In 1996, voters in the State of California passed
proposition 215, "allowing ill Californians to use cannabis for medical purposes with a doctor's recommendation. But Proposition 215 produced an immediate backlash with regard to implementation" leading to a slow roll-out of a system effectively allowing patients to access cannabis, and years of legal uncertainty. Initially,
AIDS patient Jim McClelland (known for coining the name
Oaksterdam) had worked at the
Oakland Cannabis Buyers Club. After its closure in October 1998, McClelland joined forces with Debby Goldsberry and Don Duncan to open a similar
cannabis dispensary in Berkeley. On October 31, 1999, the group obtained a miscellaneous retail sales permit from authorities and opened on 5th Street in
Berkeley, a city where "officials were more responsive to activists and aware of the importance of medical marijuana provision to their constituents." McClelland died in 2001, and Duncan left BPG in 2004. Debby Goldsberry continued to operate the BPG with
Etienne Fontan and others. The group aimed to "create a safe place where underserved patients can acquire high-quality medicine in a welcoming, community-centric environment",The measure allowed the BPG to obtain a business license in 2009 Following the 2016 approval of
Adult Use of Marijuana Act (California Proposition 64), the BPG opened its sales to non-patients in January 2018, being the first dispensary in the
Bay area to obtain temporary permit. the BPG has their assets seized. In 2012, during
a coordinated crackdown on California's dispensaries announced by district chief prosecutors, the BPG was forcefully evicted on the grounds that it was located 984 feet away from the French school
Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley,
Proposition 215 establishing
a minimum of 1000 feet. Federal prosecution also attempted to evict BPG from its new location on similar grounds as in 2012, threats that only extinguished in 2014 when the
Rohrabacher–Farr amendment was approved by Congress. == Activities ==