There is a certain type of veggie burger I love. For a while Whole Foods, Sonoma Market, and Safeway carried it. Now only Sonoma Market carries it. It is a good thing we have four supermarkets in Sonoma. I hit them all to get all the items I want. When it comes to groceries, competition works out pretty well.
For years, I have used a certain cannabis tincture for pain relief and sleep. I have tried several types and brands and found this one does the trick, keeping my health and wellbeing on an even keel.
Do we need a second cannabis dispensary in the City of Sonoma? My little personal story, I think points out, yes we do. Back in 2019, my husband and I believed that the city could easily support more than one. The consultant hired by the city felt the same. But, in the end the ordinance was written to allow only one storefront dispensary.
In April of 2021 the ordinance was amended to allow a second dispensary, but the process is on hold, as the city council is waiting to see how our one dispensary, SPARC, is doing. SPARC opened in April. During the process to amend the ordinance I had a long conversation with the PR person for SPARC, who is also a partial owner. She urged me to give SPARC a chance when they opened. SPARC does not carry the product I use. She told me I should ask and they would carry it.
I wanted to approach trying SPARC as just a random customer, asking for a product and see what happened. I didn’t want to call in favors or ask for special consideration.
I went into SPARC on May 10, 2022. I spoke with a very nice young man who said that no they did not carry my product, but could order it for me and send an email when it arrived. We discussed alternate, comparable products and I bought one to try. Sorry to say, it did not come anywhere near in effectiveness to what I use. I waited three weeks and heard nothing. I called SPARC and asked about the order. A very nice female employee took my number saying she would look into it and get back to me. When I did not hear back within a week, I decided to go in to SPARC and check.
I spoke with a manager. She took all my info and said she would find out if they could get the product or not. I got a quick e-mail response.
“We appreciate you placing your request for ‘product X,’ we’ve looked into it and talked it over with our team and unfortunately it isn’t something we plan on carrying at this time.” The polite email offered to special order a case of 12 at a 10 percent discount. They also offered to help me find an alternate product.
I can still get my veggie burgers in Sonoma, but have to drive to Santa Rosa to get my tincture.
For many, cannabis is a medical necessity. To date, medical cannabis has been legalized in 37 states and the number of state-registered patients approaches 4 million. If you add unregistered users who self-prescribe cannabis for medical reasons, as well as those who report mixed medical/recreational use, then we’re talking many more millions who rely on cannabis to manage their medical conditions and symptoms.
Unfortunately, not all cannabis products are created equally and not all work the same for all users. A patient may need to try a number of similar products before finding a brand that provides the desired relief.
Product availability is another issue. Dispensary inventories can range widely from shop to shop and from even from one visit to the next.
There is no equity for Sonoma’s medical cannabis patients without competition at the local level. The free market means being free of government intervention. Patients deserve competitive pricing, product availability and services.
Gil Latimer
Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group
For many, cannabis is a medical necessity. To date, medical cannabis has been legalized in 37 states and the number of state-registered patients approaches 4 million. If you add unregistered users who self-prescribe cannabis for medical reasons, as well as those who report mixed medical/recreational use, then we’re talking many more millions who rely on cannabis to manage their medical conditions and symptoms.
Unfortunately, not all cannabis products are created equally and not all work the same for all users. A patient may need to try a number of similar products before finding a brand that provides the desired relief.
Product availability is another issue. Dispensary inventories can range widely from shop to shop and from even from one visit to the next.
There is no equity for Sonoma’s medical cannabis patients without competition at the local level. The free market means being free of government intervention. Patients deserve competitive pricing, product availability and services.
Gil Latimer
Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group