to Compassionate Caregivers, at 2135 Broadway, were locked Wednesday afternoon, and a tersely worded notice in a related facility two doors down was dated June 6 and stated it was "Temporarily closed" and apologized for the inconvenience. [continues 159 words]
IF we're ever going to end the tug of war over medical marijuana, Congress may have to pass legislation making cannabis use for medicinal purposes legal across our nation. Doing so won't be easy, but the standoff between the federal government and states with medical marijuana laws was reinforced in Monday's ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, leaving us with few ways to rectify two diametrically opposed positions. Without national legislation, people in states without medical marijuana laws who might benefit from its use to treat illnesses have unequal access to cannabis. They aren't able to get it without running the risk of breaking state and federal laws. [continues 491 words]
2 Area Reps Among Foes of Bill to Keep Feds Off Medical Users' Backs Two greater Bay Area members of Congress seem likely to oppose a legislative amendment that medical marijuana advocates call their next best hope after Monday's U.S. Supreme Court defeat. The amendment by Rep. Maurice Hinchey,D-N.Y., and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, would forbid the Justice Department from using public money to raid, arrest or prosecute patients and providers in states with medical marijuana laws. [continues 452 words]
Oakland Dispensaries Try to Allay Customers' Fears of a Possible Federal Marijuana Crackdown OAKLAND - The vibe was decidedly not mellow Monday afternoon at Oakland's medical marijuana dispensaries. Possibly because many were worried about drawing the ire of federal officials, few customers or employees wanted to chat about the U.S. Supreme Court's decision Monday that allows prosecution of people who smoke marijuana to relieve pain or nausea for violating federal drug laws. Despite some uncertainty, city officials said the ruling would not change Oakland's commitment to providing cannabis to people whose doctors recommend or prescribe it. [continues 383 words]
Ruling in Oaklander's Case Lets Feds Prosecute Medical Marijuana Users; Advocates Turn to House Medical marijuana patients and providers can be arrested and prosecuted under federal law, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday, effectively ending an Oakland woman's legal odyssey and moving the issue from the courts to Congress. The 6-3 decision essentially concluded that even marijuana grown in back yards for personal medical use can affect or contribute to the illegal interstate market for marijuana and therefore is within Congress' constitutional reach. The dissenters - some of the court's most conservative voices - said the majority is letting the federal government overstep its proper bounds. [continues 1173 words]
Sheriff May Shut Operations In Unincorporated Parts Of County If Ordinance Not In Place By June 17 Alameda County supervisors delayed a vote Tuesday on an ordinance that would regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas. Supervisor Nate Miley pushed for the two-week postponement to give the public more time to review the controversial ordinance. It calls for no more than five dispensaries -- down from the current seven -- in unincorporated areas of Castro Valley, Ashland, Cherryland and San Lorenzo, and enforces regulations on permitting, hours of operation, yet-to-be determined operation fees and other issues. [continues 334 words]
The District Attorney's Office Is Investigating The Case Of Alleged Marijuana At SLO Hospital It could take another week or two for the county District Attorney's Office to determine what, if any, charges to bring against the suspected baker of brownies believed to be laced with marijuana that were eaten by a dozen hospital workers two weeks ago. An employee's family member allegedly brought the treats to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo on April 20, according to hospital spokesman Ron Yukelson. Staff members, including on-shift nurses, reported feeling strange half an hour after eating them, he said. [continues 255 words]
A lawsuit filed last week against a Central Valley city signals the growing concern of medical marijuana advocates over a municipal backlash against cannabis clubs up and down the state. Oakland-based Americans for Safe Access sued Fresno on Monday for enacting a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, which the group says violates California laws entitling patients and caregivers to the medicinal herb. But almost nine years after Golden State voters approved a compassionate-use law, what that law and a 2003 implementation law allow remain somewhat vague. Many cities, experiencing or fearing an explosion of dispensaries, recently have enacted moratoriums on any new ones to allow time to develop regulations. [continues 497 words]
We would like to see some clarity, cost effectiveness and compassion when it comes to the issue of medicinal marijuana. Here's the issue: Morro Bay police arrested Robert Marshall for growing marijuana -- seizing 75 of his plants in the process. Marshall admitted growing the pot but said it was legal for him to do so under the Compassionate Use Act passed by California voters in 1996. Late last month, a judge sided with him and dropped the charges. Marshall's experience isn't unusual. Elsewhere in California, medical marijuana growers have wound up in court -- in part because the state has yet to develop a uniform way to identify those authorized to grow the drug. [continues 256 words]
