In downtown Oakland you can see small coffee shops where people sit outside enjoy the sun and read the paper. To the unsuspected eye these look like regular businesses, but they are really supporters of marijuana with signs, banners, and posters that say “control and tax cannabis.”
Hosted by Oaksterdam University, a walking tour will be kicking off to teach people of Oakland’s history and legacy in working to legalize marijuana. The guy that started everything was Jeff Jones, who opened the Patient ID Center. That is why Oakland is the ground zero for marijuana activists.
Jones and other Oakland based cannabis advocates have led a movement to legalize marijuana in order to make it a medical remedy, a recreational substance meriting regulation like alcohol or tobacco. They also helped raise awareness for Proposition 19, which lost this month by a slight margin.
City staff members are encouraged to visit Oaksterdam to learn about the industry. I think that is a great idea because it gives them a real opportunity to understand how marijuana works and cures people. Everyone in California needs to educate themselves on the drug so that in 2012 they can make it completely legalized.
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Tags: legalization, Marijuana, Medical Marijuana, Oakland
