TO: Mayor and Council Members
Marlene Best, City Manager
Shawn Hagerty, City Attorney
FROM: Annette Ortiz, CMC, City Clerk
DATE: February 23, 2022
SUBJ: Updated Council Meeting Materials – February 23, 2022 NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT:
The attached correspondence for Non-Agenda Public Comment was received and is provided for your consideration.
From: Peggy Walker
To: John Minto; Clerk Info; Rob McNelis; Ronn Hall; Laura Koval; [email protected] Subject: CA AB1690
Date: Wednesday, February 23, 2022 7:36:24 AM
City Clerk, please read aloud at City Council meeting and enter into the record.
Dear Mayor John Minto, Vice Mayor Rob McNelis, Ronn Hall, Laura Koval, Dustin Trotter, Because the City of Santee has always demonstrated the greatest respect for environmental and public health issues, I want to ask you to support CA Assembly Bill 1690. (AB1690) This bipartisan bill, just introduced into the legislative cycle, would ban single-use smoking products including cigarette filters, e-cigarettes and some vape products to protect the environment.
Unknown to many, tobacco filters are not biodegradable. They are THE most commonly found litter and contain tar, thousands of chemicals, and heavy metals reported to be toxic to humans.
These toxins cause a variety of diseases from inflammatory lung diseases to cardiovascular diseases and cancers. The chemicals and heavy metals leach into soil and water sources, posing a threat to animals and plants.
Not only does this cigarette litter threaten fragile ecosystems, it costs millions of dollars in clean up.
The City of Los Angeles estimates clean up costs for cigarette filters alone run $19 million per year.
AB1690 also targets vape products that, although advertised as disposable, contain batteries and fluids that damage the environment. Reusable/rechargeable vape products are not included.
The bill currently is under review by the state's Assembly Health Committee. On behalf of the City of Santee, please ask our legislators to pass AB1690.
Thank you,
Regards,
Peggy Walker
San Diego County Tobacco Control Coalition
Chair, Coastal Communities Drug Free Coalition
From:
To: Clerk Info; John Minto; Rob McNelis; Ronn Hall; Laura Koval; Dustin Trotter Subject: PLEASE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS IN TODAY"S AGENDA PACKET Date: Wednesday, February 23, 2022 8:58:45 AM
Good Evening Mayor and City Council Members,
As both a parent and grandparent and after spending countless hours on parent and community boards, I appreciate that you as a City Council took the time to look are all the negative impacts that marijuana businesses would bring to Santee.
Much is at stake with the opening of any type of marijuana business.
Marijuana use among youth and young adults is a MAJOR health concern.
Based on a 2019 study of more than 23,000 individuals, those who started using marijuana as a teen were 37% more likely than non users to suffer depression. Also the study found that the rate of suicidal thoughts were 50% more and the likelihood of attempted suicides was more than triple then those who didn’t use marijuana.
As the availability of legal marijuana increase, communities and families need guidance to support the prevention of marijuana use among youth.
Your
continued understanding of the ALL the negative consequences of marijuana businesses means the world to parents and grandparents.
Regards,
Diane Grace
From: Kathleen Lippitt
To: Clerk Info
Cc: Dustin Trotter; Laura Koval; Ronn Hall; John Minto
Subject: Re-sending Santee non agenda comment - please share Date: Wednesday, February 23, 2022 12:35:39 PM
Attachments: Handout - 2020.2021 CCR Report - SD County MJ prevention initiative report updated Jan 18, 2022 - .Final - Copy.pdf
Handout - Cannabis Industry Tax Cut Impact on Youth and Childcare.pdf Handout - County MJ Taxation webinar related concerns.docx Handout - Environmental marijuana grow impacts.docx
Handout - IASIC1.org link.docx
Handout - Numbers of children under FIVE being poisoned by eating their parents.docx Dear Mayor and City Council,
I would like to share some insights a letter to the editor in the WSJ today as well as mine as a public health practitioner of over 25 yrs. It is critical to provide information to help the public recognize Machiavellian and profoundly dystopian policies for what they are, not for what they portend to be.
