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In the middle of the April 2 federal raid on Oaksterdam University, Oakland City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan rode up on her bike to a chaotic scene. Dozens of stoned-faced men and women in sunglasses from the Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of the Treasury, and US Marshal's Office faced off with screaming protesters behind yellow tape outside, as some of the protesters lit up joints.
"There's a bunch of law enforcement here, they seem to saying there was a crime, we have no information on who they're claiming is the victim," Kaplan said to reporters. "If [Oaksterdam founder] Richard Lee and Oaksterdam harmed someone, who are they claiming is harmed?"
While the day remained chaotic – the federal agencies did not announce why they were conducting the raid or what crimes they suspected had been committed–what Kaplan said she did know was that "the regulatory system in Oakland has succeeded."
Oakland's dispensary ordinance is well-respected among city officials, including Kaplan, who defended it even in the face of a federal raid. "Oakland's history of regulating cannabis facilities with strict regulations, with background checks, with zoning rules, with rules about what hours they can operate, how they can operate, has been a success," Kaplan said. "We have not had crime or violence associated with our dispensaries, and that's because they are tightly regulated. And so we have not had the problems that other cities have had when it comes to regulation."
Oakland's dispensary ordinance, which has been on the books since 2004, is lauded by city officials–a staff report from the City Administrator's Office published in July, 2011, calls it "a role model for the nation"–and is generally well-respected among local dispensary owners who consider it fair to them and the city. It requires that dispensary operators follow certain rules: sharing annual financial audits and personnel records with the city, making sure there's proper security and safe access for patients, and making sure clients aren't a nuisance to the neighborhood.
The ordinance originally permitted four dispensaries to be active in the city, and thanks to a revision of the ordinance in 2011, sometime this year four new dispensaries are scheduled to open, making a total of eight.
But there could be major changes brewing for how Oakland's dispensaries are regulated.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: sfgate.com
Author: sfgate.com
Contact: Contacts at San Francisco Chronicle - SFGate
Website: Future cloudy for Oakland
"There's a bunch of law enforcement here, they seem to saying there was a crime, we have no information on who they're claiming is the victim," Kaplan said to reporters. "If [Oaksterdam founder] Richard Lee and Oaksterdam harmed someone, who are they claiming is harmed?"
While the day remained chaotic – the federal agencies did not announce why they were conducting the raid or what crimes they suspected had been committed–what Kaplan said she did know was that "the regulatory system in Oakland has succeeded."
Oakland's dispensary ordinance is well-respected among city officials, including Kaplan, who defended it even in the face of a federal raid. "Oakland's history of regulating cannabis facilities with strict regulations, with background checks, with zoning rules, with rules about what hours they can operate, how they can operate, has been a success," Kaplan said. "We have not had crime or violence associated with our dispensaries, and that's because they are tightly regulated. And so we have not had the problems that other cities have had when it comes to regulation."
Oakland's dispensary ordinance, which has been on the books since 2004, is lauded by city officials–a staff report from the City Administrator's Office published in July, 2011, calls it "a role model for the nation"–and is generally well-respected among local dispensary owners who consider it fair to them and the city. It requires that dispensary operators follow certain rules: sharing annual financial audits and personnel records with the city, making sure there's proper security and safe access for patients, and making sure clients aren't a nuisance to the neighborhood.
The ordinance originally permitted four dispensaries to be active in the city, and thanks to a revision of the ordinance in 2011, sometime this year four new dispensaries are scheduled to open, making a total of eight.
But there could be major changes brewing for how Oakland's dispensaries are regulated.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: sfgate.com
Author: sfgate.com
Contact: Contacts at San Francisco Chronicle - SFGate
Website: Future cloudy for Oakland
