Sonoma must increase access to medical marijuana
To Sonoma City Council and Staff:
More and more of the citizens within our Sonoma Valley community are confused and saddened by the failure of the Sonoma City Council to listen to the advice and counsel of experts on the necessity for all individuals, especially the elderly and those on fixed incomes, to have easy access to affordable medical cannabis.
To not allow for a second dispensary only adds to and increases the stress and anxiety of those in need.
Kindly read this article by Julia Arnsten, M.D., is chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System, and a registered practitioner with the New York State Medical Marijuana Program.
Then take the opportunity to reconsider the decision that allows the voice of a single individual to sway the council’s judgement; particularly the owner of the business to whom it awarded the sole operating license for a dispensary in the City of Sonoma.
These are the key takeaways from the article:
• 95% of Americans support the use of medical cannabis.
• Poorer people have less access to medical cannabis than wealthier people. Monthly payments can run from $200 to $300.
• Perhaps fewer than half of those who need medical cannabis buy from licensed dispensaries, because they can’t afford the prices.
• Less access helps sustain a black market that exposes patients to unregulated product that can contain dangerous pesticides and molds.
• The fewer the number of licensed dispensaries, the fewer options patients have to access the best products for their personal health needs. In a locality that only permits one dispensary, this can force patients to drive long distances or pay costly delivery charges. This is especially unfair to those on limited budgets.
• Less access helps to sustain the use of opioids and addiction because opioids are much easier to obtain. Opioid-related deaths are on the increase in Sonoma Valley.
Sincerely,
— The 208 Members of the Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group
2 thoughts on “Sonoma must increase access to medical marijuana”
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What is the matter with our current City Council that they feel they can totally dismiss our prior CC’s wise decision to a Second Dispensary for Sonoma. Where’s the compassion, caring, and just choice. THIRTY+ wine tasting venues in the vicinity of our Plaza. Think about it!
Perri,
It’s very sad that there are some on the city council who are unable to grasp the concept of a different perspective. The Sonoma City Council is more concerned with dogs on the Plaza and parklet beautification than it is with permitting its own citizens access to the best health options.
There’s plenty of hypocrisy, lip service, lack of empathy, and unwillingness to become better informed among many council members. And the arrogance that they think they know better than those who actually *do* understand the issue does real injustice to the patient community.