The new class majority of County supervisors seem to have been both politically and financially influenced as evidenced by both by the policies they no longer support (prevention) and the policies they do (harm reduction). The tentacles of the predatory, for-profit marijuana industry have been spreading, even to cities like Santee, that heretofore had no interest in offering their residents and youth up for exploitation and profit to the marijuana industry.
The financial industry, unlike political electeds and local governments, were prohibited from engaging in actions that were not in the best interest of their clients.
Unfortunately, public leaders are taking advantage of that loophole. The U.S. and New Zealand are the only two countries that allow pharmaceutical drugs to be advertised on TV. And industries that exploit human weakness are allowed to advertise to the public; gambling and addictive drugs like tobacco and marijuana.
When the California Legislature opened the door to commercialization of marijuana, the public had little idea of what was to come… it wasn’t what was promised to voters; an industry that would be controlled and regulated. Industries like Big Marijuana and Big Tobacco go further to reach the youth population they need to survive, advertising on social media channels and even billboards. Without an understanding of media literacy, the public, especially youth, believe industry messages failing to recognize the biased profit motives.
Regulating the marijuana industry was supposed to eliminate the Black Market, fill city coffers with tax revenues, pay for youth education, enforcement, product safety, protect youth from advertising and protect local land use authority. But the situation has become a case of the tail wagging the dog. Unelected marijuana profiteers, advocates, lobbyists, and attorneys are calling the shots without any data to support their never-ending wish list. Once again industry tropes are promises intended to be broken. Lowering marijuana taxes and increasing the number of permitted marijuana businesses will not help eliminate the Black Market and a state that already produces far more marijuana products than it consumes doesn’t need more marijuana grows, manufacturers, or storefronts.
Some data that shows the results of collaborating with the marijuana industry:
1. Nearly 40% of poison centers calls involve children consuming their parents, edibles that look, smell, and taste like their favorite treats, cookies, brownies, gummies, and candy. Protecting them was not a concern.
2. SD County reported a 75% increase in marijuana exposure cases handled by the poison control center since 2016 and a 242% increase in MJ poison control cases since 2011, a 690% increase in Emergency discharges with MJ listed as primary diagnosis and a 473% increase in discharges with marijuana as a primary or 2econdary diagnosis combined since 2019)
3. 39% of completed suicides under the age of 25 tested positive for THC in 2020.
4. The historic average for traffic fatalities in SD County doubled in Dec 2021
5. MJ is the primary drug of choice for youth ages 12-17 in County funded drug treatment programs. (Source 2021 SD County MJ prevention Initiative Report Jan 18, 2022)
6. The Surgeon General warned of emerging youth mental health crisis in a rare public advisory citing 2021 ER visits in the U.S. for suspected suicide attempts were 51% higher for adolescent girls and 4% higher for adolescent boys compared to the same time period in early 2019.
Kathleen Lippitt, MPH
Public Health Practitioner and Public Policy Advocate
Coastal Communities Drug Free Coalition
Email:
Cell:
San Diego County
Marijuana
Prevention
Initiative Report
2021
Introduction, Overview & Current Environment
References
Local Collaboration & Prevention Efforts
Data Indicators and Trends
Emerging Trends
Table of Contents
1 11
7-8
2-6
9 California voters passed Proposition 64, The Adult Use of Marijuana Act, on November 4, 2016, legalizing the adult use and possession of marijuana. Retail sales of marijuana products began in 2018. The San Diego County Marijuana Prevention Initiative (MPI) published an initial report in early 2016 and a subsequent report in 2020. Previous reports included local marijuana-related trends to assess baseline data and identify important public health issues. This new report presents trends and public health data related to youth marijuana use and documents changes observed following legalization.
