LAW AND LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Jay Schenirer, Chair, District 5
Jeff Harris, Vice Chair, District 3
Katie Valenzuela, District 4
Eric Guerra, District 6
COMMITTEE STAFF
Wendy Klock-Johnson, Assistant City Clerk
Steve Itagaki, Supervising Deputy City Attorney
Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs
Law and Legislation
Committee
City Hall-Council Chamber
915 I Street, 1st Floor
Published by the Office of the City Clerk
(916) 808-5163
CORRESPONDENCE
Description of Attached: Correspondence received after Agenda was published.
For the Meeting of: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 at 12:30 p.m.
Agenda Item: Discussion Item 5
5. Comprehensive Study of the Cannabis Industry Workshop (Part 1) File ID: 2022-00262
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Conduct a workshop on a comprehensive study of the cannabis industry and the City’s cannabis program.
Contact: Davina Smith, Cannabis Manager, 916-808-4772,
[email protected]
, Zarah Cruz, Program Specialist, 916-808-8925,
[email protected], Office of Cannabis Management, Office of the City Manager
From: Jim Keddy
To: Public Comment
Subject: public comment for today"s Law and Leg meeting at 12:30, Cannabis Study Item 5 Date: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 10:36:59 AM
Attachments: Youth Forward letter on cannabis study 3-15-2021.docx Please share the attached letter with members of the Committee and with city staff Thank you
Jim
--
Jim Keddy
Youth Forward
916-248-1706
he/him/his
www.youth-forward.org
www.jimkeddyconsulting.com
March 15, 2022
Law and Leg Committee
Sacramento City Council
Item #5: Comprehensive Study of the Cannabis Industry
Dear Members of the Sacramento City Council Law and Leg Committee,
Through my role at Youth Forward, I work on cannabis policy at both the state and local levels. In my work on state policy, I am in regular conversation with leading public health researchers who are tracking the most up-to-date studies on the impacts of cannabis legalization on the wellbeing and health of children and youth. In addition to my work at Youth Forward, I serve on the Tobacco Education Research and Oversight Commission at the California Department of Public Health. In this role, I recently served on a subcommittee that developed a new objective in our state tobacco control plan that looks at the intersections of vaping, cannabis and tobacco use among young people. Finally, I am currently leading a statewide coalition that is advocating for the maintenance of Prop 64 funding streams for child care and youth prevention as the Governor and Legislature consider reducing or suspending state cannabis taxes.
I’d like to express my appreciation to the authors of the Study for including concerns related to public health and the wellbeing of children and youth in the report, particularly in the sections of the report that raise how the cannabis industry is using billboards and other advertising methods to attract young people. In many parts of Sacramento, cannabis businesses are using images on billboards that are attractive to children and young people, including candy, cartoon images, and young female models who appear to be anywhere from their late teens to the early 20’s.
I’d like to raise two other concerns for your consideration that were not addressed in the report. The first concern has to do with the growing number of children, youth and adults who are showing up in emergency rooms due to cannabis-induced psychosis and delirium.
Since legalization (2016), the number of people going to ER’s due to cannabis use has risen by 53%. Recently, the Public Health Institute put together a review of emergency room use related to cannabis legalization that confirms what we have been hearing from ER staff for some time. ER’s have experienced a significant increase in people, including kids, who have basically overdosed on THC and are vomiting, in pain and/or out of their minds.
The second concern has to do with the escalation in calls to Poison Control Centers due to cannabis use. A new study by UCSF School of Pharmacy shows that calls to Poison Control due to the ingestion of cannabis edibles grew significantly from 2010 to 2020. Calls related to cannabis use to Poison Control made up 79% of all calls in 2020.
This data on ER’s and Poison Control clearly indicates the need for the City of Sacramento to explore how to further regulate the cannabis industry in order to protect the health and wellbeing of children, youth and adults. Fortunately, Proposition 64 gives local communities the authority to put in place these types of regulations, including requiring stronger warnings on products, on advertising and inside dispensaries. Local governments also have the authority to put caps on THC levels and to tax high potency products at higher rates.
I would like to make a formal request to the Law and Leg Committee that a future meeting of the Committee include a portion of the meeting dedicated to hearing from public health experts on these concerns. I understand that the Council has the goal of developing a larger and more profitable cannabis industry. However, I believe that, in considering how to support the development of the industry, the Council must act to mitigate health risks for children, youth and adults.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Jim Keddy
Executive Director