By Sue Frost–
With the legalization of recreational cannabis in 2016, we have seen a status quo in terms of where you can legally purchase it in Sacramento County, with only Sacramento City and tiny Isleton currently allowing it.
Due to a recent action by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, unincorporated Sacramento County could be added to that list — which would impact communities adjacent to Citrus Heights, like Orangevale, Antelope, and Carmichael. I would like to take this opportunity to explain to you what happened, what my stance is, and where we are going from here.
On May 10, the Board of Supervisors had a workshop to hear a report on the positive economic impacts of allowing recreational cannabis sales. During this discussion, multiple Supervisors said they would like this to be approved, and asked staff to bring a formal item back to the Board of Supervisors as soon as possible so that this issue could be placed on the November ballot for a public vote.
Even though it’s legal in California, jurisdictions have to get residents to have a public vote in order to get it approved locally.
The push to get this allowed in Sacramento County is entirely due to money. Based on the report that we received, cannabis retail would generate anywhere between $5 million to $14.5 million each year for the County general fund. And with projected budget shortfalls in the near future, that money could be incredibly important.
I was reluctant to support bringing this back for a formal vote, however, as I personally felt that this topic was being too quickly rushed and wasn’t giving the public enough of an opportunity to have their voices heard. While the economic aspect of this issue is important, I feel of equal importance are the public safety and public health aspects – both of which the Board of Supervisors has not had any discussion over.
As such, I made a request that before this is formally voted on, that we have full presentations from both public safety and public health to get their take on this issue. This request was broadly acceptable to the rest of the Supervisors, and will happen in the near future.
When it came time for a vote on whether or not to bring this back for a formal vote to put this on the November ballot, the issue passed by a vote of 3-2 with me voting “no”. While I have not made my mind up on whether or not to ultimately support this, I continued to feel that this issue was being rushed too quickly and that we shouldn’t decide to organize a vote on this until after we have heard from public safety and public health.
Based on that vote, the Board of Supervisors is now slated to vote on whether or not to put this on the November ballot on July 26. In order to get placed on the ballot it will need a minimum of four supervisors to approve it, meaning at least one of the two supervisors who voted “no” on May 10 will have to switch their vote to a “yes”.
In the meantime, I hope you will tell me your thoughts by e-mailing me at SupervisorFrost@saccounty.net so I can start to get a feel for how my constituents want me to vote.
Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost formerly served as a Citrus Heights councilwoman and currently represents District 4, which includes Citrus Heights. She can be contacted at (916) 874-5491.
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By Sue Frost--
With the legalization of recreational cannabis in 2016, we have seen a status quo in terms of where you can legally purchase it in Sacramento County, with only Sacramento City and tiny Isleton currently allowing it.
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