Introduction
The County of San Diego, Health and Human Services Agency, Behavioral Health Services (BHS), has funded the current MPI since 2012 to reduce youth access to and use of marijuana. The MPI engages in science-based educational outreach in collaboration with the County’s Regional Prevention Providers to inform the community of the harmful effects marijuana can have in our youth populations. The MPI’s regional prevention strategies focus on educating and informing the public about the harms associated with adolescent marijuana use. MPI staff continues to engage the community and share resources through workshops, trainings, and media advocacy.
The MPI regularly collects local-level data to inform prevention practices and identify any emerging trends within the local landscape. These data are then shared with prevention providers, law enforcement partners, parents, educators, and youth.
Data are routinely collected from the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS), San Diego County Community Survey, SANDAG, San Diego County drug treatment admissions, medical examiner, and other local sources. Additionally, the MPI reviews and compiles data from both the state and national level to identify trends and track changes in youth marijuana use over time.
Overview of the MPI
1 COVID-19 and the lockdown have changed the environment around marijuana access. On March 17, 2020 California declared marijuana an essential business early in the pandemic which, coupled with isolation and anxiety, created a financial windfall for the marijuana industry. At the same time, schools and other youth activities were cancelled or limited, leaving a tremendous gap in supervision and support for families of all ages.
Current Environment
2 Conducted meetings, media events and workshops through virtual platforms, expanding participation and attendance at many meetings.
Continued to provide technical assistance to our prevention partners virtually.
Engaged in media advocacy efforts to challenge the decision to declare marijuana businesses as essential businesses during a respiratory pandemic.
Several opinion articles were submitted and published in the Times of San Diego to educate and inform the community on potential dangers.
Disseminated key information and updates to the MPI mailing list to ensure community partners and agencies were kept up-to-date with public health information.
The MPI worked to reorganize and respond immediately to unprecedented environmental changes, while maintaining focused strategies to reduce youth access and use of marijuana. Below are key examples of how the MPI quickly pivoted to operate in a virtual environment:
Current Environment (cont.)
Given the importance of monitoring key indicators relative to the current and emerging marijuana landscapes countywide, it is critical to be aware of and monitor current data and trends pertaining to marijuana use, access, and use. The following pages highlight datapoints from extant data sources, useful for informing current needs and continued prevention strategies.
Key Data Indicators
8th graders 10th graders 12th graders
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
8th graders 10th graders 12th graders
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
8th graders 10th graders 12th graders
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
8th graders 10th graders 12th graders
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey
MTF is an ongoing national study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of U.S. secondary school students, college students, and young adults on drug and alcohol use and related attitudes.
Past 30-Day Use: Vaping Marijuana
The use of marijuana (in all forms, including smoking and vaping) did not significantly change in any of the three grades for lifetime use, past 12-month use, past 30-day use, and daily use from 2019-2020.
Past-Year Use: Vaping Marijuana
4%
11% 12% 8%
19% 22%
Past-Month and Past-Year Marijuana Vaping
Past 30-Day Use: Marijuana Past-Year Use: Marijuana
17% 21%
11%
Past-Month and Past-Year Marijuana Use
7%
28%
35%
2017 2018 2019 2020
2017 2018 2019 2020
3 1
7th 9th 11th NT*
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
7th 9th 11th NT
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
2017 2018 2019 2020**
2017 2018 2019 2020**
California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS)
The CHKS is administered in most San Diego County school districts. It surveys middle and high school youth attending both traditional/mainstream and nontraditional/alternative schools (e.g., continuation schools).
Past 30-Day Use of Marijuana
1%
8%
25%
Perception of Harm: Students
Reporting 'Great' Harm from
Occasional Marijuana Use
30% 27%
38%
3%
*Students attending non-traditional schools
**When considering 2020-21 CHKS data, please note that survey methodologies were revised to allow for online or hybrid data collection due to COVID-19. These changes, coupled with lower response rates and impacts of COVID-19, may affect the data presented and limit comparability of findings to previous years.
