Pubdate: Tue, 18 Nov 2003
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2003 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact:  http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Rick DelVecchio

GAY YOUTH CENTER SMOKED OUT

Pot Clubs Push Facility Out Of 'Oaksterdam'

As city officials move to regulate the burgeoning "Oaksterdam" district, a 
center for gay and lesbian youth surrounded by medicinal pot clubs is 
looking to get away from the smoke and safety risks, the group's leaders 
said Monday.

The decision by the Sexual Minority Alliance of Alameda County to move out 
of the Uptown neighborhood between City Hall and the 19th Street BART 
station marks the latest twist in the struggle to define Oaksterdam.

"Our neighborhood is having growing pains -- the bottom line is that," said 
Jeff Jones, executive director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, 
which federal agents shut down in 1998 but which the city has sanctioned to 
issue ID cards for patients to use at nearby pot clubs.

The nonprofit youth alliance, which serves 1,300 clients, has closed its 
offices in the 1700 block of Telegraph Avenue and is squeezed into a nearby 
building while its leaders shop for a permanent location in another part of 
the city.

Roosevelt Mosby Jr., the nonprofit group's executive director, cited such 
nuisances as smoke, the recent robbery of a pot club, conflicts with one 
club owner and people coming to the neighborhood to buy pot illegally.

The City Council is scheduled tonight to take up the issue of how to 
regulate the neighborhood's dozen pot clubs and may make a final decision 
next week, in what may prove to be a model for other cities that host 
medicinal cannabis buyers' groups.

The council has asked the city attorney to look for ways to enforce 
standards in the neighborhood, Councilwoman Nancy Nadel said.

Larry Carroll, administrative hearing officer for the Oakland city manager, 
said the council might decide to regulate the clubs by issuing permits or 
by creating a zoning area in which conditions would apply.

The deliberations come as complaints about smoking on the premises have 
prompted the city to issue a warning letter to one business listed as a 
cannabis dispensary, 420 Cafe.

Pot clubs are located on either side of the youth group's former building,

across the street and in other spots nearby.

"When drugs are in the area, everything else comes with it," Mosby said, 
adding that marijuana could lead to more serious drug problems for young 
people exposed to it.

Mosby said the organization was being "forced out" of the neighborhood.

"We need to move -- we want that very clear," said Crystal Weston, the 
group's director of training and development.

The group is looking for financial backing to buy a former creamery at 25th 
Street and San Pablo Avenue. The building was recently renovated into lofts 
and is on the market for $1.3 million.

"If we don't get some real quick answers in a couple of days, I'm going to 
Washington, D.C.," Mosby said.

The pot dispensaries, which are designed to help patients manage symptoms 
that do not respond to other drugs, are condoned in principle by the city 
and state under a 1996 voter initiative but are considered illegal by the 
federal government.

The youth group's public criticism surprised operators of the pot clubs and 
other merchants in the neighborhood.

The Uptown Merchants Association issued a statement saying its members and 
others associated with the medical cannabis community had met with Mosby 
last week and agreed to help the alliance raise money for a new facility.

The merchants said they continued to be open to proposals from the alliance.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens