Cannabis Cafe, Portland, Oregon

First U.S. marijuana cafe opens for business in Portland

Cancel your flight to Amsterdam – the U.S. just got its first marijuana cafe on Friday. Located in Portland, Ore., the Cannabis Cafe shows how attitudes have changed since the Obama administration moved into the White House. A month ago, President Barack Obama told federal attorneys to ease off medical marijuana prosecutions.

The widening use of medicinal marijuana has forced governments into a tenuous legal balancing act, according to a Reuters report. Some states passed legislation to allow it, starting with California in 1996. Nonetheless, a federal ban remains in place. The operation of businesses like the Cannabis Cafe, as well as marijuana establishments in California, has been possible as long as federal authorities have chosen not to pursue them. Unlike the shops in California, though, the Portland establishment is the first in the U.S. where certified medical marijuana users can both acquire and consume their marijuana, as long as they stay out of public view.

Madeline Martinez, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Oregon, says that the Cannabis Club "represents personal freedom, finally, for our members." NORML supports legislation to legalize marijuana.

"Our plans go beyond serving food and marijuana," Martinez continues. "We hope to have classes, seminars, even a Cannabis Community College, based here to help people learn about growing and other uses for cannabis."

The Food is For Sale, but the Pot is Free

The Cannabis Cafe's new home is a two-story building with an interesting past. Once upon a time, it was occupied by a speakeasy, and later, an adult entertainment club called Rumpspankers. The Cannabis Cafe is a private club, but any Oregon resident who is a member of NORML and has an official medical marijuana card can gain entry.

Members pay $25 a month for use of the cafe, which has a capacity of 100. The product offered is not sold. Rather, it's provided free over the counter from the "budtenders" employed by the establishment. Food, of course, is available for purchase, but the club doesn't have a liquor license. (Why bother?)

The potential market for the Cannabis Cafe is small, but likely committed. Approximately 21,000 patients are registered to use medical marijuana in Oregon, with doctors prescribing the drug for a wide range of illnesses, among them Alzheimer's, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and Tourette's syndrome.

Eric Solomon, the proprietor, says he still just runs a coffee shop and events venue, as he did before he converted it to the current format, but he says, "now it will be cannabis-themed." Film festivals and dances are expected for the second floor ballroom, not to mentioned marijuana-themed weddings.

Neighboring businesses have mixed feelings about the new cafe, but they are hopeful that it will benefit them, too. David Bell, who works at a nearby boutique, is "withholding judgment." He notes, "There's no precedent for it. We don't know what to expect. But it would be great if it brought some customers into our store."

Even though we have to take baby steps, we are finally starting to get caught up with the rest of the world on marijuana use. Three cheers for Portland, Oregon and the forces that be. Now, if the rest of the states would get their acts together, maybe we could quit pissing away millions of dollars on criminal pursuits of marijuana "violations" and, start making money from it and reap the benefits of "de-criminalization"!!!

"One Love & Freedom",

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Joint, Blunt, Bong, Vaporizer or Pipe

Colorado Ski Town Legalizes Pot

DENVER (Nov. 4) -- The Colorado ski town of Breckenridge has voted overwhelmingly to legalize marijuana.

Unofficial results from Tuesday showed the proposal winning with 71 percent of the vote, the Summit Daily News reported. The measure would allow adults over 21 to have up to 1 ounce of marijuana.

The measure is largely symbolic because pot possession remains a state crime for people without medical clearance. But supporters said they wanted to send a message to local law enforcement to stop busting small-time pot smokers.

The vote comes as communities nationwide are struggling with how to enforce pot laws at a time when medical marijuana has surged in popularity.

The powers that be need to wake up and give the people what they want and stop jerking us around! Legalized marijuana should have been a reality decades ago. Maybe this will further the cause and open some eyes and mindz....

"One Love",

Bobby Sharpe "Dragon, Book Of Shang"2 Bobby Sharpe's "Animalz": Humans & Chimps Mourn Together

Marijuana Tax In Oakland

Oakland Voters OK Tax on Marijuana

OAKLAND, Calif. (July 22) -- Oakland residents overwhelmingly voted Tuesday to approve a first-of-its kind tax on medical marijuana sold at the city's four cannabis dispensaries.

Preliminary election results showed the measure passing with 80 percent of the vote, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.

The dispensary tax was one of four measures in a vote-by-mail special election aimed at raising money for the cash-strapped city. All four measures won, but Measure F had the highest level of support.