One in ten (10%) students
attending non-traditional
schools reported daily
marijuana use in 2020
29%
Marijuana Use Across Grade Levels
Perception of Harm & Ease of Access
Students Reporting That
Marijuana is Very Easy or
Fairly Easy to Obtain^
12% of 7th graders
35% of 9th graders
53% of 11th graders
49% of NT* students
^2020 -21 data
4 2
64%
Adults Juveniles
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
2017 2018 2019 2020
80%
8 in 10 youth
say they have
ever dabbed
THC
Almost 9 in 10
youth say they
have ever
vaped THC
Ever Dabbed THC
SANDAG Substance Abuse Monitoring (SAM) Survey
The purpose of the SAM survey is to identify drug use trends among the adult and juvenile offender populations to develop appropriate strategies for the prevention of drug misuse. Biannually, SANDAG staff conduct interviews with a sample of adults and juveniles arrested and booked into the San Diego County detention facilities.
Adults Juveniles
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
2017 2018 2019 2020
71%
89%
Ever Vaped THC
Ease of Access
100%
report marijuana
is easy to obtain
56%
positive for
marijuana at time of
interview
Marijuana Remains
Drug of Choice Low Perception of Harm
youth feel marijuana
would be harmful to
users
1 in 5 (20%)
5 3
Perception of Harm
San Diego County Community Survey
The San Diego County Community Survey was developed to systematically collect and assess alcohol- and other drug-related (AOD) perceptions and opinions. The findings from the Community Surveys have allowed the Prevention System to monitor trends and track changes in community perceptions and opinions over time and to identify emerging issues of concern. Below are key findings from the 2021 administration of the Community Survey. To view more in-depth findings please click here.
Marijuana Drug
Interaction Warning
77%
support a law that
requires pharmacies
to label medications
that have drug
interactions with
marijuana products.
57%
support a law that
would prohibit any type
of marijuana product,
medicinal or
recreational, to those
under age 21.
Ban Marijuana Sales to
Those Under 21
Marijuana Outlet
Regulations
support a local law
regulating marijuana
businesses.
56%
Underage
Marijuana Use
respondents believe
marijuana use under 21
is harmful to health.
Frequent
Marijuana Use
About 7 in 10 (67%) About 6 in 10 (64%)
respondents believe
using marijuana
everyday or every
week at any age is
harmful to health.
Edible Marijuana
Food Products
About 5 in 10 (47%)
respondents believe
using edible marijuana
food products at any
age is harmful to health.
Policy Support
6 4
0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 125%
Adolescent Marijuana-Related Treatment Admissions
Marijuana Remains Drug of
Choice for Adolescents
Entering Treatment
Male, 67% Female, 43%
About 8 in 10 (82%)
n=1,,238
adolescents (<17) entering a San Diego
County Funded Treatment Facility
reported marijuana as their primary
drug of choice in FY 19-20.
Primary Marijuana
Treatment Admissions for
Adolescents, by Gender
San Diego County Poison Control Data
7 5
6 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
200
150
100
50 0
Number of Marijuana Human Exposure
Cases for San Diego County, 2016-2020
154
126 132
100
88 75% increase
in marijuana
exposure cases in San
Diego County handled
by the California
Poison Control Center
since 2016.
The below graph displays the number of unduplicated cases handled by the California Poison Control Center for calls related to marijuana exposure from persons living in San Diego County. Each year displayed includes all persons of any age and dispositions/outcomes for the cases, including cases “resolved on-site” (i.e., from the location of the call), “treated/released from health care facility,” and “admitted to health care facility.”