A state Senate committee today is hearing two bills that claim to strengthen California's treatment-instead-of-jail law for drug users. But only one of these bills is backed by the original law's authors while the other is supported by law enforcement, amounting to a battle for the future of Proposition 36. "California voters made it clear that they want addiction to be treated as a health issue instead of a criminal justice one, and Sen. Ducheny is trying to overrule the public will," Glenn Backes, the Drug Policy Alliance Network's health policy director, said in a release. Proposition 36, approved by 61 percent of voters in 2000, essentially required drug treatment instead of jail for first- and second-time nonviolent drug offenders. [continues 411 words]
But Because Police Didn't Have To Tend It, It's No Use To Patients Morro Bay police will return 75 pot plants to their rightful owner, but the plants aren't as leafy and green as the last time Robert Marshall saw them. Even though police confiscated Marshall's lights and other indoor growing equipment, they didn't nurture the plants. "We don't have money or facilities to take care of them," said Morro Bay police Cmdr. Tim Olivas. "We end up pulling them (up) and waiting for trial." [continues 253 words]
Oakland Plaintiff A Celebrity At S.F. Conference Panel SAN FRANCISCO -- Oakland's Angel Raich moved through the crowd like a rock star. With a U.S. Supreme Court ruling imminent in her medical-marijuana case, she was a head-turning honored guest at the annual conference of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws this weekend at the Cathedral Hill Hotel. "My whole image has changed, and I take that with great honor" she acknowledged Thursday, moments before taking part in a panel discussion of people who've tangled with the federal government on medical marijuana. She said she takes comfort in knowing she's "speaking on behalf of so many patients," and this buoys her when she's feeling down or in pain. [continues 437 words]
Building Manager Attacked While Trying To Protect Fourplex OAKLAND -- A 41-year-old Hayward software engineer who has worked to improve West Oakland rentals to earn extra income for his family was beaten last week by a gang of local drug dealers who refuse to stay off his property, police said Friday. Convicted drug dealer Marcus Smith, 23, the accused ringleader in the attack, was charged Friday with violating probation and making terrorist threats, police said. Investigators said Smith threatened the owner with a gun and forced him to the pavement at the Mead Avenue fourplex where he and at least three other drug dealers beat and kicked him. More arrests are expected. [continues 513 words]
Authority Members Say Cops Must Bust Smokers Regardless Of Vote Result OAKLAND -- Busting pot-smoking fans at the Network Associates Coliseum complex in Oakland should remain a top priority for law enforcement agents regardless of how city voters feel, Coliseum officials said Thursday. Members of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority said it would be too confusing -- and dangerous -- to treat marijuana use at the complex as a low priority for law enforcement. Measure Z, an initiative on the Nov. 2 ballot, calls for making private use of marijuana in one's own residence a low priority for local police. Initiative backers say the Coliseum Authority's focus on the issue is irrelevant, since the complex is a public place. [continues 273 words]
Robert Marshall is first person in the county to dispute cultivation charges with caregiver defense When Morro Bay police investigated an unfounded report of a woman in distress on Driftwood Avenue, they didn't expect to find 75 marijuana plants. The Sept. 1, 2004, discovery led the District Attorney's Office to charge Robert Marshall with cultivation of marijuana, a felony. Marshall and his attorney don't dispute he was growing the illegal drug, but they argue police were wrong to arrest him. [continues 436 words]
OAKLAND VOTERS got it right when they passed Measure Z by 65 percent in November -- making private, adult marijuana offenses law enforcement's lowest priority and asking the city to tax and regulate adult sales of cannabis as soon as possible. When this policy is adopted at the state level, it will enable local law enforcement agencies to concentrate their limited funds against violent and serious crime at an annual savings of $150 million. When we finally begin to tax and regulate the market for marijuana like alcohol, it will drastically cut street dealing and generate about $2 billion of new tax revenue. Oakland voters are smart, and they deserve smart policies and leadership in Sacramento. It's time to put the taxation and regulation of marijuana on the table in this state budget debate. Mikki Norris El Cerrito [end]
The City Council temporarily bans distribution centers for medical marijuana and may renew the ban again in 45 days; officials await a Supreme Court decision Grover Beach put a temporary ban on medical marijuana distribution centers Monday, joining two other cities in San Luis Obispo County concerned about the effects such dispensaries would have on their communities. "We need to be proactive," said Councilman Dave Ekbom, who is in favor of a total ban of medical marijuana dispensaries. Because San Luis Obispo and Arroyo Grande have approved such ordinances, Grover Beach officials are worried that any groups wanting to open a dispensary might target Grover Beach. [continues 243 words]
