Gift Shop Goes To Pot in Oakland

By Cecily Burt, Staff Writer
Source: Daily Review

Oakland -- If chess is a game of intense concentration, playing while stoned usually wouldn't be considered an advantage. Ah, but using chess pieces fashioned in the shape of marijuana leaves, bongs, fat reefers and hookas - now that just might distract an opponent. Last month Jaime Galindo and Richard Lee, the energetic owners of two medical cannabis outlets in Oakland, opened Oaksterdam Gift Shop, a marijuana-themed store that offers everything but the herb itself: board games, marijuana leaf-shaped ice cube trays, how-to books, clothing, jewelry and much, much more.

The big seller is the green, gold and white baseball style T-shirts emblazoned across the chest with "Oaksterdam," the nickname given to the small area of downtown Oakland where pot clubs proliferated until the city shuttered all but four last year.

They look a lot like Oakland Athletics jerseys and have become hot sellers, even among police officers, Lee said.

"I bought an Oaksterdam T-shirt for my husband, but he can't wear it to work because he's a high school teacher," said Chris Ralls, an Oakland resident who visited the store Wednesday. "He's Dutch, we've visited Amsterdam. ... He doesn't need a new T-shirt but he'll wear this one, absolutely."

Lee and Galindo spent about $10,000 and a few months sprucing up the old storefront at 405 15th St., between Broadway and Franklin Street in Oaksterdam. They opened the gift shop to support the revitalization of downtown Oakland and keep alive Oaksterdam and maybe even promote it as a tourist attraction.

They thought they'd have to spend a bundle on advertising, but the bright airy shop is getting a lot of foot traffic from downtown workers.

"I walked by it on my way to the Post Office," said Grier, a book designer who did not want to divulge her last name, for obvious reasons. She left with a couple of popular silicone rubber wristbands, similar to ones that support causes such as breast cancer research and tsunami relief. These have the number "420" framed by marijuana leaves - 420 is a code for pot.

"One's for me, and one's for a friend, or one might be for my nephew, but I'm not sure if my brother will go for it," she said, laughing.

Oakland police Sgt. Serge Babka has visited the shop and called it an "interesting addition" to the neighborhood.

"It looks like a nice clean store," he said. "It's good when the store fronts get filled in. Vacancies are subject to loitering and other problems, so as long as the business is not detrimental to other businesses, it's good. And I don't think (Oaksterdam Gift Shop) is a detriment."

Babka would only say "no comment" when asked whether he bought anything there. Others had no qualms about showing off their purchases.

The store carries the expected paraphernalia such as rolling papers, pipes and how-to books on cultivation and hydroponic farming. But shoppers can also select from marijuana leaf-shaped antenna toppers, ale or shot glasses, "Munchie" bag clips, mouse pads and holiday lights.

There's an amazing array of hats, feminine undergarments and tongue-in-cheek clothing: "Who says money doesn't grow on trees?" or "UPS, United Pot Smokers."

Lee wrote Oakland Measure Z, the November 2004 ballot initiative that seeks to legalize marijuana sales for adult use and allow cities to collect sales taxes. It passed with 65 percent of the vote, and Lee is revving up a campaign for a similar measure in San Francisco next year.

Ralls, a community activist of a different sort, said she supported Measure Z, but is just as happy to find merchandise that promotes her hometown.

"I like Oakland stuff but it's hard to find," she said. "You go to the Oakland Airport and what do you see? San Francisco crap. I'm always proud to wear Oakland."

Complete Title: Gift Shop Goes To Pot in Oakland, But No One Pans It

Note: Even the police find Oaksterdam 'interesting'

Source: Daily Review, The (CA)
Author: Cecily Burt, Staff Writer
Published: July 23, 2005
Copyright: 2005 MediaNews Group, Inc.
Contact: revlet@angnewspapers.com
Website: http://www.dailyreviewonline.com/
Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20986.shtml