Pubdate: Sun, 14 Jun 2015
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2015 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Lizzie Johnson

GET BAKED SALE OFFERS MARIJUANA MUNCHIES

More than 25 local cannabis businesses hosted a bake sale Saturday, 
complete with "medical" marijuana-laced munchies.

The first Get Baked Sale, held at the SOMAStreat Food Park on 11th 
Street, included food trucks and booths lined with all sorts of wares 
- - including Doritos, Chilean empanadas, ice cream sandwiches, 
pancakes and macaroons - for holders of medical marijuana cards to 
sample. The event featured cooking demonstrations and food-pairings 
with marijuana edibles. The pointy green leaves symbolic of the plant 
were rife on clothing, posters and stickers.

"This is truly the crumbling of an archaic symbol," said Steve 
Medina, stirring cannabis sugar into a cup of coffee. "As the walls 
and legal limits have come down, the cannabis market has blossomed. 
It's liberating."

The sale comes as marijuana advocates move toward legalizing 
recreational use of the drug with a ballot initiative planned for 
November. But possession of marijuana is still a federal crime, and 
even in California, it is only legal for medical purposes. Otherwise, 
possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana is an infraction, and 
larger amounts are considered a misdemeanor, accompanied by up to six 
months of jail time. But the legal ramifications of hosting a 
potentially illegal event didn't perturb event organizer Morgan Kelly.

"Everyone came prepared, and the planning went smoothly," Kelly said, 
noting that there were no police officers at the event. "We knew the 
laws, followed them completely and had permission from the (city) 
health department. Only card-holders can purchase products, so we 
made sure to have two doctors on site for those who did not have" a 
medical marijuana card.

Tucked behind a transparent shower curtain, doctor Vanessa Niles did 
medical evaluations and approved on-the-spot cards. The line for her 
booth snaked around the corner. According to the evaluation form, 
people suffering from any number of maladies, including HIV/AIDS, 
chronic pain, severe nausea, arthritis and "any other chronic or 
persistent medical symptom," could receive a card.

"People are not interested in getting high," Niles said. "They want 
pain relief. It's the idea that cannabis can be a special medication 
for disease. I give a dosage, and I will even draw a picture of a 
cookie so they know what portion to take."

Keith Lucero, 58, from West Portal, said cannabis helps manage his 
arthritis pain. His opinion of marijuana as medicine was influenced 
by his father's slow demise from cancer in the '90s.

"This is just the beginning," Lucero said, eating a chocolate chip 
cannabis pancake. "It would have been nice to have these products for 
my dad all those years ago. Many people think this is just a 
recreational drug, but it's not. It's a medicine, too."

Local cannabis business owners echoed the sentiment. Many of the 
products sold were labeled by the symptoms it would relieve, the 
amount of cannabis it contained and a suggested serving size.

Kim Geraghty, who started Madame Munchery in January 2014, said 
labeling and testing is the secret to a medically sound product.

"Seeing it treated as a legitimate product is so awesome," she said. 
"We want to be legal and transparent, which is why we have all of our 
macaroons' potency lab tested. It's a beautiful thing, not some 
sketchy back-alley thing. It really has an important impact on people's lives."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom