cannabisnews.com: Pot Co-op’s Pleas Fall on Deaf Ears at City Hall





Pot Co-op’s Pleas Fall on Deaf Ears at City Hall
Posted by CN Staff on April 14, 2005 at 08:00:46 PT
By Shanna McCord, Sentinel Staff Writer
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel
Santa Cruz --  Owners of a recently shuttered medical marijuana cooperative on Pacific Avenue are pleading for a change in city law to allow them to operate downtown.But their plea is getting a cold shoulder from city officials and a leading medical marijuana proponent, who believe a downtown location is inappropriate.
The Pacific Coast Cooperative opened in February and served about 200 medical marijuana patients before being forced to close March 31 for violating the city’s zoning laws, included in a medical marijuana ordinance created in 2000 to establish rules for medical marijuana clubs to operate. "The ordinance was written five years ago and a lot has changed since then," said Peter Koch, cooperative co-founder. "The ordinance needs to be reviewed not just for us, but for everyone. It’s in the best interest of the patients."Koch asked City Council members to review the ordinance during their meeting Tuesday. However, Mayor Mike Rotkin, a supporter of medical marijuana, said Pacific Avenue has enough problems projecting a clean image and he would not support amending the law."I would like to be encouraging to this group to find a location that works for them," Rotkin said. "I don’t think we’re going to open it up to Pacific Avenue. I don’t think the council is going to risk the positive atmosphere we’ve worked so hard to construct there."Though Koch’s cooperative operated for six weeks without any complaints from nearby businesses or calls to police, Rotkin said there’s always the risk that a less-responsible medical marijuana business would set up shop downtown if the law were changed. Since the statewide passage of Proposition 215 in 1996, medical marijuana businesses have been allowed to locate in the city’s industrial zones, areas such as Harvey West and the far Westside.Pacific Coast Cooperative obtained a business permit from the Planning Department by applying as a "professional consulting business." Koch, a medical marijuana patient himself because of knee problems related to weight, recently moved to Santa Cruz from Sacramento to start the cooperative with business partner Matt Hilliard.They opened the cooperative to prevent Santa Cruz medical marijuana patients from having to drive to Oakland or San Francisco to find such services, Koch said.When Planning Department officials were alerted to marijuana transactions taking place in a second-floor office above Internet provider Cruzio and nightclub Blue Lagoon, they immediately called for the cooperative’s closure.Valerie Corral, founder of Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana, said there’s no question Santa Cruz County needs more outlets for its estimated 4,000 medical marijuana patients to access legal marijuana, but downtown is the wrong spot."Someone could walk out and use their medication. We don’t want to expose pedestrians to the possibility of that happening," Corral said. "By being accountable to the community, it creates a better sense of trust."Since the closure, Koch and Hilliard have been trying to find a new office for the cooperative, but so far have found a dearth of options.They called that odd for a town that made medical marijuana a cause celebre. "It’s next to impossible to find a location that meets the current ordinance and an owner who lets us operate in their building," Koch said. "We keep running into brick walls."Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)Author: Shanna McCord, Sentinel Staff WriterPublished: April 14, 2005 Copyright: 2005 Santa Cruz SentinelContact: editorial santa-cruz.comWebsite: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/Related Article & Web Site:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/City Shuts Marijuana Co-ophttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20458.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #15 posted by runderwo on April 14, 2005 at 21:06:42 PT
"Manufacturing of cannabis"
I love that. Is corn "manufactured"? What about hay? Like cannabis requires any sort of infrastructure or complex procedure to produce. I guess that word makes it sound like an elaborate criminal operation was involved to the layman, which would be the goal of a drug warrior.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by stoner spirit on April 14, 2005 at 16:07:31 PT:
Lies and bullsh*t 
"My father smoked tons of pot when he was in college, and now, it's more potent then it was back then." Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahaha, why is this dude bulgarting the marijuana? Is it because some prohibitionist put him up to it? That kind of puzzles me.
My Gods, these statistics are just like an annoying litney. Faaah!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by FoM on April 14, 2005 at 11:23:04 PT
potpal
I believe you too. Good job!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by potpal on April 14, 2005 at 11:20:37 PT
tobacco withdraw
Cannabis played a big role for me to eliminate the real demon weed from my life. No bout a doubt it.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by FoM on April 14, 2005 at 11:17:28 PT
Off Topic: Dankhank
I'm listening to Neil as usual and I love this song and thought you might appreciate it too.http://www.thrasherswheat.org/lyrics.htm
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by FoM on April 14, 2005 at 11:05:50 PT
Dankhank 
I totally believe that too.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by Dankhank on April 14, 2005 at 10:58:22 PT
Beating Alcoholism
One of the speakers at Cannabis Cup 9, whose name escapes me, spoke about how he used Cannabis to beat his Alcoholism.He was a very nice man with a very nice wife and small child.
He was adamant that Cannabis cured him. A great talk with personal experience to share.I believe Cannabis can help a myriad of ills.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by FoM on April 14, 2005 at 10:38:14 PT
Just a Note
I'm not and never was what I would call an expert when it came to drinking so my comparison as far as volume of beer to hard liquor could be off. There I feel better.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by FoM on April 14, 2005 at 10:18:20 PT
freedom23 
I can't believe that this argument is still used. The higher the THC the less someone would smoke. It is no different that a person wanting to get high from alcohol. A person could drink a 12 pack of Beer or maybe just one shot of hard liquor to get a similar effect. What is the difference? Better Cannabis means less smoke and less hazards from smoking it.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by goneposthole on April 14, 2005 at 10:14:33 PT
endorphins
the only endorphins that are actively working are those in the staff members doling out the beatings. Kind of like the 'boot camps' here in the US. It is merely a 'conditioned response' as opposed to an 'unconditioned response'.It would be enough to drive anybody to drink. Pavlov's dogs were treated better by being starved to death.It's beyond the pale.
Life in the Pale
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by FoM on April 14, 2005 at 09:48:21 PT
Just My Thoughts
EJ, the one thing that is so bad after a person gives up drugs or alcohol after the pain of withdrawal is over is a huge sense of emptyness. That lasted for me for 6 months or more. During that time I took high doses of SJW and American Ginseng and Gotu Kola. I used Kava when I got flustered and it helped calm me down. The sense of emptyness is more overwhelming then the pain of withdrawal from my experience. Cannabis would help so much!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by E_Johnson on April 14, 2005 at 09:25:15 PT
Dr. Russo what do you think of this?
http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2005/04/14/003.htmlHow much possibility that this effect if not endorphin related but cannabinoid related? Maybe this backs up the idea that cannabis can be used to treat alcoholism? *************************************A Siberian Method for Beating Alcoholism
By Kevin O'Flynn
Staff WriterAlexei says he was an irredeemable alcoholic until he met Marina. He gave up drinking after the Novosibirsk psychiatrist beat him on the buttocks with a flexible rod.Alexei is among a handful of alcoholics and drug addicts who have received the unorthodox treatment, which literally attempts to beat their addictions out of them. The therapy was devised by Marina Chukhrova, a psychiatrist with 20 years' experience treating drug addicts and alcoholics, and Sergei Speransky, a senior researcher at a Novosibirsk medical institute.Patients are required to undergo at least one session of 300 blows to the buttocks per week during the first three weeks of treatment. After that, they receive beatings at their own request but no less than once per month.Chukhrova explained the treatment as such: Alcoholics and drug addicts, especially those addicted to opiate-based substances such as heroin, suffer from a lack of endorphins, otherwise known as happiness hormones. As a result, the sensitivity of the top layer of skin is reduced, making addicts "uncomfortable in their own skins." The beatings -- which Chukhrova sometimes administers but are usually carried out by male staff -- make patients "feel their own bodies" again and reduce cravings for drugs and alcohol. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by dongenero on April 14, 2005 at 09:11:37 PT
some bad luck
It would be pretty tough to claim personal use with 50 some plants.PALM BAY, Fla. - A tornado that ripped through Geoffrey Crook's home didn't just tear away his roof. Authorities say it exposed his elaborate marijuana-growing operation.	 Crook, 41, was charged Tuesday with possession and manufacturing of cannabis after police officers served him with an arrest warrant at his job. He was released on $1,000 bond Tuesday night.The operation had lamps, hydroponic equipment and log books. Fifty-four marijuana plants neatly arranged in the master bedroom had a street value of about $8,000, authorities said.The operation was uncovered in February after a twister, with winds whipping up to 112 mph, tore away Crook's roof.Palm Bay police and other emergency crews were searching through the debris for injured victims when they came across the 2- to 3-foot plants. Crook was not at home during the storm. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by FoM on April 14, 2005 at 08:33:38 PT
freedom23
Thank you! I will listen to it soon!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by freedom23 on April 14, 2005 at 08:26:05 PT
Off Topic: WBUR "report" on marijuana
WBUR (wbur.org) is an all news, not for profit radio station run by Boston University (bu.edu) that is very popular in Eastern Massachusetts. Normally they are a reliable news source but their report this morning "Stronger Marijuana Makes Inroads on Campus" reads like an ONDCP press release. It was disgusting. I'll write up a transcript over the next few days (I hope).Long story short, they quoted a number of false statistics that ONDCP and DEA have been push for years. One lie after another (like multiple references about the "toxic" effects of marijuana and overdoses). Since they've been taking underwriting support from the ONDCP for the last few months I wonder if they got a "rebate" (aka: payola) from the US Govt for this story.Report link: 
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wbur/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=760996Download the report instead of streaming it: 
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbur/local-wbur-468039.mp3
"Bullsh*t: Penn & Teller" vs the War on Drugs
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment