To all SVCG members and everyone on our mailing list:
Congratulations! We did it. The two cannabis ordinances were finally passed this past week on a 3-2 to vote. There are a number of loose ends that need to be addressed in the coming weeks, but your city of Sonoma will now permit a medical dispensary and more!
This campaign was never about making it easier for “stoners to get their weed”, as many of the opposition would like to think. It was always about the patients. Always. Now, the essential services that dispensaries can provide will become readily available within our own community. Once a dispensary opens its doors, those being treated for medical problems will no longer have to make a 2+ hour round trip drive to obtain safe, legal access to medicinal cannabis. For our seniors and the disabled who may not have vehicles or are on fixed incomes, local access will make their lives less stressful and difficult. In turn, the city will benefit from new jobs, an additional source of tax revenue and be able to take pride in furthering a progressive vision that improves the quality of its residents’ lives.
Thanks to everyone in this group and on our mailing list for their support, for signing the petition, for writing the letters and contributing to the discussions. : )
Thanks to Ken Brown and Jewel Mathieson for their years of advocacy for patients' access to safe, legal medical cannabis. Their goal has finally been realized. : )
And thanks to our City Council allies Councilwoman Rachel E Hundley, Mayor Amy Harrington and Vice Mayor Logan Harvey for leaning forward on so many fronts to help define Sonoma as a city of progressive values and a pacesetter in Sonoma County. : )
In the meantime, the Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group will continue to keep you all informed on new regulations, application development, a cannabis tax measure and the possible ramifications of a separate dispensary ballot initiative in 2020.
Best Regards,
Gil Latimer
Ken Brown
Jewel Mathieson
Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group on the web and on Facebook