GIFT SHOP GOES TO POT IN OAKLAND, BUT NO ONE PANS IT

Even The Police Find Oaksterdam 'Interesting'

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."