City Government

Hundreds Attend Oakland Medical Cannabis Mixer for Drug War Victims

Published

9 years ago

August 19, 2016

The City of Oakland held a medical cannabis mixer on Sunday, to allow Oaklanders interested in medical cannabis permits and who satisfy the equity program criteria to explore partnership opportunities and learn more about the city’s upcoming permit application process.

Several hundred interested Oakland residents attended the mixer, where Councilmembers Noel Gallo, Larry Reid and Desley Brooks gave remarks.

Oakland’s newly-created equity program, introduced by Councilmember Brooks, prioritizes giving local pot industry permits to Oakland residents who have been negatively affected by the War on Drugs.

The ordinance is the first of its kind in the country and is intended as a form of reparations for Black and Latino people and neighborhoods that have been devastated by the war on marijuana, according to Brooks.

The equity program involves giving half of the city’s cannabis industry permits to people who have spent time in jail for possessing marijuana in the past 10 years, or who have lived in six particular Oakland Police Department beats in the last two years.

Attendees at last week’s event learned about how to apply for a permit and what its fees are, where medical cannabis facilities can be located in Oakland and how Equity Permit Applications are processed.

“Our Equity Permit Program requires that at least half of the permits issued go to applicants that have at least one member that is an Oakland resident, reside for at least 2 years in certain Oakland Police beats and maintain no less than a 50% ownership in the entity partnership,” said Councilmember Gallo.

“Our medical cannabis operations would generate revenue and benefits for the City of Oakland,” he said.

For more information about applying for cannabis permits, visit http://www2.oaklandnet.com/government/o/ CityAdministration/d/SpecialPermits/index.htm

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Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

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3 days ago

June 7, 2025

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

1 week ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.