Pubdate: Tue, 25 May 2010
Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
Copyright: 2010 The Oregonian
Contact:  http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324
Author: Matthew Preusch, The Oregonian
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

PORTLAND'S CANNABIS CAFE CLOSES, PLANS TO REOPEN AS EARLY AS NEXT MONTH

Just six months after opening with great fanfare as a gathering place
for users of medical marijuana, Portland's Cannabis Cafe has closed.

But the marijuana-legalization group that ran the cafe said the
closure is temporary and that it will reopen elsewhere as early as
next month.

"It's going to be business as usual," said Madeline Martinez,
executive director of the Oregon chapter of the National Organization
for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or Oregon NORML.

When the cafe opened in November, it became the second establishment
in Oregon where holders of medical marijuana cards could gather to
medicate. The first venue, Highway 420, opened in the back of a pipe
shop at 6418 S.E. Foster Road in October and plans to expand into
neighboring space next month, owner Steve Geiger said.

But Cannabis Cafe has drawn all the attention, making headlines from
High Times to The New York Times. Its closure, however, has gone all
but unnoticed except by patrons and neighbors in North Portland's
Woodlawn neighborhood.

The May 5 closure was prompted by a dispute between Oregon NORML and
Eric Solomon, who leases the majority of the red two-story building at
700 N.E. Dekum St. and provided space for the Cannabis Cafe.

To enter the cafe, customers had to be a member of Oregon NORML and
have a medical marijuana card as a patient, caregiver or grower. As of
April, nearly 33,000 patients and 17,000 caregivers were enrolled in
the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. Customers could buy coffee and
snacks and sample marijuana provided by NORML. No cannabis was sold.

Before opening the cafe, Oregon NORML held meetings in a second-floor
ballroom. They formed a partnership with Solomon to operate the cafe
in a space he formerly ran as a restaurant called Rumpspankers.

"They were supposed to take care of providing food and all of that,
and we were supposed to provide the cannabis," Martinez said today.

Then, Martinez said, Solomon came up with a plan to rename the cafe
Rumpspankers Vapor Bar and open similar outlets elsewhere.

Solomon showed Martinez T-shirts printed with that name and logo,
Martinez said -- the name and logo that now adorn the door of the cafe
space.

"In my opinion, it breached our contract, and my lawyer agreed with
me," Martinez said. That, along with sanitation concerns, led Martinez
to confront Solomon on May 5, she said.

Solomon said Martinez's allegations about sanitation are baseless, and
said the Cannabis Cafe was never more than a side operation to his
restaurant.

"Madeline Martinez was never more than a guest here. Rumpspankers has
been here for three years," he said. "I can name my business anything
I want."

He said his Vapor Bar opened as soon as the cafe closed and offers the
same services but with no required NORML membership, only a $5 daily
membership fee.

"There are customers here right now," he said today.

Ryan Flegal, the building's co-owner, said Solomon would no longer
lease space in his building as of next month.

"We really want to see a solution in that building that is a good fit
for the area and that the neighbors embrace," Flegal said. Solomon
said the Vapor Bar will move.

Martinez, meanwhile, said plans for seminars and classes -- even a
Cannabis Community College -- "are still at work." She said she's
finalizing negotiations for a 10,000-square-foot space in the North
Mississippi Avenue area and could reopen the cafe June 22.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake