Back in 2010 Oakland was about to break rank so to speak in being the first city to really push medical marijuana. This was all halted when word on the federal side stated the council members themselves might in fact end up being brought up for charges.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley and Oakland City Attorney John Russo both apparently had enough reservations that things stalled temporarily. The Council members are yet again pushing forward with their program. The new ordinance, written mostly by Councilmember Desley Brooks (Eastmont-Seminary) hopes to address those issues by creating a clearly defined "closed-loop" system between the cultivators and the dispensaries, the goal being to prevent cultivators growing for people other than documented and legal medicinal marijuana patients.

Brooks explains that her new draft covers this issue. It specifically allows cultivators to double as dispensers.

It also states that those that do would be required to grow at least 70 percent of the marijuana they sell, and each farm would be capped at 50,000 square feet.

Russo's office is expected to release his alternative proposal this week to the Public Safety Committee which meets again on Feb. 8. If approved a final draft could return to the City Council as soon as Feb. 15 for a final vote.

Both meetings are open to the public. This is potentially ground breaking program to permit and tax industrial-sized medical marijuana cultivation businesses. The proposal also would also double the number of permitted dispensaries. Oaksterdamn is earning its name and frankly we are very proud.