Scheduled to take effect on New Year's Day, the measure created a special business tax rate for the pot clubs, which now pay the same $1.20 for every $1,000 in gross sales applied to all retail businesses. The new rate will be $18.

Oakland's auditor estimates that based on annual sales of $17.5 million for the four clubs, it will generate an estimated $294,000 for city coffers in its first year.

Pot club owners, who openly sell pot over the counter under the 1996 state ballot measure that legalized medical marijuana use in California, proposed Measure F as a way to further legitimize their establishments.

"It's good business and good for the community," said Richard Lee, who owns the Coffee Shop SR-71 dispensary and Oaksterdam University, a trade school for budding dispensary workers.

The measure had no formal opposition; in November 2004, a ballot initiative that required Oakland police to make arresting adults using marijuana for personal use their lowest priority passed with 63 percent of the vote.

Support for Measure F was expected to be just as strong. As a result and given the mail-in nature of the election, there was little campaign activity, according to Lee.

"We put out signs, but outside of that it's been pretty low-key," said Lee, who hosted a victory party at Oaksterdam University's Student Union building in downtown Oakland.

Although California's 800 or so pot clubs also are expected to pay state sales tax, Oakland is the first city in the country to create a special tax on marijuana sales.

Advocates of legalizing pot for recreational use hope to use Oakland's experience with Measure F to persuade California voters next year to approve a measure that would legalize and regulate marijuana like alcohol.

Another step closer to total legalization of marijuana. Everybody needs to wake up and smell the "herb". This is a great way to raise money in this time of need. It is also a great way to save money by decriminalizing marijuana. Think of all the wasted cash going to punish people for a little pot. Are people really that stupid? Well, yeah. Unfortunately.

"Legalize Marijuana",

Bobby Sharpe "Dragon, Book Of Shang"2 Bobby Sharpe's "Indigo Spiritz": Shamanism & YOU

Weed - Grow It, Smoke It, Tax It!

"Legalize it or else"


Oregon Bill Proposes State Grow, Distribute, Tax Medical Marijuana

SALEM, Ore — The Oregon Legislature's latest idea for a tax? Medical marijuana.

The state would take over growing and distributing marijuana to patients in the medical-marijuana program under a bill introduced Wednesday. Sponsored by Rep. Ron Maurer, R-Grants Pass, House Bill 3274 imposes a $98-per-ounce tax, which would cover the state's cost of operating and securing the production center.

"I'm not a pot guy, but the water's under the bridge. That's not the issue," Maurer told The Oregonian newspaper. "Let's not even discuss that. Let's discuss is the program working? The answer is unequivocally no, that the program is not working."

Oregon voters approved the use of medical marijuana more than a decade ago, deciding chronically and terminally ill patients should be allowed to use the drug to ease pain. Roughly 21,000 Oregonians now have cards authorizing them to use it for medicinal purposes, according to the state Department of Human Services.

Maurer and three co-sponsors think the bill would improve public safety by eliminating private medical-marijuana grow sites. Some private growers have been accused of illegally selling marijuana to those who don't have cards; other sites have been targeted by burglaries and home invasions.

A bill co-sponsor, Rep. Chris Harker, D-Beaverton, told the Statesman Journal newspaper that the measure "takes medical marijuana off the streets and into a safer and more secure environment."

Current law allows registered patients to possess six mature cannabis plants, 18 immature seedlings and 24 ounces of usable cannabis. In 2004, voters rejected a measure that would create state distribution centers.

Though the proposal is considered a longshot at best, it is expected to be heard in a committee.

"When we have bipartisan support like that for a bill, it is typical that it will at least get the courtesy of a hearing," said Geoff Sugerman, spokesman for House Speaker Dave Hunt.

Yay for Oregon! If ALL of the people of this country would get their collective "heads out of their backsides", maybe we would NOT be in the sorry state we are in these days. The past is the past. It is gone, done, over, finito! Start focusing on forward and maybe we can move on to bigger and better things. Oh, and all of YOU (who probably never smoked herb),stop throwing up your weak argument that marijuana "is a gateway drug". If YOU cannot do any better than that, just go away. FAR AWAY!

"Power To The Plant",

Bobby Sharpe FOXNews.com - Canadian City Vies to Become 'Vansterdam' - U.S. & World Bobby Sharpe's "Indigo Spiritz": You, The One & Only