This is karaoke night at Portland's Cannabis Cafe, a combination of the bar from Cheers and a street side pot palace in Amsterdam. It is perfectly legal in this smoky room for medical marijuana patients to burn, eat, rub, filter and roll marijuana. There are cancer patients, AIDS patients and sufferers of smashed vertebrae and pinched nerves. There are also those who find refuge under Oregon's severe pain allowance, tell a marijuana friendly doctor you've got pain, and you've pretty much got weed. Since the medical marijuana law's passage in 1998, nearly 40,000 patients have gotten access. The pot in the cafe is brought in by patients or donated by growers. Money doesn't change hands unless it's to buy a sandwich or coffee. The price of admission: a $20 monthly charge and a $5 door fee. - The Salt Lake Tribune - Madeline Martinez pictured
