Our awesome collaborator, Michelle Wright, is back this time with a recap of the November 10 Sacramento City Council meeting. Thank you again to Michelle, whose commitment to taking notes at these meetings keeps us all informed - and more importantly, enables us to take meaningful actions in our city and county.
Agenda Item #20 - Audit of the Cannabis Storefront Dispensary Permitting Process
The City Council accepted a report from the Office of the Auditor surrounding the permitting process for and regulations of the cannabis industry. The Auditor had been asked by the Mayor and City Council to evaluate whether the City’s permitting process complied with cannabis regulations, and also if those regulations needed to be updated. One of the main areas of concern is how ownership of these businesses is being regulated. In 2014, both permit and ownership transfers of marijuana shops were prohibited. This changed in 2016.
Now, only permit transfers are prohibited, while ownership transfers are allowed. Because ownership transfers are now permitted, concerns have arisen around the fact that a few owners in the City now own multiple dispensaries, therefore creating the potential for a monopoly.
The Auditor asked the Council how they would like to proceed in order to address this issue. No actual regulations were changed. The Council discussed setting up a workshop to plan how to structure regulations, which may occur in January.
Agenda Item #23 - Update on Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change Recommendation
This agenda item is particularly relevant to issues surrounding environmental justice. Essentially, Mayor Steinberg’s Commission on Climate Change has called for the development of an Environmental Justice Collaborative Governmental Committee.
This committee is being described as a community effort to improve equity and decision making, and as a way “to engage marginalized communities in identification of environmental solutions and implementation.”
Preparations for the launch of this committee are currently in progress; more updates are to come in December.