City Government

Did Oakland Councilmembers Violate Council Procedures to Pass Cannabis Proposal?

Published

9 years ago

October 7, 2016

Councilmembers Dan Kalb and Abel Guillén may have violated City Council procedures last week when they tried to take a cannabis resolution that died in the Rules Committee, and then schedule the failed proposal for a vote at the full City Council.

At issue is whether or not the City of Oakland can reap profits from the booming cannabis business. If passed, the item would require cannabis business owners and those who lease their property to hand over 25 percent of their profits to the city in exchange for permits, which would be restricted to people who have lived in Oakland for at least five years.

The 25 percent regulation would only apply to manufacturers or cultivators that had preexisting operations, which are illegal under the current law. Kalb and Guillén want to grandfather them in.

The money would go towards a Cannabis Equity Fund, which would support cannabis entrepreneurs through loans, job-training programs, and also fund community beautification and a council district activities fund.

Sources told the Post that Councilmember Kalb, who is running for re-election in District 1, has received several large campaign contributions from people in the cannabis industry, which is opposed to utilizing industry profits for community benefits.

“At Rules Committee, (Kalb) tried to take the item that died in committee and reschedule it to a full Council meeting, but the city’s procedures say you can’t bring the same item in that way,” said Councilmember Desley Brooks.

“We are trying to establish a fair process,” she said, but the two councilmembers tried to push their agenda without properly following council procedures.

According Brooks, the proposed 25 percent regulation – opposed by both Kalb and Guillén – would help offset the advantages that cannabis operators from outside of Oakland and outside of California currently have.

Of the 133 cannabis operators in the city, only 47 are Oakland based, Brooks said. The rest are not from Oakland. Of eight cannabis dispensaries in the city, only one is owned by an Oakland resident.

“This is an economic justice issue,” said Brooks. “Is the money generated in Oakland going to stay in Oakland?”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Van Jones, Democratic Party Endorse Rebecca Kaplan

Don't Miss

Op-Ed: Council Needs to Ensure Hiring of Black Workers on City Projects

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

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

Published

5 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

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

2 weeks 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.