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Written by Chris Conrad
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Monday, 11 April 2005 |
Oaksterdam News wants to introduce shoppers, tourists, working people,
visitors, and cannabis consumers across the state to this emerging arts
and entertainment district of Oakland.
Between Downtown and scenic Lake Merrit lies a
cannabis friendly district where a variety of businesses are
revitalizing the area. It is home to the cluster of city-licensed
cannabis dispensaries, the OCBC patient ID card center, and a fresh
breath of tolerance marked by last year’s passage of Measure Z.
Since the adoption of the Oakland Cannabis
Regulation and Revenue Ordinance, a new era has begun and fresh
opportunities are again opening up in Oaksterdam (O’dam).
Quiet growth and good neighbors
The Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative, OCBC,
opened in 1996 when it became apparent that the San Francisco Cannabis
Buyers Club was not adequate to meet the demand. Even before Prop 215
legalized medical marijuana in California, the City Council authorized
Jeff Jones to open a dispensary in Oakland. After the state initiative
passed, the City deputized Jones and other service providers to shield
them from federal prosecution. A federal Appeals Court ordered Jones to
close shop, and the US Supreme Court made the injunction permanent in
2001.
State law giving qualified patients a right to
obtain medical marijuana was not affected, however, and the net effect
of the federal ruling was to generate a vacuum that was soon filled by
a variety of new outlets. Among the first was the Bulldog Coffeeshop,
joined over time by the Lemondrop Coffeeshop, Compassionate Caregivers,
Green Door, 420 Cafe and other dispensaries that sprang up. As this
cottage industry developed, each shop had its own approach, appearance
and niche but most clustered along Broadway and Telegraph Avenue.
Since a physician’s approval and a membership card
were required, access to medical marijuana dispensaries was controlled
and generally outside of the illicit market. Most of the so called
“buyers’ clubs” allowed on-site consumption, and a sense of community
prevailed. That aspect of the area, combined with the decorative
architectural facades and its proximity to Lake Merrit, though not a
canal, earned the area its moniker, Oaksterdam, in honor of the famous
cannabis coffee shops of Amsterdam.
Dispensaries brought security to the area and were
good neighbors. By early 2004, O’dam was home to about a dozen medical
marijuana dispensaries that had sprouted up within easy walking
distance of convenient BART stations. As more dispensaries took root,
the area became safer and cleaner. The personality of the neighborhood
began to flourish. Its reputation drew a new vigor and pride to the
community.
City does about face on access
The dispensaries were largely self-regulated under
the principles of being good neighbors, but questionable practices at a
few clubs drew undue attention to isolated problems.
Unseen forces were at work, unbeknownst to the
cannabis community. The director of a center for gay, lesbian,
transgender and questioning youth had an eye on a new location and a
simmering feud with one of the dispensaries over the smells it was
venting through a shared air duct. At the same time Councilman Ignacio
De la Fuente was looking for an excuse to shut down the dispensaries
now that the area had been improved.
The youth center got frustrated by City foot
dragging, so to force the Council’s hand it went public about its
quarrel with the dispensary. This led to a media frenzy and front page
Oakland Tribune stories on O’dam. Then a Channel 5 TV producer found
his car broken into while parked downtown. The result was a televised
report alleging illicit marijuana sales among the dispensaries. This
was exactly the pretext De la Fuente needed to use an iron fist on a
non-problem. He initially sought to close all the dispensaries except
for the one under federal injunction that cannot dispense medicine.
Council member Nancy Nadel fought to defend the
patients and all dispensaries, but in the end negotiated to license
only four locations and scatter them around a wider area. More than 50
people spoke at the hearing to protest the plan.
Even the youth center director stepped up to say he
did not want Oaksterdam shut down, he wanted the center relocated. He
got just the opposite — dispensaries were shut down while his center
remained neglected.
In the end, only Council member Desley Brooks voted
against the ordinance for being punitive and ignoring the will of the
community. Within months, “for lease” signs began to appear on
once-bustling storefronts.
Yet the spirit of Oaksterdam thrives in its historic
relics, in its current cannabis dispensaries, and in its potential to
show the world how it should be done: adults enjoying cannabis with
like-minded others in private environments. We hope that the Measure Z
oversight committee will feel the same.
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Chris Conrad |
| About the author: |
| Staunch supporter of Oaksterdam News
Chris Conrad has studied cannabis (marijuana) since 1988. He has written two books on the topic and contributed to others. Familiar with numerous books and at least 100 scientific studies, such as federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and National Institute on Drug Abuse data. Reported on cannabis dispensaries for California legislators. Consults with government agencies. Testified at National Academy of Science, Institute of Medicine hearings. Regularly consults with physicians including some of the world’s foremost authorities on cannabis and patients as to their knowledge and experiences regarding cannabis.
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