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Published: The
Oakland Tribune, Thursday February 19th,
2004
Heather MacDonald, Staff Writer /
hmacdonald@angnewspapers.com
Advocates get
down to grass tax
Oakland group wants voters to OK levy on
pot; council completes new
OAKLAND --
Advocates for the legalization of
marijuana plan to ask voters to adopt an
initiative in November that aims to tax
and regulate the sale of pot in Oakland.
While the
measure, to be submitted to City Attorney
John Russo today, would not decriminalize
pot, it would direct the Oakland Police
Department to treat the private use of
marijuana by adults as its lowest priority
until cannabis is legalized by California
officials.
"It is possible
to keep cannabis out of the hands of
street dealers and away from children, if
we tax and regulate it," said Dale
Gieringer, a member of the Oakland Civil
Liberties Alliance.
To put the
measure on the November ballot, the
alliance must collect a minimum of 20,000
signatures from registered voters in
Oakland.
Controlling the
sale of cannabis and limitingit to
licensed vendors would eliminate
street-level pot deals, while the taxes
generated would fund vital city services
in a time of severe budget crunches,
according to Clare Lewis, a spokeswoman
for the alliance.
A poll of 600
people commissioned by thegroup and
conducted by McGuire Research Services
found more than 70 percent favored the
initiative.
On Tuesday, the
Oakland City Council completed sweeping
new regulations that will close down all
but four medical cannabisdispensaries and
ban pot consumption at the clubs. Although
dozens of medical cannabis advocates
strenuously objected to the ordinance at
the council meeting, leaders of the
medical marijuana movement declared
victory Wednesday and praised the
regulations.
"It's very
exciting," Lewis said. "Licensed medical
cannabis dispensaries seem like a small
thing, but it's a huge step forward. Right
now, they have nothing."
The council
members amended the ordinance to limit
dispensaries to 8 ounces of marijuana, or
18 plants, per patient. Individuals are
allowed to keep a maximum of 72 plants for
personal use.
Before the
meeting, several dozen medical cannabis
patients and care givers gathered outside
City Hall despite the pouring rain to
rally against the ordinance.
Some ridiculed a
scarecrow dressed to resemble Council
President Ignacio De La Fuente (San
Antonio-Fruitvale), who authored the
regulations with Councilmember Jean Quan
(Montclair-Laurel)
"This ordinance
would make life as difficultas possible
for growers, distributors and users,"
Attorney Robert Raich told the council.
Raich recently won a legal victory when a
court ruled federal law does not prevent
his wife from personal use and cultivation
of medical marijuana.
De La Fuente and
Quan said some clubs arenow being run too
loosely and are allowing marijuana to be
resold on thestreet.
Despite voting
for the ordinance, Councilmember Nancy
Nadel (Downtown-West Oakland) criticized
the regulations, saying they did not
provide equitable and safe access to
medical marijuana --one of the city's
goals -- because of the ban on consumption
at the clubs.
"I'm holding my
nose to vote for this,"Nadel said.
Councilmember
Desley Brooks (Eastmont-Seminary) cast the
only vote against the regulations, after
abstaining from the first vote on the
regulations two weeks ago. She said she
meant to vote no.
The ordinance is
slated to go into effect June 1. Six
months later, the council will review the
number of clubs and consider the issue of
smoking and consumption at the clubs.
The dozen or so
cannabis clubs, several of which sprouted
in an area north of City Hall known as
"Oaksterdam," will have until March 31 to
pay $400 and apply for one of the four
permits.
City Manager
Deborah Edgerly will have until May 17 to
select the four clubs, which will pay fees
ranging from $5,000 to $20,000, depending
on the number of patients.
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