cannabisnews.com: Pot Shop Lights Up The Town





Pot Shop Lights Up The Town
Posted by CN Staff on September 16, 2005 at 06:01:15 PT
By Shanna McCord, Sentinel Staff Writer
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel
Santa Cruz -- Beginning Wednesday, local medical marijuana patients should be able to legally buy pot at an office in the Harvey West industrial area. Boulder Creek resident Lisa Molyneux secured the necessary permits from the city to open Greenway Compassionate Relief Inc. on DuBois Street, a plan that was unanimously approved by the City Council on July 26. Police Chief Howard Skerry and Dannettee Shoemaker, director of the city Parks and Recreation Department, recommended the council deny the project.
Skerry, refusing to comment Thursday, previously told the council that the proximity of Harvey West Park to the marijuana dispensary could exacerbate drug dealing, drinking and illegal camping in the area.The Harvey West Area Association also wrote a letter opposing the special-use permit. Despite the reservations, Molyneux’s final hurdle before opening Greenway is a walk-through inspection with city officials set for Monday to examine security measures and planned operations for the medical marijuana business.If everything passes, she said, the shop will open 11 a.m. Wednesday."I’m ready. I want to get this thing open," Molyneux said. "Patients come by all the time when I’m there working on stuff. They’re all looking at me to open."Molyneux’s dispensary will be the first legal business of its kind in Santa Cruz, a city sympathetic to the cause.The dispensary could face an uncertain future as state and local laws allowing marijuana use for medicinal reasons defies a staunch federal law and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that declares the drug illegal.City officials have made it clear that Molyneux would be responsible for whatever legal fights might be ahead.The police and fire departments signed off on Molyneux’s building permit Wednesday, Mike Ferry of the city Planning Department said.So far, Molyneux, who left her job as a broadcast engineer with Fox News Sports in Los Angeles after the council agreed to her plan, has spent $100,000 in getting the business ready to open. Monthly rent on the 4,000-square-foot building is $5,000, she said. Molyneux will only use about 1,000 square feet initially.Greenway will be limited to buying and selling the drug, and patients will not be allowed to consume marijuana at the site, nor will plants be sold.Patients can purchase up to 2 ounces of marijuana at a time, depending on the recommendation from their doctor, Molyneux said. Her prices will range from $25-$55 for an eighth of an ounce.Once the business gets going, Molyneux hopes to drop the prices.Pot will be provided by patients who grow the plant, she said."This is about patients taking care of patients," Molyneux said.A security guard will be stationed in the lobby, and a receptionist will verify medical marijuana cards and physician licenses, Molyneux said.The council denied Molyneux from offering massage, education and support groups until it’s proven she can run the dispensary with few problems.A city review is planned six months after Greenway opens."I can’t do anything but dispense for six months," she said.The council also required Molyneux to write an operations manual for Greenway, which the city attorney approved Sept. 9, Ferry said.She plans to be open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.Complete Title: Pot Shop Lights Up The Town: Medical Users Get Santa Cruz Outlet Young Patient Wants To Ease Other Patients Concerns, FearsBy Shanna McCord, Sentinel Staff WriterUC Santa Cruz student Mike Clifford learned what it’s like to become a medical marijuana patient three years ago.At age 19, Clifford found himself suffering a hernia and a stomach condition called gastritis, something that severely limited his ability to eat. He’d become full on only half a slice of pizza, he said.A medical marijuana prescription saved his appetite, he said. But it was an internship with MediCann, an organization of alternative medicine clinics statewide dedicated to medical marijuana patients, that opened his eyes to the widespread problems related to patients and their access to the drug."It was like our hands were tied," said Clifford, a senior studying economic justice. "We have a prescription, but it’s illegal to buy and sell."Clifford is now channeling his frustrations and expertise into a downtown information center that caters to the questions and anxieties of medical marijuana patients.The Local Patients Advocacy Group opened at 903 Pacific Avenue recently.The office, located across from the Metro bus station, is designed "to provide a comfortable environment for members to discuss issues, review educational material, access the Internet and, most importantly, become involved in an organization to call their own."About 25 members signed up during the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana’s WAMMFest at San Lorenzo Park on Saturday, Clifford said.The advocacy group will operate on membership dues and donations, he said.Inside the office are folding tables, milk crates and computers, he said. Clifford swapped two months of office rent — $1,200 — for helping the landlord with some construction projects.He is seeking members, volunteers and supporters. Call 454-0215.Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)Author: Shanna McCord, Sentinel Staff WriterPublished: September 16, 2005 Copyright: 2005 Santa Cruz SentinelContact: editorial santa-cruz.comWebsite: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/MediCannhttp://www.medicann.com/CNews MMJ Information & Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htm Green is The Scenehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21101.shtml Dispense With The Clones http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21014.shtmlSanta Cruz Approves Medical Pot Shophttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20991.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by Mikel Zorn on September 17, 2005 at 10:54:06 PT:
Resist the brainwashing fascist capitalists.