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
15,000
10,000
5,000
0 Marijuana-Related Emergency Department Discharges
Number of Emergency Department (ED) Discharges for
Marijuana-Related Diagnoses in San Diego County, 2009-2019 877
*Indicates cases where either the primary or secondary diagnosis upon discharge was marijuanarelated. For most secondary cases, individuals came into the ER for something else (e.g., broken arm, injury, flu, etc.) and cannabis use was added as a secondary diagnosis. In these cases, the drug use may or may not have contributed to the reason for the ER visit 690% increase
in ED discharges
with marijuana listed
as a primary
diagnosis, from 111
in 2009 to 877 in
2019.
Primary Diagnoses Only Primary and Secondary Diagnoses Combined* 473% increase
in ED discharges with
marijuana as a
primary or secondary
diagnosis combined,
from 2,362 in 2009 to
13,535 in 2019.
8 7
THC Presence in Youth & Young Adult Suicides
A study conducted by researchers at the National
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found that marijuana
use was associated with increased risks of thoughts of
suicide (suicidal ideation), suicide plan, and suicide
attempt among young adults ages 18-35 .
The results of the study indicated that even people who used cannabis nondaily (<300 days/year) were more
likely to have suicidal ideation and to plan or attempt suicide than those who did not use the drug at all.
These associations remained regardless of whether
someone was also experiencing depression.
39% of completed
suicides under the age
of 25 tested positive
for THC in 2020.
In San Diego County
8 9
Marijuana-Drug Interactions Education
MPI staff developed a drug interactions project
along with 17 local pharmacies to raise
awareness about dangerous drug interactions
between over-the-counter, prescription
medication, and THC/CBD. More than 10,000
resource cards were disseminated encouraging
patients to visit drugs.com to check for harmful
drug interactions. A survey was developed to
identify gaps in consumer protections.
Local Collaboration and Prevention Efforts
Assessing Marijuana Outlet Compliance
A marijuana storefront assessment tool was
developed and made available by SAY San
Diego, to monitor retails outlets and ensure
compliance. It is undergoing final updates and
will be ready for distribution Spring 2022.
Reducing Youth Access to Vaping Devices
Vaping has become an epidemic and
schools are ground zero in efforts to educate
and prevent youth from vaping. MPI staff, the
San Diego County Office of Education along
with regional prevention partners developed
a vape disposal protocol for school staff.
This will help ensure the safe disposal of
these products which are considered
hazardous waste.
Local prevention efforts continue to evolve as virtual advocacy and access to potent marijuana products become the norm. Despite recent local policy changes around marijuana storefront operations, prevention activities continue to focus on compliance, education, consumer protections and health.
9 Public Health Experts Guide MPI Efforts
An important component of a public health first
approach to environmental prevention is to recruit
partners with extensive knowledge in the field of
substance use prevention. CCR was proud to
announce the addition of Roneet Lev, MD, FACEP, to
the CCR team. Dr. Lev is former Chief Medical
Officer at the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy (ONDCP) and current Chief of the
Emergency Department at Scripps Mercy Hospital
in San Diego; she also hosts a popular podcast
known as High Truths on Drugs and Addiction.
Local Collaboration and Prevention Efforts
MPI Media Advocacy
MPI hosted a news event to introduce a new
medical advocacy group that encourages a
public health first approach to marijuana
policy. IASIC, or the International Academy
on the Science and Impact of Cannabis, is a
group of doctors educating on marijuana
harms. This non-partisan and non-political
group is developed, organized, and guided
by doctors in the hope that science guides
policies that protect the public and create
informed decision making. The IASIC
resource library and advocacy tools are
located here.
10 Emerging Trends
DUI-related fatality crashes are spiking across San Diego County at a recordsetting pace with 2021 data indicating the most fatal DUIs in two decades.
Local officials reported 37 people have died in DUI crashes in 2021, already surpassing last year's DUI deaths. In 2020, 33 people were killed, which was the worst such year in San Diego County going back more than two decades. Both drug legalization and polydrug use may be the leading cause of the increases.
