Two serious bids to legalize marijuana in California are moving forward simultaneously. And while decisions won't be made for months, both efforts have generated interest from around the world.
"We're on the cover of Newsweek right now. We were on the cover of Fortune magazine a few weeks ago," said Salwa Ibrahim, a spokesperson for Oaksterdam University, based in downtown Oakland. "We've gotten attention from every continent on the planet — well, except Antarctica, I suppose."
Founded in 2007, Oaksterdam — a.k.a. "Cannabis College" — is a training school for the medical marijuana industry. It's grown steadily since its inception, and expects to double its student body next year. OU is the driver behind a ballot initiative currently in circulation that would give counties the option to tax and regulate marijuana, permitting individuals to cultivate up to 25 square feet for personal consumption. Like alcohol, it would only be accessible to people 21 and older.
So far the campaign has collected 40 percent of the signatures needed to put the question to voters on the November 2010 ballot, and proponent Richard Lee, cofounder of OU, is confident that they'll hit the threshold by Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, Quintin Mecke, spokesperson for Assembly Member Tom Ammiano, has been fielding phone calls from journalists from around the world. Ammiano made headlines in February when he introduced Assembly Bill 390, legislation to legalize and tax marijuana statewide, regulating it the same way as alcohol.
Ammiano's proposal was presented at an informational hearing in Sacramento on Oct. 28, and could be formally considered by early January 2010.
"We're really not pushing anything that's not already socially accepted," Mecke said. According to a Field Poll released in April, 56 percent of Californians support legalization, a record high. Although consumption of marijuana peaked in the 1970s, polls at the time showed that public support for legalization never rose higher than around 25 percent.
Both Ammiano and Lee closely monitored public opinion before spearheading their efforts, and recognized a shift in the wind as public sentiment warmed and the Obama administration proved far more tolerant of state medical marijuana laws than its predecessor.
Proponents say the bitter economic climate is one reason the idea of legalization is getting more play than ever. Already the state's largest cash crop, legalized marijuana carries a revenue potential of as much as $1.4 billion annually, a boon for California's flagging economy, according to the Board of Equalization.
In Oakland, OU and its affiliated medical marijuana dispensaries seem to be flouting the economic trends of the day as a business that is gaining momentum rather than cutting corners. Lee says his ultimate goal is to place Oakland on the map as a West Coast version of Amsterdam.
Four dispensaries operating in downtown Oakland have already sparked a boost in tourism, creating an international buzz that draws visitors from afar. "One of Oakland's big problems is something they call 'leakage' on the retail," Lee said. "And ...
Stop feeding your face with fast foods and watching your waist grow like a pot plant, and read the facts available on the internet on the positive effects that common folks have reported with the use of cannabis and how it has changed their lives to the positive and how it just makes them just plain feel better. This issue won't ever go away no matter who you put in office as millions of common folk choose pot over pills now. How many times have you heard of a bar room brawl and when was the last time you heard of a pot room brawl? When was the last time you heard of someone who died from smoking to much pot? People wake up and smell the flowers, the voters won't stand by and let lazy cops bust us, and take our land, and make lazy lawyers take our hard earned money that supports the perverted legal system that makes money off the suffering of people who smoke or eat flowers just to deal with lifes daily problems
I don't think that pot is a substance with no dangers attached; I know from my own experience that it can be addictive, and cause a decline in productivity. I know this may appear controversial, but I think that commercial drugs like aspirin, tylenol, and sleeping pills pose bigger potential health problems than smoking marijuana. (Tylenol + alcohol = liver damage. Overdosing on pot is very unpleasant, but gets corrected within a few days by sleeping it off.) I wish that Michael Jackson had been more of a pothead than a sleeping agent addict; he would probably be alive today.
And really... furlough days for the DMV? Now there's a huge loss in worker productivity! I had to take half a day off work to get my registration renewed at the Fell St. DMV... twice. Why not just tax pot and offer good social services?
The sale of alcohol is legal and has been this nations number one drug problem for many years.
Once the sale of marijuana becomes legal, marijuana will have equal status with alcohol. This will no doubt, pave the way for all of the social problems created by alcohol including the creation of pot rooms leading to pot room brawls.
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