Great job out there in Santa Cruz! I am so happy to see the will of the people prevailing by defying tyranny! Sam Adams is right and I know his position and can personally testify that Farmaceuticals from the pesticide companies in our dictated medical D.E.A.th trap society are only interested in making money are in fact very dangerous in comparison to Gods natural medicine in Ganja. See Gen - 1:29 Holy Bible. The government cannot make their money honestly if we can grow our own ganja. It's very simple to see. Gov't in bed with the drug companies capitalizing on us while they research their poisons on us and we become their vics! If we use Gods medicine in ganja they capitalize by stealing our property and throwing us in jail so it's win, win, for the fascist tyrants with current law why would the thieves want to change the federal law? The left is right and the right is wrong! Overgrow and overthrow the fascist pigs! Love to Mike n Val, DdC, and our brothers and sisters all over the globe from Mr Weed 1621 and Prezz 420 of AMSL groups. We both love you with all of are hearts and keep you all in our prayers. We will never forget, never retreat!Mr Weed of NORML Illinois
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Comment #5 posted by mayan on September 16, 2005 at 17:48:46 PT
Sheesh
Skerry, refusing to comment Thursday, previously told the council that the proximity of Harvey West Park to the marijuana dispensary could exacerbate drug dealing, drinking and illegal camping in the area.Right. Look at all the folks dealing drugs,drinking and illegally camping out in front of the local liquor stores and pharmacies! Better call in the National Guard! Never mind, they're all in Iraq and New Orleans.
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Comment #4 posted by Max Flowers on September 16, 2005 at 10:10:17 PT
Another non-neutral reporter
I agree Sam, the headline is totally disrespectful and inflammatory, as if they're TRYING to stir up controversy with it. I've been pissed about reporters doing this for as long as I've been a Cnews member.Why couldn't they have made the headline "Medical Cannabis Dispensary Opens Tomorrow"? Why does it ALWAYS have to be something cute and snarky? It really burns me up... it's as if the reporters are in collusion with drug warriors. Reporters are supposed to be neutral, and when they write articles and/or headlines that perpetuate stereotypes and stigmas, they assist the other side politically. I'm writing this genius of a reporter immediately to make my point. 
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Comment #3 posted by runruff on September 16, 2005 at 09:27:50 PT:
Off topic.
It looks as though he whom I call Dusty Ryder [G.W.B.]
is now between Iraq and a hard place in the polls.
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Comment #2 posted by lombar on September 16, 2005 at 08:26:31 PT
Mpp poll in Wisconsin
Poll: 4-1 Support for Medical Marijuana in Wisconsin
Go Wisconsin!
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on September 16, 2005 at 07:56:13 PT
Stupid headline
What's next? "Walgreens drugs up the town" "CVS sedates the seniors" "Walgreens spikes up the kiddies" "Opiate shop creates addicts all over town"Seriously, compare this business with any pharmacy. Which sells methamphetamine pills to small children, by the hundreds? Which sells anti-depressants that can cause suicide, to children and adults? Which sells anti-inflammatory drugs that kill by burning through the digestive tract?Now, which sells only 1 medicine that cannot kill anyone? Which sells a single, non-toxic drug to children only under exceptional circumstances? Which establishment carefully checks each patien's' photo ID, doctor's recommendation, and then verifies the doctor's identity? RESIST the brainwashing and find freedom!
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