December 16, 2015
Page 5
Cannabis Club
Owners Scramble
C ontinued from p age 3
electronic cigarettes, updating the
definition of “Inhalant delivery
system” and including marijuana
in the Oregon Clean Air for the
first time.
It re-defined a “public place”
as any enclosed place open to the
public, and “inhalant” as a device
used for the delivery of any nic-
otine, cannabinoids or other sub-
stance into a person’s respiratory
system
Madeline Martinez argues
that her World Famous Cannabis
Café is private, and that everyone
working there is a volunteer, but
that didn’t stop the Oregon Health
Authority from stopping by to in-
form her that, effective in January,
they would not be able to consume
pot indoors.
Cigar bars are also covered by
the Clean Air Act, but are still
allowed to operate under certain
conditions.
Martinez says that she has been
a medical marijuana user for de-
cades and that she views the sub-
stance as an important medical re-
source for communities that don’t
always have other options.
Gates is also worried about the
disproportionate number of low
income people to be affected by
club closures.
“If people who use medi-
cal marijuana can use it safely
indoors, they avoid fines, they
avoid smoking in front of chil-
dren or people who might be
made ill by it, and they can find
a community of other people who
might be medical users or have
similar illnesses,” she said. “I
know our users can’t afford a fine
every time they need to smoke,
and many of them can’t smoke
in their apartments or subsidized
housing.”
The affected clubs are trying to
get an appointment with lawmak-
ers to bring forward their concerns
collectively, but the Legislature
doesn’t convene until February.
For now, they’ll have to keep
looking for loopholes.
Marlin Starr, a cannabis club
customer and cannabis cream
business owner, says he too is an
advocate for the clubs and feels
average citizens should have the
right to assemble and smoke to-
gether.
“People need a safe space to
smoke recreationally,” he says.
“It’s their First Amendment right
to be able to assemble freely, and
these laws unfairly criminalize
poor people who also have legally
won the right to use marijuana in
Oregon. Rich people can go back
to their private homes, it’s true,
but everyone should have equal
access to the law, and the clubs
provide that. We need that in Or-
egon.”
Activists Shut
Down Board
C ontinued from p age 3
ing with the PSU administration,
staff and faculty unions, and stu-
dent groups to address diversity
issues on campus by stepping up
efforts to hire more diverse faculty
and advisers, developing cultural-
ly responsive training and curricu-
lum, and providing more scholar-
ships for students of color.
An immediate action was
Wiewel’s decision last week to
raise the profile of the school’s
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503-288-0033
chief diversity officer to PSU Vice
President for Global Diversity and
Inclusion to make it clear that “the
position is integral and equal to
that of the Provost and other PSU
leadership.”
Gallagher said PSU will also
create meeting places for African
American students and Asian/Pa-
cific Islander students on campus,
complementing existing space for
Latino students, the Native Amer-
ican Center, and the Multicultural
Center for all students of color.
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