OAKLAND CANNABIS CLUB HEARINGS DELAYED TO DEC 16th

canorml.org

Oakland Nov 26- The Oakland City Council's hearings on regulating the cannabis clubs have once again been postponed, from Dec. 2 to Dec. 16th. Word is that the council members are having trouble devising a policy after having deliberated on the matter more carefully. The council appears to be backing away from the idea of radically restricting the number of clubs. However, two important policy issues remain unsettled:

(1) Whether to allow smoking on-site. Jean Quan and other council members have proposed a no smoking policy. This would of course be a serious inconvenience to patients, and would likely cause more public smoking on the streets. It's also inconsistent with the city's policy on tobacco, which allows smoking rooms at tobacco stores. (San Francisco has an ordinance exempting medical cannabis dispensaries from the city's ban on smoking. Oakland should consider a similar exemption, or perhaps a special smoking license for cannabis facilities.)

(2) Whether to allow "mixed use" facilities that sell other goods (such as coffee and food) as well as cannabis. Jean Quan has proposed a ban on mixed use facilities. Such facilities are of course a benefit to the general non-patient public, and provide a convenient place for patients to bring their friends and family. It's a mystery why this is controversial, given the degree of mixed use prevalent in pharmacies and liquor stores. The council could stand to hear support for mixed use facilities from non-patient customers.