Oakland City Council doubles dispensaries, adopts ordinance on large-scale pot farms

Article by Ryan Van Lenning.
Last updated at Mon, 15 Nov at 6:30am.

Whatever the fate of efforts to legalize recreational use of marijuana at the state level, Oakland is forging ahead on the medical marijuana front. Two medical marijuana items were on the Oakland City Council agenda last Tuesday night. 

First, the Council voted to double the number of permits for medical cannabis dispensaries in the city from four to eight.

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Oakland seeks to double the number of medical marijuana dispensaries, increase permit fees‏
Article by Ryan Van Lenning.
Last updated at Thu, 21 Oct at 4:57am.

While some cities are seeking to restrict or even impose a temporary moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries, Oakland will be considering doubling the number of dispensaries within its jurisdiction.

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Shifting Sands in the Cannabis Industry
Article by Ryan Van Lenning.
Last updated at Fri, 2 Apr at 1:40pm.

(Editor's note: This is the final piece in a six-part series on Oakland Local on the business of marijuana.)

Opening any enterprise in an unclear legal and business environment is a difficult proposition. Even more so for cannabis-related efforts. In California, let alone in the rest of the country, a patchwork of regulations make for an ever-shifting and sometimes thorny landscape.

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Want some weed? Mapping the Business of Pot in Oakland
Article by Ryan Van Lenning.
Last updated at Mon, 29 Mar at 3:11am.

(Editor's note: This is the first piece in a six-part series on Oakland Local on the business of marijuana.)

Now that the tax and regulate cannabis initiative is officially on the November ballot, California may become the first state in the nation to legalize the recreational use of marijuana by adults.

In Oakland and other parts of Northern California, pot is already widely accessible, fueled by an explosion of medical marijuana dispensaries and a grey-market growing system that means medical marijuana and related businesses are booming.

Marijuana medical dispensaries such as Harborside Health Center and schools such as Oaksterdam University are not only bringing in a wide base of customers -- they’re creating the models for others to follow in the growing cannabis economy.

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