Oakland Woman's Lawyers Will Argue Free Medical Marijuana Not 'Interstate Commerce' Oakland's Angel Raich says the marijuana she uses to keep herself out of pain and alive is grown in California and given to her free of charge. It's neither "interstate" nor "commerce," and so it's beyond the reach of Congress' regulation, she and her lawyers claim. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear their arguments in a case that will decide whether the federal government should be permanently barred from prosecuting medical marijuana patients and providers. [continues 864 words]
Supporters Say Approval Means End to City Drug War OAKLAND -- Voters on Tuesday laid the groundwork for the decriminalization of marijuana by voting overwhelmingly for Measure Z, which orders the Oakland Police Department to make private, adult use of pot its lowest priority. According to early unofficial returns, Measure Z received almost two-thirds of the vote, appearing to win decisively. Celebrating at the Old Bulldog Cafe in the heart of what was once known as "Oaksterdam," supporters said the victory heralded the end of the drug war in Oakland. [continues 325 words]
THE federal government's war on drugs has failed. This year, Oakland voters have a chance to support an alternative by passing Measure Z. The drug war has destroyed lives, increased violence and wasted billions of dollars. Perhaps its most egregious element has been the criminalization of marijuana as a "schedule one" drug, requiring it to be treated like cocaine and heroin. In 2003 the FBI reported an all-time high of more than 755,000 marijuana arrests, far more than the number of arrests for all violent crimes combined. The result of this approach has been the imprisonment of thousands of nonviolent offenders, some for life terms. A disproportionate number of those arrested and convicted are people of color. This is a crime creation program. [continues 438 words]
THE TRIBUNE'S Oct. 20 opinion criticized Measure Z, the Oakland Cannabis Initiative, for being a social experiment ["Not the time, place for Measure Z"]. No more experimentation is needed -- the Drug War doesn't work, so we should stop doing it. Arresting adults for using marijuana does not stop them from using it -- it creates high profit for criminals, more crime and a severe burden on our budget and our police force. Oakland shouldn't wait for the rest of the country to figure it out, we should do what is fiscally responsible and ultimately right, and not spend one more dollar to arrest adults for private, non-violent marijuana offenses. This would also free up Oakland police to work on the violent crime in Oakland, which is something we need them to do. Don Konecny Oakland [end]
City Council Compromises Between Proponents, Who Plead for Approval, and Opponents, Who Worry About Increased Crime SAN LUIS OBISPO - After nearly two hours of emotional testimony from supporters of medical marijuana dispensaries, the San Luis Obispo City Council decided not to allow them in the city -- for now. Under Tuesday's ruling, city officials will look into ways to regulate medical marijuana distribution centers, but facilities are forbidden from opening in the city until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the legality of the drug. [continues 608 words]
A coalition of local leaders and Oakland-based members of the Drug Policy Alliance Network are seeking voter approval of a ballot measure that asks city police to make adult marijuana offenses their lowest law enforcement priority. Backers of Measure Z -- the Oakland Cannabis Initiative -- say its passage would put Oakland at the forefront of efforts to decriminalize possession, sales and cultivation of marijuana statewide. The measure also directs the city to regulate and tax marijuana sales if the state at some point allows it. [continues 364 words]
Supporters Hope Oakland Initiative Would Set a Precedent For State OAKLAND -- After San Franciscans legalized medical marijuana in 1991, voters statewide followed suit five years later. Backers of Measure Z, the Oakland Cannabis Initiative, hope it will have the same effect. The measure would put Oakland at the forefront of efforts to decriminalize adult, recreational pot use statewide. It makes private adult marijuana offenses, including possession, sales and cultivation of the herb, the lowest priority for Oakland police. And it directs the city to set up a system of taxation and regulation as soon as state law allows it -- which is largely symbolic and, according to the city attorney's office, unconstitutional for technical reasons. [continues 1212 words]
Ashland, Cherryland Hit With Wave Of Dispensaries Medical marijuana dispensaries have been sprouting up in the unincorporated areas of Ashland and Cherryland, just as neighboring cities have been nipping their pot facilities in the bud. There are now six known medical marijuana dispensaries in a two-mile area between the cities of Hayward and San Leandro. Three are clustered within a few blocks of each other along East 14th Street in Ashland. All but one opened in recent months after the cities of Oakland and Hayward began imposing stricter regulations on their existing dispensaries. The cities of Emeryville and Fremont have since passed moratoriums on dispensaries. [continues 508 words]