A drugged driving prevention campaign, with input from Regional Prevention Providers and Initatives, will be created with a focus on polydrug use and availability of rideshare programs.
Increasing DUI Fatalities
Proposition 64 promised local communities the ability to decide how much marijuana access they will allow. However, we have seen attempts to limit public input on issues related to youth. Local community voices are critical in the process of deciding how much access to marijuana products they will allow. Moving forward, it is critical to empower communities and local groups to engage in the planning process and voice their concerns surrounding public health and youth impacts of expanding marijuana access.
Local Control and Community Voices
During the pandemic we saw many marijuana outlets increase online delivery services, further expanding their reach and access throughout the community.
With this expanded availability there is an increasing need for standardized compliance protocols to hold these businesses accountable to the rules and regulations put forth by the California Department of Cannabis Control. This will be a challenge, especially with minor sales, advertising, and increasing virtual transactions.
Transition from Marijuana Storefronts to Virtual Sales
In a study conducted by UCSD of 700 legal recreational cannabis dispensaries,
67.9% failed to comply with California laws requiring age-limit signage.
Additionally, 35.3% of dispensaries had marketing items that appealed to children inside their stores. Synthetic THC, such as Delta-8-THC and THC-P, have been created and marketed with little information about side effects. This, combined with the availability of higher potency products leaves consumers at an increased risk of potential harm. Customers can purchase and consume (vape, eat or smoke) as much or as potent of an amount they desire with little to no restrictions. Many product labels lack the proper warnings about driving, drug interactions, mental health, and prenatal use. The industry must allow for accurate labeling of product ingredients, and child proof packaging with warnings that discuss potential harms.
Lack of Consumer Protections
11 10
Tracking Storefronts and Compliance
12 As marijuana access and availability increase, public health data measuring youth trends and community impacts need to remain a key factor in policy decisions. The prevention community must continue to develop tools that hold the industry accountable to the existing guidelines and develop new, innovative approaches to address issues of overconcentration of marijuana businesses, THC potency limits and compliance with existing protocols for delivery services that are meant to prevent and discourage underage consumption.
For more information about MPI please visit www.ccrconsulting.org/mpi.
Looking Ahead: Prevention Priorities
References
13 NIDA. Monitoring the Future Survey: High School and Youth Trends.
National Institute on Drug Abuse Website.
https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trendsstatistics/monitoring-future. Published 2020. Accessed November 18, 2021.
California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS). San Diego County, Main Reports: 2009-2020. San Francisco; 2020.
San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). Juvenile Arrestee Drug Use in the San Diego Region. San Diego; 2020.
Center for Community Research. County of San Diego Community Survey Findings: 2011, 2014, 2016, 2019. & 2021 San Diego; 2021.
County of San Diego Behavioral Health Services. Alcohol and Drug Services Databooks: FYs 2009/10 – 2019/20. 2021.
https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/hhsa/programs/bhs/technical_res ource_library.html.
California Poison Control Center. Marijuana Human Exposure Calls. 2021.
County of San Diego Emergency Services. Emergency Department Discharges for Cannabis-Related Diagnoses in San Diego County, 2006 - 2020. 2021.
NIDA. 2021, June 22. Cannabis use may be associated with suicidality in young adults. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/newsevents/news-releases/2021/06/cannabis-use-may-be-associatedwith-suicidality-in-young-adults on 2021, December 14.
County of San Diego Department of the Medical Examiner. (2020, January–December). 2020 Suicides, 25 and under, San Diego County [Dataset].
Shi Y, Pacula RL. Assessment of Recreational Cannabis Dispensaries’ Compliance With Underage Access and Marketing Restrictions in California. JAMA Pediatr. 2021;175(11):1178–1180.
doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.2508
1. 2.
3. 4.
5. 6.
7. 8.
9. 10.
Cannabis Industry Tax Cut
Impact on Children and Youth
Background
● In 2016, voters approved Prop 64 which legalized
cannabis in California.
