Home Volume One V1 Issue 1 Activists come to Oakland to discuss the future of state cannabis politics

Main Menu
Home Contact us Advocacy O'dam Map Search Sitemap Tours

Archive
Volume One Volume Two Volume Three

Oaksterdam News

Activists come to Oakland to discuss the future of state cannabis politics

Written by Mikki Norris

“Tax us!” The declaration was nearly unanimous in the crowded hall. Almost all 175 attendees at the Feb. 19 statewide activists conference, Measure Z and Beyond: The Agenda for Marijuana Reform in California, agreed that they were ready and willing to pay a fair tax if they could purchase and consume legal cannabis at licensed and regulated businesses. The two holdouts were of a more libertarian bent. The process of how to move in that direction was on the minds of the activists from 23 counties who came to the heart of Oaksterdam to discuss the Oakland Cannabis Regulation and Revenue Ordinance. Many are clearly interested in bringing a similar initiative or ordinance to their areas and ultimately to the state level, and these topics took up the morning session.     The afternoon focused on legal and medical marijuana issues such as the pending Raich Supreme Court ruling, dispensaries and local guidelines, followed by breakout sessions focusing on specific topics. Attendees filled the YMCA theater.  Several elected officials arrived throughout the day to show support, including City Councilmember Desley Brooks, Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, School Board member and mayoral candidate Dan Siegel, and AC Transit board member Rebecca Kaplan. The audience roared when Susan Stephenson capped off her presentation on campaign tactics by playing a recording of the Bay Area’s popular US Congresswoman Barbara Lee giving a telephone endorsement for Measure Z that went out to 30,000 Oakland voter households just days before the election.     The conference at the YWCA was co-sponsored by the Oakland Civil Liberties Alliance (OCLA), California NORML, Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), and Americans for Safe Access (ASA). “You’re making history here,” MPP director Rob Kampia stated. He pointed out that Measure Z is the first tax and regulate measure to pass in this country, and this is the first conference that is focussing on this tactic. Working in Washington, DC, Kampia doubts that Congress is ever going to pass a tax and regulate bill. “It’s going to have to come from the states that have initiative processes.” There are 17 such states in the country. Measure Z – A Success Story     Judy Appel, a former attorney with the Drug Policy Alliance and  board member, moderated a panel of OCLA board members and staff.     Richard Lee, owner of the Bulldog Coffeeshop said he worked with Sup. Miley and his aide, Joe DeVries, two strong supporters of medical marijuana in Oakland. They ran a focus group in 2003 to see where voters stood and found that 8 of 10 women supported taxing and regulating cannabis to raise funds for the cash-strapped city. “The time was right. The support was there,” he said. He formed OCLA-PAC with a stellar cast of organizers and activists, to develop and implement the initiative.     Board member Dale Gieringer gave a breakdown of the costs and benefits of ending marijuana prohibition as an incentive for reform. “The state is wasting 150 million dollars a year enforcing marijuana laws, when it could be generating at least $1 billion a year in tax revenue,” said Gieringer, director of Cal NORML.     “It helped that we started off with some solid endorsements from respected local political leaders,” said board member Mikki Norris, director of the Cannabis Consumers Campaign. Having two city council members, two supervisors, a school board member, and AC Transit board member endorse the campaign early on, made it easier to generate more endorsements later. “After we got the support of the MGO Democratic Club, we were able to get all the Democratic clubs and Green parties behind us,” she said. She named a long list of supporters that included state Sen. Don Perata, the California Nurses Association, Rev. Harold Mayberry, the superintendent of Alameda County Schools and others that can be found on the web site, www.taxandregulate.org. Stephenson and Norris give an electoral pitch.     Campaign manager Susan Stephenson of The Next Generation played the Rep. Lee recording to cap the list of endorsers. She explained how polling had been used to shape the targeted mailings to voters. Nuts and bolts discussed     Stacey Swimme, Field Coordinator for Americans for Safe Access, moderated the medical marijuana panel. Court-qualified cannabis expert Chris Conrad kicked off the session with a PowerPoint presentation on state demographics showing that work is needed in the Central Valley and eastern regions. A bouquet with the scent of freedom.     “A measure of success of Prop. 215 is safe access, more access and more choice. It seems to be working better here than in other areas,” said Don Duncan, who works with both northern and southern California dispensing cooperatives.       “The more we regulate ourselves the better,” added Jeff Jones, Director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Coop, which has verified and issued ID cards to thousands of qualified medical marijuana patients who use them to gain access to dispensaries and as a safeguard against arrest.     Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access, gave a call to action. “We must be prepared and ready for when the Raich decision is handed down by the Supreme Court.” Americans for Safe Access is asking supporters to gather outside of their US representative's local district office two days after the decision is announced, to honor a good decision or to mourn a bad one. “We need to show the nation we are watching” Conrad gives a presentation on state demographics. Legal consultations     People got free legal advice from a group of attorneys including Rob Raich, whose wife, Angel, is a plaintiff in the Supreme Court case. “If we win, it will be a tremendous victory for patients all over the country. If we lose, the status quo will be preserved, but local and state laws are still protected,” Raich assured attendees. “And we still need to change laws at the state and federal levels.”     Oakland attorney, Bill Panzer discussed nuts and bolt issues about protecting yourself as a patient. Attorney Omar Figueroa told patients that if you grow cannabis, you might want to get multiple recommendations to protect yourself from police. “Post documents around your garden. Don’t say anything. Let the paperwork speak for itself. Don’t make statements to law enforcement,” he warned. “Ask to speak to a lawyer.”     Joe Elford, an attorney for ASA, discussed the motions for return of property when marijuana is seized from patients and ASA’s lawsuit against the CHP for violating patients’ rights under Prop. 215. Elford, Panzer, Figueroa and Raich share their perspectives.

 

< Prev		Next >

V3 Issue 2

Best viewed with:

© 2008 Oaksterdam News Network

Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License.