Uk : Soaking Up The Atmosphere At America’s First 'cannabis , The Times Options

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Chris Ayres in Portland, Oregon

The Times

19 Nov 2009


At first glance it could be any other coffee shop in America. Chocolate croissants are stacked behind the counter and patrons lounge on sofas. There are, however, a few crucial differences.

A shelf is lined with large glass jars, containing what appear to be plant samples. The customers do not have coffee pots in front of them, but “vapourisers” with digital readouts indicating when the plant samples have been heated to precisely 375F, at which point a thin mist rises from them into large transparent plastic bags. The patrons “sip” on the bags using the kind of valves that you might see on a diver’s oxygen tank.

Above their heads hangs a sign that explains everything: “Cannabis Café”. Opened only a few days ago, this establishment, in Portland, Oregon, is America’s first and only legal marijuana coffee shop.

How long it survives is entirely up to the Obama Administration, which, for the time being, has instructed its Attorney-General, Eric Holder, to leave the policing of marijuana to individual states.


“Prohibition didn’t work the first time around,” said Madeline Martinez, 58, a former prison warden, who runs the café. “It just created a culture of gangsters and murderers. And now it’s happening again. I say we take marijuana away from the Mexican mob.”

She added that she would like to see the state of Oregon itself become the primary supplier. “They could grow it in state prisons,” she said, without cracking a smile. “The best growers are already in there.”

For the time being, however, visiting the Cannabis Café is not quite as easy as going to Starbucks.

First, you must be enrolled in Oregon’s Medical Marijuana Programme — available only to residents of the state. Joining requires a $100 (£60) fee and a doctor’s certificate confirming that you suffer from cancer, glaucoma, Aids, Alzheimer’s, or any condition that results in severe pain, appetite loss, spasms, seizures, or nausea.

Only after being issued with a patient ID card are you allowed to join the Oregon chapter of the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), which costs $240 a year. Patrons must show their patient ID and NORML membership cards before being let through the doors of the Cannabis Café.

As for the price of a hit — it’s free. Unlike the so-called dispensaries in California that have been accused of profiteering, the marijuana served at the Cannabis Café is donated by state-approved growers, who painstakingly document which strains are most effective at treating specific symptoms.

Inevitably, some neighbours are concerned. Although Ms Martinez claims that over-medicated patrons are not allowed to drive home, there do not appear to be any strictlyenforced rules, and urine-based drug tests — unlike Breathalyser tests — are notoriously unreliable.

As for whether the Cannabis Café’s patrons are genuinely in need of medical help, Greg Woods, a 35-year-old patron who has suffered chronic pain since a 2003 car accident, appears to provide the answer.

“I’m able to cut down on the number of narcotics I take because of this,” he said. While a Vicodin pill knocks him out, “smoking a bowl” keeps him functioning.

And what about the coffee? Is it any good? He looked blank. Then he smiled. “Haven’t tried it,” he said.

AC...

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This post has been edited by bongme: Nov 19 2009, 10:32 PM

[bongme]

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