Does America really need 'marijuana cafés'?
What the opening of a club for medical marijuana smokers in Oregon means for U.S. drug policy
Marijuana: coming soon to a coffee shop near you? (Corbis/Lee Snider)
Cannabis Café — America's first marijuana lounge — has opened in Portland, Ore., just weeks after President Obama announced he would defer to local laws in states that permit medicinal use of the drug. The club (located in the former home of an adult erotic speakeasy called Rumpspankers) is only open to members of the marijuana-legalization advocacy group, NORML, who are cleared to get medicinally high. But are Amsterdam-style pot cafes (with "budtenders" behind the bar) really what Obama had in mind? (Watch a local report about the Cannabis Cafe's opening)
Yes — everybody needs a place to relax: "This is an idea whose time has come," says Jac Chebatoris in Tonic, especially for cancer patients who use medicinal marijuana to regain their appetite post-chemo. Remember "Cheers"? People who smoke pot for their health deserve a place to go, where everybody knows their name.
"Cannabis Cafe ... and then some"
Is this calculated political provocation? Timing "may be the real story" here, say the editors of Christian Law Journal. NORML must hope this club, which would be right at home in the "very liberal Dutch city of Amsterdam," will test Obama's commitment to pushing America leftward by softening drug policy.
"First U.S. marijuana cafe opens in Oregon"
This is hardly a revolution: Cannabis Cafe's grand opening got a lot of people excited, says Sarah Mirk in the Portland Mercury, but "opening night seemed like kind of a bust." As one member of the first night crowd put it: "Why would I want to smoke with a bunch of people I don't know?"
"$60 cover scares off some at Cannabis Cafe opening"
Show: Oldest | Newest
58 Comments
Posted by Dave K, Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 8:25 pm It's about time!
Posted by American, Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 9:09 pm Why not have cannabis cafes? I as a young American 25 years do not see the problems people older than myself have associated with using marijuana. I think science if finally over taking ignorance, hate and fear both racial and societal.
Posted by Jake, Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 9:48 pm It would be nice to relax in a coffee house with herbs.
Posted by dp63, Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 10:19 pm Yes, we do, as a matter of fact.Does America need more BARS?
Posted by NoMoreReferMadness, Thursday, November 19, 2009, 12:42 am I see no problem with it, as do the majority who are not part of the refer madness era. Just make cannabis legal already.
Posted by Georgle , Thursday, November 19, 2009, 2:09 am we need more marijuana cafe in US. Just a place to go and relax for someone who doesn't wanna run against the law. for someone who thinks smoking is not as bad as it is in the eye of law, and for true citizen.
Posted by Anthony Taurus, Thursday, November 19, 2009, 2:24 am I would love to run a cannabis cafe. I would definitely allow people to bring their own bud as well as offer my own selection. I would absolutely not serve any alcohol. Just good music, good munchies, and a very relaxing setting. If you're buying from me, you can get in no problem. If you're bringing you're own, just throw 5 on it. Did I mention there would be NO alcohol? Nope not a drop. Just the 3 Ms marijuana, munchies, and music. And comfortable chairs. Definitely keep the crowd to a minimum.
Posted by Johnny Law, Thursday, November 19, 2009, 6:32 am Where's the compassion for morphine and heroin addicts? Do we allow people to safely smoke crack cocaine at bars because it relieves pain temporarily?
Post a Comment