SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 10, 2014) - Cannabis Clubs will be protesting today in front of San Jose City Hall from 12:00pm-7:10pm Thursday, July 10th. The first 1,000 San Jose residents to attend will be given a voucher for a free medical cannabis evaluation, and if they qualify as a medical cannabis patient, they can get a free Medical Marijuana Recommendation (aka: a "cannabis card"). All patients, collective employees and community supporters are urged to attend the protest and to sign a petition for a referendum that would stop the city from closing collectives in just 8 days, on July 18th.
The group behind the referendum, Control & Regulate San Jose (CRSJ), is reporting they have collected over 50,000 signatures in the past 8 days. The campaign is on track to successfully qualify both referendums by the July 18th deadline.
"The city's polling proved that over 80% of San Jose residents do not want to ban collectives," said John Lee, Director of the Silicon Valley Cannabis Coalition (SVCC). "So instead of banning collectives outright, the Mayor decided to make it impossible to operate them, and that's what we're fighting against."
Activists claim the regulations supported by Mayor Reed will put hundreds out of work and endanger neighborhoods by pushing marijuana sales back to the "black market." This "market" for marijuana will not ask for ID or medical recommendations, and will make it easier for children to access marijuana.
San Jose's new regulations require all medical marijuana concentrates, edibles and topicals be produced on-site, by the collective; something that's virtually impossible for the dozens of businesses currently operating in the city. Medical marijuana vendors statewide will not be allowed to provide any products to collectives in San Jose. Outdoor growing is banned as are medical marijuana patients ages 18 to 20 from working at, or even getting medication from, collectives.
"While the mayor claims there are 'hundreds of potential locations,' the fact is, even in the best case scenario, it would be hard if not impossible for anyone to operate a club under these new regulations," said Dave Hodges, founder of the All American Cannabis Club (A2C2)."And of the potential locations, only a handful are available to lease for a cannabis club."
Media Advisory About the Protest & Rally this Thursday
What/Why:
A protest against the city of San Jose's plans to begin closing cannabis collectives in the city on July 18th, 2014
When:
Thursday July 10th, 2014 from 12:00pm-7:10pm
Where:
San Jose City Hall
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Who:
All San Jose medical marijuana patients, supporters, collectives and their employees and community supporters are invited to attend.
Visit your local cannabis club to sign the referendum. For more information visit SVCannabis.org
Contact Information:
Media Contact
Erika Taylor Montgomery
408-218-2391
ErikaMontgomery@ThreeGirlsMedia.com
