Action Alert: Oakland City Council Mtg, Tues, April 12th

In February, 2004 the Oakland City Council passed an ordinance that
regulates medical cannabis dispensaries. This ordinance limits the number of
clubs in the city to four, bans on-site consumption, and stipulates that
dispensaries may only operate between 7am-9pm.

The Oakland City Council Public Safety Committee will be holding
hearings on a report by the City Administrator concerning the first
seven months of Oakland's medical cannabis dispensary ordinance next
Tues, April 12th, at 7:30 PM at City Hall.

Patients and supporters are urged to attend and express their
dissatisfaction with the current ordinance, in particular (1) the ban
on on-site consumption and (2) the city-wide limit of four clubs. Also,
please call your city-council member before the meeting. Their numbers can
be found at the end of this email.

Talking points:

(1) Patients need a space where they can medicate safely. This
has the benefit of allowing them to socialize with other patients,
and discouraging lighting up on public sidewalks or in cars. Other
cities, including Berkeley and SF allow on-site consumption; and
Oakland itself allows on-site consumption of alcohol and smoking in
"cigar bars." The ban on on-site consumption was mainly motivated
by concerns about smoking, which can be addressed by allowing
vaporizers instead.

(2) The four-club limit has induced many Oakland patients to
shop elsewhere. Berkeley, with one-third Oakland's population, has
three clubs; the unincorporated area of Alameda County, with a
similar population, has seven or eight (the Supervisors are talking
about limiting it to 5 or 3); and San Francisco has 37. Only one
neighborhood has any clubs; and there, accessibility has been made
more difficult by the requirement that no two clubs be closer than
1000 feet to each other. The 19th Street BART stop is uniquely
convenient to patients dependent on public transportation, yet only
one club has been allowed to operate near there.

(3) Another issue worth mentioning is the requirement that
clubs close at 8 PM. An 9 PM closing time would be more convenient
for many patients who arrive late after work.

A copy of the Administrator's report may be found at
http://clerkwebsvr1.oaklandnet.com/attachments/10366.pdf

The findings are generally positive, leaving just a hint of some
of the problems patients have encountered. The report concludes that
the "dispensaries have should that, in general, they can function
without creating a nuisance in the neighborhood or draining police
resources." This refutes the slanderous rumors spread by the Rocklin
P.D. that cannabis dispensaries have been a source of crime in
Oakland.

With regards to the four-club limit, the report states that
capacity is not a problem, but that the justification for more
dispensaries must "involve issues of improved geographic and ethnic
diversity and improved products and services based on increased
competition."

With regards to on-site consumption, the report notes that most
dispensaries favor it. In Berkeley, where it is allowed, the
Berkeley Patients' Group encourages use of vaporizers. The medical
director of the East Bay AIDS Center opposes on-site use, on the
grounds that patients leaving in an "altered state" could pose
problems. On the other hand, the Medical Director of HIV Access at
Highland Hospital favors the use of vaporizers, so as to avoid the
potential hazards of patients smoking in cars.


District 1: Jane Brunner
Phone: (510) 238-7001
Fax: (510) 238-6910
jbrunner [at] oaklandnet.com

District 2: Danny Wan
Phone: (510) 238-7002
FaX: (510) 238-6910
dwan [at] oaklandnet.com

District 3: Nancy Nadel
Phone: (510) 238-7003
Fax: (510) 238-6910
nnadel [at] oaklandnet.com

District 4: Jean Quan
Phone: (510) 238-7004
Fax: (510) 238-6129
jquan [at] oaklandnet.com

District 5: Ignacio De La Fuente
Phone: (510) 238-7005
Fax: (510) 238-6910
idelafuente [at] oaklandnet.com

District 6: Desley A. Brooks
Phone: (510) 238-7006
Fax: (510) 238-6910
dbrooks [at] oaklandnet.com

District 7: Larry Reid
Phone: (510) 238-7007
Fax: (510) 238-6910 FAX
E-mail: lreid [at] oaklandnet.com