Oaksterdam
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Oaksterdam is a cultural district on the north end of downtown Oakland, California, where medical cannabis in a variety of competitively priced smokeable and edible preparations is available for purchase in multiple cafes, clubs, and patient dispensaries.[1] Oaksterdam is located on the north end of downtown Oakland, between downtown proper, the Lakeside, and the financial district. It is roughly bordered by 14th street on the southwest, Harrison Street on the southeast, 19th Street on the northeast, and Telegraph Avenue on the northwest. The name is a portmanteau of "Oakland" and "Amsterdam".
Since 2005, cannabis has been legally available to patients with patient identification and physician recommendation at a busy dispensary in the neighborhood, one of Oakland's four officially licensed dispensaries under the current municipal ordinance. According to Proposition 215, a statewide voter initiative which amended the California Health and Safety Code, marijuana used for medical purposes is legal to buy.[2] Dispensaries require a doctor's note in order to obtain medical cannabis, which is legal under California Law but illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act.
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[edit] History
The name Oaksterdam is a portmanteau of Oakland and Amsterdam, the Dutch city that is famously tolerant towards Cannabis use. The term was coined by Jim McClelland, an AIDS patient who was a founding member of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Club and the Berkeley Patients Group after prompting by Andrew Glazier, a fellow activist, that the neighborhood needed a name..[3][4]
[edit] Location and Character
Oaksterdam is located on the north end of Downtown Oakland, between downtown proper, the Lakeside and the Financial District. It is roughly bordered by 14th street on the Southwest, Harrison Street on the Southeast, 19th Street on the Northeast, and Telegraph Ave on the Northwest. It is characterized by mixed use office and residential buildings with unique historic architecture that is older than some of the more modern skyscrapers south of 14th Street, and an abundance of ground floor retail shop spaces, restaurants and cafes.
A Julia Morgan designed building is located at the Northwest corner of 15th and Webster, which was the original location of the Oakland YWCA. The neighborhood also features the Cathedral Building, an ornate, historic Flatiron Building at Latham Square at the intersection of Broadway and Telegraph.
[edit] Educational institutions
The district features at least two institutions of higher learning, Lincoln University at 15th and Franklin, a small business school catering mainly to international students, and Oaksterdam University on 19th Street, a business college which prepares students for medical cannabis work.
[edit] Transportation Infastructure
[edit] Mass Transit
The 19th Street BART metrorail station is located beneath Oaksterdam on Broadway between 17th and 20th Streets. The station has entrances on Broadway and on a pedestrian plaza that opens onto Telegraph Avenue. AC Transit also recently opened the Uptown regional transit center nearby on Thomas L. Berkeley Way (20th Street), which features multiple bus shelters with seating, NextBus arrival prediction signs and Rapid Bus service.
[edit] Bicycle Rental
A bicycle rental service has opened in the neighborhood on 15th Street serving one of the only bicycle rental stores in the area. Also, there is a glass-blowing school within the bike shop also that teaches classes.
[edit] Pedicab service
Recently a pedi-cab service (Oakstercabs) was opened. It offers its services around the downtown area to not only the average pedestrian but also to students of Oaksterdam University and other Oaksterdam employees.
[edit] Neighborhood retail
The district is home to a number of coffee shops, a tea shop–hydroponic supply store, cafes, and restaurants open into the evenings, a gift shop, two musical instrument stores and specialty stores which contribute to the vibrancy of the neighborhood. These shops and services also are attractive to cannabis tourists and enjoy a superior central location next to the 19th Street BART station and AC Transit connections.
[edit] Medical cannabis dispensation
Since legislative changes passed by the Oakland City Council in 2005, there are no longer a proliferation of cannabis dispensaries in the neighborhood as was the case for several years. Under current legislation, there are four officially permitted dispensaries in the entire City of Oakland. One of the four valuable permits is held by a dispensary cafe in the neighborhood.
[edit] Measure Z clubs
Measure Z clubs are businesses that sell cannabis to people over the age of 21. One private club in Oaksterdam sells cannabis and food containing cannabis to adults who do not hold valid physician recommendations for medical marijuana, which are needed to obtain county-issued patient identification cards in California. One such club is named after Oakland's Measure Z, a city ballot initiative which makes the private sales, cultivation, and possession of cannabis the lowest police priority and mandates that the City of Oakland tax and regulate cannabis as soon as possible under state law.
[edit] See also
[edit] Adjacent Oakland neighborhoods and attractions
- Adams Point
- Chinatown
- Downtown Oakland
- Jack London Square
- Lake Merritt
- Lakeside Apartments District
- Oakland City Center
- Old Oakland
- Uptown Oakland
[edit] References
- ^ Oakland finds peace with its pot clubs
- ^ California NORML. "Text of California Prop 215." http://www.canorml.org/prop/patientsguide.htm#prop
- ^ Oaksterdam.com is Up
- ^ MarijuanaLogues #1
[edit] External links
- Oaksterdam for online and cannabis news from Oaksterdam
- Oaksterdaminfo.com Oaksterdam news, community calendar, history
- OaksterdamUniversity.com Official site of Oaksterdam University
Coordinates: 37°48′26″N 122°16′09″W / 37.80721°N 122.26917°W
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