First U.S. Marijuana Cafe Opens In Oregon
The state of Oregon is testing the Obama administration’s new move to relax its policy of marijuana for medical use, by launching the first marijuana cafe in the United States.
In the type cafe one would have found in the very liberal Dutch city of Amsterdam, the Cannabis Cafe has opened its doors in Portland, Oregon, with the mission to give “certified medical marijuana” potheads a place to sit down, roll up a joint and smoke it — so long as they are out of public view, reports Reuters.
Madeline Martinez, Oregon’s executive director of NORML, a group that advocates for all Americans to be free to get stoned, says the cafe “represents personal freedom, finally, for our members.”
“Our plans go beyond serving food and marijuana,” said Martinez. “We hope to have classes, seminars, even a Cannabis Community College, based here to help people learn about growing and other uses for cannabis.”
The 100-person capacity “cafe” that serves food but has no liquor license, is located in a two-story building which was formerly home to adult strip club, is technically a private club, but is open to any NORML members who are Oregon residents and have an official medical marijuana card.
NORML members pay $25 per month and get the marijuana free, over the counter from “budtenders”.
Eric Solomon, owner of the cafe, says he has big plans for his new joint [pun intended]. He wants to grow the shop by offering marijuana-themed weddings, film festivals and dances, so his customers [people who get stoned for supposedly "medical" purposes] can have a grand ole’ time. But his plans may be a ways off.
On Solomon’s grand opening day, the hype of the new shop apparently was a failure, according to the Portland Mercury.
Despite the hype, opening night seemed like kind of a bust. As I stood at the back of the line talking with Ian, a long-time cardholder who was up for the idea of a sociable “medicating” environment (“Do you like to sit and drink in your house?” he said. “It’s nice to get out.”), people kept ditching out from the front of the line, shaking their heads. “Why would I want to smoke with a bunch of people I don’t know?” grumbled an old man in a black cowboy hat, striding away. “Save your money and buy a bag!” shouted a twenty-something dude as he left.
As word spread down the line that medical marijuana cardholders needed $60 up front to get in—enough for a year-long NORML membership, a $20 monthly Cannabis Cafe membership and a $5 per-entry services fee—most of the people in line turned on their heels and left.
Whether or not Solomon didn’t see the idea — charging a group of pot heads $60 to hang around in a room and get plastered — as a profoundly difficult business model, we can’t say, but the timing of his cafe may be the real story.
The cafe opens almost a month after the Obama administration told federal attorneys not to prosecute individuals who use marijuana for medical reasons or dispensaries in states which have legalized them, and thus it may be an attempt by NORML to challenge the administration’s seriousness over the matter.
Nearly a dozen states, including Oregon, followed California’s 1996 liberal move to condone marijuana use for “medical” reasons. The law allows the dope to be cultivated and sold for medical use.
Related posts:
- Justice Dept: Will Stop Pursuit Of Medical Marijuana Use
- Trashing Free Speech: Oregon State Univ. Dumps Student Paper Without Notice
- Wisconsin Domestic Partnership Registry Opens Despite Lawsuit
Short URL: http://www.christianlawjournal.com/?p=10575
Just thought i would comment and say neat design, did you code it yourself? Looks great. If you wantto swap the links with us please let me know.
@ Johnny Law
I see you on several boards with the same prohibitionist mentality. It’s hard to imagine someone so willing to be a mouth piece for the drug cartels. If you want the drug gangs to control cannabis distribution then go right ahead with your ranting. Anyone that pushes prohibition as much as you must be in the pockets of the drug cartels. It’s people like you that keep drugs within the easy grasp of kids and that’s exactly what I’m against.
Arguing with you is like arguing with a trash can…nothing good ever comes from it.
It’s well past time to re-legalize cannabis and end the lies of prohibition.
The U.S. Dept of Justice estimates that 30 Million Americans use marijuana in a given year. If it were even moderately harmful, the victims would be stacked up like cordwood. The preponderance of evidence is that marijuana is relatively safe, Both the American College of Physicians and American Medical Association have expressed support for investigation of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Marijuana in various forms, not necessarily smoked, has been used therapeutically for centuries in many parts of the world. Marijuana appears to provide relief from pain, nausea, and other symptoms, with fewer ill effects and a greater margin of safety than the narcotic drugs commonly administered for pain, and safer even than the non-narcotic drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen and related compounds that are responsible for a few hundred deaths each year (www.acponline.org/journals/annals/15sep97/nsaid.htm).
