Posts Tagged ‘Oaksterdam’
Will unionizing the cannabis industry bud in Oakland?
Since 2010, the Bay Area’s cannabis industry has been unionizing, in almost every case by the United Food and Commercial Workers, or UFCW.
Read MoreAfter the raid: For patients, worries that medical marijuana dispensaries will shut down
Oakland resident Sableu Cabildo was diagnosed at the end of 2011 with a kind of brain cancer known as an astrocytoma. It originated on the right side of her thalamus, the lobed mass under the cerebral cortex that acts like the brain’s switchboard, regulating sensory perception and motor functions. Because of the cancer, Cabildo has been steadily losing her short-term memory and her balance. She stutters sometimes, and to be on the safe side, doesn’t drive at night anymore.
To alleviate some of the symptoms of her cancer and the harsher side affects of her medications, Cabildo, 34, has a medical marijuana prescription. It’s helped to calm her mood swings and improve her diminished appetite. It also dulls the pain from the migraine headaches caused by her disease. It lets her sleep at night.
Read MoreAfter the raid: One year after federal agents raided Oaksterdam, what’s changed?
One year ago, federal agents raided Oaksterdam University, a move that sent ripples throughout Oakland’s well-established cannabis industry and raised questions about the complex and often conflicting web of state and federal regulations surrounding medical marijuana use and patient rights. In this four-part series, Oakland North will examine what’s changed since last year’s raid, who was affected the most, and what may lie in store for medical marijuana use here in Oakland.
Read MoreOaksterdam welcomes unlikely presidential candidate, Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Barr is running for president. It was clear, when she addressed a packed house at Oaksterdam University on Thursday night, that the bulk of the crowd was there to hear her say that out loud. Former Democratic Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney delivered an introduction to the evening, cutting directly to the chase. “We are meeting here,” she said, “because the Peace and Freedom Party had the courage and the smarts to nominate Roseanne Barr as their presidential candidate.”
Read MoreFuture cloudy for Oakland’s regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries
Oakland’s dispensary ordinance, which has been on the books since 2004, is lauded by city officials—a staff report from the City Administrator’s Office published in July, 2011, calls it “a role model for the nation”—and is generally well-respected among local dispensary owners who consider it fair to them and the city. It requires that dispensary operators follow certain rules: sharing annual financial audits and personnel records with the city, making sure there’s proper security and safe access for patients, and making sure clients aren’t a nuisance to the neighborhood.
But there could be major changes brewing for how Oakland’s dispensaries are regulated.
You Tell Us: Questioning the medical marijuana crackdown in California
Going forward, raids on places like Oaksterdam will likely continue, but it is unclear for how much longer they will be tolerated by the public. The raid on Oaksterdam was met with a great deal of public resistance, and it is not just providers and patients who are upset; public support for marijuana legalization has never been higher, especially for medical marijuana.
Read MoreOaksterdam University supporters celebrate 4/20 with a march
Oaksterdam University supporters celebrated 4/20—the calendar date that matches a code word often associated with pot smoking—with a march in Oakland protesting the recent federal raid of Oaksterdam’s facilities and demanding the federal legalization of medical marijuana. At 11 am, supporters gathered at the Federal Building on Clay Street in downtown Oakland. Starting off as…
Read MoreFor local dispensaries after the Oaksterdam raid, business as usual and a low profile
Medical marijuana dispensaries often strive to keep a low profile, but this has been even more the case after federal agents raided Oaksterdam University and the home of founder Richard Lee on Monday. Half a dozen East Bay dispensaries responded with “no comment” when asked about how their organization was reacting to the raid, and others ignored voicemails. To date, there are no known closures of dispensaries in the East Bay as a reaction to Monday’s raid, and for many dispensaries, such as Harborside Health Center and the Berkeley Patient’s Care Collective, it’s business as usual.
Read MoreA day after the raid, Oaksterdam leaders start to rebuild while bracing for what comes next
When Dale Sky Jones, the executive chancellor of Oaksterdam University, walked into the school’s building at 1600 Broadway on Monday afternoon shortly after a raid by federal agents, one of the first things she saw was an Oaksterdam University banner, she said, “torn down and crumpled on the floor.” “They tried to demoralize us,” Jones said, “but they didn’t.”
Read MoreLooking for local gifts this holiday season? Here’s our guide for Oakland shoppers
In a season that grows increasingly materialistic with each passing year, why not at least support the local economy while showering your loved ones with presents? Oakland’s swelling arts scene, assortment of independent businesses, and, of course, its medical marijuana economy all make for endless gift options. Our guide lists ten possible sources for holiday gifts to fit every price range. Goodbye Target, hello Oakland.
Read MoreOakland marijuana dispensaries concerned over potential prosecution, taxes
Medical marijuana supporters and business people in Oakland reacted angrily last week to dual blows from the federal government—a prosecution warning and a massive tax bill—as they speculated on the possible consequences for patients and the local marijuana industry.
Read MoreHow Oakland became ground zero for the legal-cannabis argument: a public tour through Oaksterdam
Over the past 15 years Oakland has become the the epicenter of a national conversation about the legalization, taxation and regulation of marijuana. How did this happen? It started with the coalescing of an open-minded city council, an impoverished downtown, and a handful of determined activists.
Read MoreCity Council to decide fate of marijuana farm permits tonight
Now that the ash has settled on California’s latest marijuana ballot initiatives, Oakland’s industrial cannabis policy—the nation’s first—can move forward, beginning with the city council’s meeting tonight.
Read MoreDespite Election Day loss, Proposition 19 campaigners battle on
“The move to end marijuana prohibition is far stronger this morning than it ever has been,” said Stephen Gutwillig, the California director of the Drug Policy Alliance, as members of the Yes on 19 campaign gathered at their headquarters in downtown Oakland early Wednesday following the initiative’s defeat, garnering only 46.1 percent of the vote.
Read MoreProp 19 proponents throw pot pity party in Oaksterdam lot
A familiar herbal scent filled the air in the Oaksterdam University parking lot Tuesday night as dozens of Proposition 19 supporters heard word that the bill had been defeated.
Read MoreHashing it out with marijuana activist and educator Richard Lee
Richard Lee is president of Oaksterdam University, a cannabis trade school located in downtown Oakland. He’s also a driving force behind the November state ballot initiative to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana in California.
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