● Prop 64 established state tax rates on cannabis and
gave the authority to local governments to permit
legal businesses or to ban legal businesses.
● Proponents of Prop 64 promised voters that
cannabis revenues would go to child/youth services.
State Cannabis Taxes
● Currently three taxes are in place:
○ The regular state sales tax
○ A 15% excise tax (a sales tax on top of the state sales tax) ○ A cultivation tax
● Revenues from these taxes are allocated to:
○ The state regulatory function (the Department of Cannabis Control) ○ Medical research
○ California Highway Patrol
○ The Community Reinvestment Tax Fund (GOBiz)
○ The Marijuana Tax Fund
■ 60% to youth services
■ 20% to environmental restoration
■ 20% to public safety, public health and youth prevention Proposal from the Cannabis Industry
● Eliminate the cultivation tax
○ Makes up 20% of revenue
● Suspend the excise tax for three years
○ 80% of the revenue
● Force cities in which voters approved Prop 64 to allow for legal businesses The industry is making the argument that, in order to compete against the illegal market, they need fewer taxes, less bureaucracy and more cities and counties with legal businesses.
To make these changes, the Legislature will need to pass a ⅔ vote bill.
Read the Industry Proposal for More Information
● https://www.change.org/p/toni-g-atkins-cannabis-industryunited-for-less-taxes-and-more-retail?utm_source=share_ petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=ea69
83c0-5dda-11ec-81c0-9dc1b1ae9d41
Our Observations
● Cannabis policy is complex and evolving: medical vs.
recreational, big business vs. small business, state vs. federal, emerging social equity efforts…
● The industry is becoming corporatized and is using
sophisticated marketing and advertising methods to attract users, including young people.
● As the industry increases THC levels, cannabis poses a greater risk, particularly for youth mental health.
Our Observations
● The industry is proposing an across the board tax cut, not a tax cut targeted to small businesses or entrepreneurs of color/social equity businesses.
● If these taxes are reduced or eliminated, it will be very difficult to have them reinstated in the future. For example, over many decades, the Legislature has never passed a
significant tobacco tax.
Prop 64 $ for child/youth services and public health
Child Care Dept of Social Services $279,483,000
Youth Prevention Dept of Health Care Services $80,787,000 Youth Prevention Natural Resources Agency $13,544,000
Public Health Dept of Public Health $12,000
Total $385,814,000
2021-2022 State Budget, Department of Health Care Services How would the tax cut affect
child care?
Keisha Nzewi
Director of Public Policy
CA Child Care Resource and Referral Network
Child Care Funding from Cannabis Revenues
● Revenues from cannabis taxes provided funding for child care for 21,486 low-income children in FY 2021-22.
● This represents the only dedicated state funding stream for child care for low-income families.
● About 2.3 million children are eligible for subsidized child care yet we are currently meeting the needs of only 11% of eligible children.
Impact of Tax Cut on Child Care
Any changes to cannabis tax rates will result in children and families losing access to affordable child care.
This could mean the loss of a long-term revenue stream for child care.
How would the tax cut affect
youth prevention?
Youth Substance Use Disorder Prevention Program -
Elevate Youth CA
● DHCS has made Prop 64 grants to 137 organizations to
provide youth prevention services in Black and Brown
neighborhoods
● 41 counties
● A total of $108 million to date
● DHCS has also made about $8 million in youth prevention grants to 12 tribal communities
Youth Community Access Grant Program
● The Natural Resources Agency is currently preparing to release its first round of Prop 64 grants this month to support youth access to the outdoors and to cultural
resources for disadvantaged children and youth in the total amount of $14.5 million
Two more funding streams for youth services
● In addition to the 60% of funds dedicated to youth services in the Marijuana Tax Fund, two other Prop 64 funding streams support youth services:
○ The Community Reinvestment Grants Program managed by
the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GOBiz)
○ The Prop 64 Public Health and Safety Grant Program
managed by the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC)
Community Reinvestment Grant Program
● GOBiz has awarded Prop 64 grants to community organizations and local health departments to provide services to the formerly incarcerated and to youth and adults in communities impacted by the War on Drugs.