The American College of Physicians position can be found at (www.acponline.org/advocacy/where_we_stand/other_issues/medmarijuana.pdf)
The American Medical Association position is available at http://www.ama-assn.org/assets/meeting/mm/i-09-ref-comm-k.pdf (the Medical Marijuana section begins on page 12 of the 27 page document).
I hope that anyone who can benefit from the medical use of marijuana is allowed to do so safely, without having to go to a criminal drug dealer and without fear of prison for himself or herself.
The U.S. Dept of Justice estimates that 30 Million Americans use marijuana in a given year. If it were even moderately harmful, the victims would be stacked up like cordwood. The preponderance of evidence is that marijuana is relatively safe, Both the American College of Physicians and American Medical Association have expressed support for investigation of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Marijuana in various forms, not necessarily smoked, has been used therapeutically for centuries in many parts of the world. Marijuana appears to provide relief from pain, nausea, and other symptoms, with fewer ill effects and a greater margin of safety than the narcotic drugs commonly administered for pain, and safer even than the non-narcotic drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen and related compounds that are responsible for a few hundred deaths each year (www.acponline.org/journals/annals/15sep97/nsaid.htm).
The American College of Physicians position can be found at (www.acponline.org/advocacy/where_we_stand/other_issues/medmarijuana.pdf)
The American Medical Association position is available at http://www.ama-assn.org/assets/meeting/mm/i-09-ref-comm-k.pdf (the Medical Marijuana section begins on page 12 of the 27 page document).
I hope that anyone who can benefit from the medical use of marijuana is allowed to do so safely, without having to go to a criminal drug dealer and without fear of prison for himself or herself.
A nice safe place to use a relatively safe intoxicant. The membership-and-service fee looks like the wave of the future for a non-sales model. I hope this works well for them and they show themselves to be good neighbors (i.e., by keeping the parking lot clean and tidy, picking up litter from the sidewalks, just generally being an asset to the community). Let’s keep an eye on this one; this is an idea whose time has come.
THC may Cause Schizophrenia-like Symptoms
From Leonard Holmes, About.com Guide
June 2004
Yale University researchers have shown that active ingredient in marijuana can cause transient schizophrenia-like symptoms ranging from suspiciousness and delusions to impairments in memory and attention in some patients. The study was an attempt to clarify a long known association between cannabis and psychosis in the hopes of finding another clue about the patho-physiology of schizophrenia.
FROM HARVARD:
The most potent argument against the use of marijuana to treat medical disorders is that marijuana may cause the acceleration or aggravation of the very disorders it is being used to treat.
Smoking marijuana regularly (a joint a day) can damage the cells in the bronchial passages which protect the body against inhaled microorganisms and decrease the ability of the immune cells in the lungs to fight off fungi, bacteria, and tumor cells. For patients with already weakened immune systems, this means an increase in the possibility of dangerous pulmonary infections, including pneumonia, which often proves fatal in AIDS patients.
Studies further suggest that marijuana is a general “immuno-suppressant” whose degenerative influence extends beyond the respiratory system. Regular smoking has been shown to materially affect the overall ability of the smoker’s body to defend itself against infection by weakening various natural immune mechanisms, including macrophages (a.k.a. “killer cells”) and the all-important T-cells.
California Board Rules Marijuana Smoke a Carcinogen
June 23, 2009
A California state board called marijuana smoke a health hazard and has added it to the state’s list of environmental hazards, placing the drug alongside other carcinogens like arsenic, asbestos, and DDT, the San Jose Mercury News reported June 19.
Scientists at California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazards Assessment (OEHHA) studied research that linked marijuana smoke to different types of cancer, in particular head and neck cancers, concluding that marijuana smoke contains many of the harmful properties found in tobacco smoke.
“There’s not one single piece of evidence that was a slam dunk,” said George Alexeeff, Ph.D., deputy director for scientific affairs for the OEHHA. “But the pieces together form a very compelling argument.”
California medical-marijuana dispensaries with 10 or more employees will be required to post a warning label in their shop or on the products saying, “Contents may cause cancer when smoked.”
I’m not sure where you dug up your info but actual studies and ones you heard about from your grandfather are completely different. Marijuana kills cancerous tumors and helps asthmatic patients breath easier…without side effects. Unless your Magic Johnson I believe that A.I.D.S. Has no cure and smoking the non-lethal plant helps them live the rest of thier life without starving themselves and easing thier pain. I will give you a little advice which I’m sure you’ve heard before(from grandpa Anslinger) go play in the street…you little worthless pile of dung!!!