IS PORTLAND GOING TO POT?

Sorry to have two dope stories in a row, but I can't help it. Portland is going to pot. The town is the home of the first cannabis cafe in the country where medical marijuana users can smoke their weed in a social setting. You know, a social setting like the countless bars and taverns and restaurants on nearly every corner where people consume beer, wine, and hard liquor.

I grew up in the Portland area, and my girlfriend and I just returned from a wonderful couple days celebrating Thanksgiving with my family and friends in the City of Roses. Don't worry, nobody smoked pot. I could be a smart aleck and say that a few of them should have, but I won't, because if you can't say something nice about your in-laws, then you shouldn't say anything at all. Anyway, when our antiquated drug laws finally reflect the current scientific data and people have a choice between a Bud light and a bud in the garden, I might have a few suggestions for the next family gathering. Until then, I'll insist everyone abides by the law. You know, like back in the good old days (not counting the Prohibition Years, when grandpa made whiskey). Okay, everyone chill out or we're getting you a prescription for the cannabis cafe.

Oregon NORML is opening a cannabis cafe for medical marijuana patients in the former site of Rumspankers Restaurant at 700 N.E. Dekum Street. (Photo courtesy of the Portland Observer)

In the clip above, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! speaks with Madeline Martinez, executive-Director of the Oregon chapter of NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), the group that runs the café.