San Jose Closing:
"The biggest death is that of the spirit of giving,
and that of every sick and dying patient in our county."
San Jose Mercury News letters@sjmercury.com
http://www.sjmercury.com/
May 8, 1998
See
San Jose Woman Cries
Over Closing Of Club; Needs Marijuana For Her 78-Year-Old Husband, Dying Of Cancer.
and
San Jose Police
Begin Smear Campaign Against Peter Baez; Claiming Club’s Mark-up Excessive
CANNABIS CENTER’S CLOSING IS A SAD DAY FOR SAN JOSE
By Jesse A. Garcia
Director, Santa Clara County Medical Cannabis Center
AFTER putting 15 months of hard work and our lives into getting San Jose city
government to work with us on a medical marijuana dispensary, Peter Baez and I have
decided to close the Santa Clara County Medical Cannabis Center. This is the most
difficult decision we have had to make since deciding that we would try to create a model
medical marijuana center in San Jose for patients to receive the treatment and benefits of
marijuana therapy.
It broke our hearts even more when we received a distressing call for help from a woman
whose husband is dying from cancer. The elderly voice over the phone sounded tearful and
said, "His cancer is so bad that he can’t eat; he’s lost over 50 pounds in
two weeks. We’ve tried everything. Could you help us?"
Hope is all we have sometimes. Let us hope that the San Jose Police Department and the
Santa Clara County District Attorney realize that their acts are incomprehensible.
We kept our lines of communication with the city open at all times. We had issues of
concern regarding safety, zoning and guidelines set by the police chief. We believed the
city would meet us halfway, but they let us down horrendously. Only in meetings with
then-chief Lou Cobarruviaz did we accomplish anything.
The cannabis center may be dying, but the biggest death is that
of the spirit of giving, and that of every sick and dying patient in our county.
Peter and I knew that we were doing something right. It was also something that gained San
Jose recognition for taking bold but necessary steps on a controversial issue. To now
discredit and take unjustifiable legal actions against those people serving our community
is an outrage.
A year ago, the federal government was recruiting Americans to volunteer in their
communities. Today, we’re forced to abandon our project because of a communication
failure by city officials. San Jose is sending a clear message that it doesn’t care
about human life.
Marijuana helps people; Californians know that, because a large
majority of the voters supported it. It is a sad day when two seriously ill citizens have
given what could be the last years of their lives only to have city officials turn their
backs.
Supported