Following a rather problematic snafu with the Walnut Creek building department, wherein a crimson-red "Stop Work" permit was duct taped to the front of our forthcoming storefront (be careful who choose to sign off on your construction plans, kids), it had come to our attention that the city finally has become aware of the fact that we are establishing an MMJ collective in WC. The news was rather alarming, since we were informed by the building department of a mysterious and foreboding email sent weeks ago that spoke of our plans. Moreover, it was disconcerting that in a city with no use permit in place currently for collectives like ours, we were already vulnerable to prosecution by the city courts. And, until Jub Jub Muffin (who is a "golden god," for lack of a better term) was able to get us back on track and our scarlet letter removed from the front door, things looked mighty bleak.
Crisis is a ceaseless harbinger of change. It implores us to reconsider not just the things that have led us directly to collapse, but even the new and emerging things that we didn't pay enough attention to. It is an impetus not just to recover, but to do so with greatness. After catching a mere glimpse of Walnut Creek's economic woes, which so closely resemble those of the country and the state of California, we realized that C3 reflected not only a positive change for seriously ill patients living in Contra Costa County, but for the budget deficit that WC is facing right now. The crisis that these patients have been living with, of having to venture into the distant (and frankly, over-saturated) collectives across the tunnel; the more universal fiscal issues that many citizens are encountering--these issues compound to form a plateau that pleads for an institution such as ours to set a precedent in one piece of a larger uncharted region.
Our solution to the city's potential reticence to allow us to operate within state guidelines would thus be twofold: to illustrate how C3's presence there would be wholly beneficial. Not only would patients benefit from having medicine closer to them, but the city would glean a sizable revenue from donations submitted by our members. The roughly twenty or so patients that have already contacted us about membership have almost uniformly expressed their overwhelming interest in having a collective closer to them. These voices need to be brought before the city, so that they can see not only the general impact of medical cannabis on ailing patients, but the wrongness of depriving such individuals of medicine near to their homes. Moreover, these patients want to support local business in Contra Costa, not to continue exporting their funds across the tunnel. If you are a seriously ill patient in Contra Costa, or in the city of Walnut Creek, or simply want to devote some time to advocate on behalf of the MMJ movement there, please contact us at
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. Nothing changes by itself. We face an uphill battle, though not one that is unwinnable for both sides of the debate.
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Researchers from the University of California’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) have found “reasonable evidence that cannabis is a promising treatment” for some specific, pain-related medical conditions. Their findings, presented today to the California legislature and public, are included in a report available on the CMCR web site at http://www.cmcr.ucsd.edu.
