Cannabis Lifestyle Network - Marijuana, Ganja, Hemp, Medical Marijuana, Cannabis Education, Community, News, Videos, Cannabis Locator, Social Network, Ganja Backwards

Oaksterdam University Executive Chancellor Dale Clare argues legalizing marijuana would create many jobs and help the economy.

Watch the latest business video at video.foxbusiness.com

Oaksterdam University's own Executive Chancellor; Dale Clare was a panelist on Fox Business. She does a great job on answering the questions thrown at her... especially the "miss-truths". Pay attention at 3:30 when the Doctor "agrees" that the most harmful effect is due to "smoke". He also admits that he doesn't want to say "addicted"... Great video.

The video couldn't be embedded, so click the link and watch the video.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries-legacy/government/high-noon/index.html

California NORML Release - Oct 12, 2009

Paypal No Pal of Medical Marijuana

Paypal, the well-known internet payment company has told California NORML that it will no longer accept payments to our "type of business" because we accept listing payments from cannabis-recommending physicians. 

Marijuana on the cover of Fortune?  Mary Louise Parker, or "Nancy" from the Showtime Series WEEDS, gives a sweet ganja smile representing the potent pot times.  What does this mean for Wall Street?  One day... Cannabis sativa L. will  be traded as a commodity right next to corn, wheat, apples, and tobacco.  Some day soon...the $150+ billion dollar annual cannabis industry will be off the black market and into the green.  

Back in September, a conservative banker friend of mine took me out to breakfast, he brought with him a copy of Fortune Magazine with a cannabis leaf on the cover and said, "Do you know what this means?"  The mainstream cannabis consciousness is shifting.

Fortune Article: How marijuana became legal

Some folks out here (or so I am told) believe that when it comes to opening up storefront MMJ collectives in the Bay Area, one cannot go through the tunnel; that is, one cannot form a convenient, consistent, and compliant collective for medical cannabis patients living in the far East Bay. Indeed, as I am again informed by Jub Jub Muffin, the response to the locale choice has been varied. At times, the representatives of more "established" collectives in areas where a legal precedent has been enforced and protected by the county for some time have scoffed at the notion that Walnut Creek should have its own storefront collective.

That being said, it is all the more inspiring and encouraging when we hear from seriously ill individuals who have been waiting patiently for a place like C3. Like the other day, when a young man from Lafayette, doctor's recommendation and state ID in hand, knocked on our door and asked us when we were opening. His father, also a MMJ patient with chronic nerve damage, shared the same sense of excitement. Left and right, we are recieving emails and comments from patients and well-wishers alike, wanting to see not just the appearance of our storefront, but the emergence of a better and more regulated system, in which patients can become further educated on the responsible use of medical cannabis. Moreover, these patients are tired of traveling miles and miles to gain relief for their qualified condition: they want safe and seamless access to top-shelf medication in an area minutes of their home.

We are continuing to renovate the space, despite a temporary holdup that has just thankfully been cleared up, and are opening to dispense meds to seriously ill patients within the next two weeks or possibly more. Our grand opening is still scheduled for the first week of September, when our storefront will become completely available. If you are a seriously ill patient in the Contra Costa area and would like to get in touch with us, or if you would like to pre-register for patient screening, you can send us an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We are C3, Contra Costa County's newest medical cannabis collective, merging professional, experienced care with a chic boutique-style environment. C3 Collective is a private membership collective, wherein we screen our patients prior to providing membership services.

Located in Walnut Creek, C3 Collective aims to provide fitness and wellness services and top-shelf medical cannabis to qualified patients in strict accordance with Prop. 215, SB420, and the August 2008 guidelines submitted by California attorney general Edmund J. Brown. Its location, directly off of CA-24 and I-680, and only 7 minutes walk from the Walnut Creek BART station, provides convenient and safe access for patients in Danville, San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasonton, Concord, Pittsburg, Antioch, Livermore, and other East Bay locales.

Summary of the THC Expo

I made it back from what was a sensational weekend at the THC Expo. Ajnag had a stellar showing and I can't wait until 2010. 

For those of you who are new to the cannabis and medical cannabis communities/industries, or maybe some of you want to get involved in this new industry and are unfamilar as to where or what to expect. This next section is for you.

For the MMJ Industry Noob

The MMJ industry in California has traditionally been scrattered and disorganized, but for good reason. Obviously, the bush administration didn't favor our kind and forced everyone underground which made communication, networking, and infrastructure development difficult and potentially fatal.

With recent changes in federal policy, incompotent fiscal oversight and rising costs of health care hundreds of thousands of Californian's are plastering news and media online blogs, forums, social media sites as well as utilizing social networking resources in aims of rallying support and growth of the industry and overall betterment the California Citizen via taxation and regulation of  medical cannabis on a local level.

As a result we are seeing amazing turnouts at ASA Chapter Meetings and other local and regional organizations. Many of these organizations are commenting on how encouraging it is and envigorating it is to see an increase in their resources, due primarily to the increases local and regional involvement.

Industry Uncertainty

However, all of this agitation and kinetic energy worries some on both sides of the line. Many opposed to the rights of patients to have safe and convenient access to medical cannabis find this threatening and unsuitable as they perceive it unsavory and unsafe for their community and locality. This is a concern that is addressed by statistics taken from up and down the state objectively disputing this claim. 

For some of the older and more institutional medical cannabis facilities I believe that they find the proliferation of local rather than regional medical cannabis facilities where it takes patients up to an two hours or more to get their medicine. With such few collectives, county and city bans, and increasing patient numbers it is problematic. But I am hearing some say that the older veteran icons in the industry are trying to box out the competition. It is absurd to think that they facilities will ever truly be threatened. Some say they are greedy, other say they are too prideful; yet, one would hope there to be a sense of unity. 

One Operator's Response

One argument that some of these more established locations might bring forward is for "The Greater Good! the greater good..." in that the quality and safety of the medicine will be sacrificed due to lack of regulation and oversight.

What do you think Ajnag community members?  

Is that really a sound argument? This operator's perspective is absolutely contrary.

I am opening a boutique collective in Walnut Creek in Contra Costa County, our doors will be open in the next 10 weeks if not sooner, and one way that I am going to ensure the medicine that comes in is clean and safe is to do in-house screening and testing for contaminants as well as intake forms and records.

In addition I plan to create a market demand for clean and certified meds. It would be better if these older institutions created a market demand for clean and certified meds rather than blocking out new collectives from opening. Those older institutions have enough money establish their own or underwrite a testing facility/company.

This operator thinks that if the patient was placed first then older institutions would promote the opening of new collectives and not utilize their financial agility to influence local government to box out new store-front initiatives. It would be more reasonable to lobby for legislation that would allow a greater number of use permits to be issued in surrounding cities/counties. In addition, it would also be nice to see more transparency with those older collective's involvement with local government, events and dealings at governmental council meetings. 

I Feel the Heat.

All of that said, the medical cannabis industry is on fire with what has been significant increases in media attention and gerater movement and organization amongst activists, supporters, patients, business people, and goverment officials. Get involved all of you entreaprenuers who want to bring legitamate business to this industry. I am constantly getting phone calls, text messages, emails, private messages about some new effort or initiative.

It is encouraging but also a bit unerving as industry cliques and alliances are now being formed. Where do you stand and who do stand next to? Do your interests alliance with their motivation? Who is this "supposed sleeping giant Medical Marijuana Inc., (MJNA)"? Comments to look forward to...  

Stay safe out there kids and don't get lost in the vapor haze, smoke screens, and mirrors.