● According to grantee reports from September 2019 to July 2021, this grant program has provided services to more than 57,000 individuals across the state.
Prop 64 Public Health and Safety Grant Program (BSCC)
● The Board of State and Community Corrections has made $33 million in Prop 64 grants to 33 local governments to support youth prevention, public health and public safety.
● These funds are part of the 20% set aside for public safety. ● To date, 40% of the funded projects are focused entirely on youth prevention, while the other 60% focus on a mix of youth services, public safety and public health.
● BSCC is preparing to make an additional $120 million in grants to local governments in the coming months.
Impact of Tax Cut on Youth Prevention Services
● Potential loss of roughly $200 million in funding for youth prevention services in Black, Brown and Indigenous communities. ● Loss of a long-term revenue stream for youth services.
What can you do?
● Contact your Assemblymember and State Senator and share your concerns.
● Educate your local officials about the impact of the proposed tax cut on child care and youth services in your local community.
● Contact local media/ share your concerns on social media.
Letter to Governor Newsom and Leg Leaders
● We have crafted a letter to share our concerns with the Governor and legislative leaders regarding the impact of the proposed cuts on children and youth of color.
● We are collecting signatures from organizations that would like to support this goal:
● https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf8xbbJlEiXkqcmW2T9 4541_Yq2vU1GsjSvVi0wzAlWWsySog/viewform?usp=sf_link
Questions?
Comments?
Contact Information
Jim Keddy
Email: [email protected]
Adwoa Akyianu
Email: [email protected]
Sarah-Michael Gaston
Email: [email protected]
Keisha Nzewi
Email: [email protected]
VALLEY CENTER CoPG – 02.14.2022 – mj agenda comment
Good evening, PG
My name is KL and as a PH practitioner, I certainly concur with Dr. Matthews concerns.
I wanted to share with those who didn’t have an opportunity to participate in one of the County’s 3 Cannabis Taxation Program webinars. The County direction was to explore the development and implementation of a commercial cannabis taxation program. The focus narrowly focused on how to structure them so to support the industry. Yet again the public’s interest was of no concern. The only evidence that the MJ industry needs relief is from the industry. It is not the County’s job to bail them out especially in light of the epidemic of associated harms that result from the increased access, availability and promotion of high THC MJ products. Reducing taxes will not lower the cost of regulated products or help permitted businesses compete. Increasing the number of MJ businesses will not help eliminate the illicit market. The only practical solution is a serious enforcement effort to shut down illicit businesses, which should have been done before proposing to increase more MJ businesses in unincorporated communities. The public has requested a cost-benefit analysis. – 172 words
reducing those taxes is breaking that promise to the voters.
Handout – County MJ Taxation webinar related concerns
Prop 64 voters were promised huge tax revenues that would provide regulatory oversight, MJ youth education, product oversight, and “Changing tax rates is not going to help our legal marijuana market compete against the illicit market. the only thing that will help is if San Diego County starts to seriously, actively and consistently shut down the illicit market with in our county.
This is because our legal market cannot compete in anyway with the illicit market. If you reduce taxes, the legal market still has testing requirements and retail requirements and packaging requirements to name a few that all cost the legal market money that the illicit market does not have to incur.
Unincorporated communities continue to seem disenfranchised from the process to have their concerns addressed while the County doggedly pursues ways to support this industry. The County’s main theme were taxation strategies that would assist the industry because they continue to be concerned for the industry’s profitability and sustainability. There has yet to be a cost-benefit analysis of the county data of the harms from MJ use, addiction, hospital, treatment, and recovery costs.
Scott –
The pricing and cost differential‘s between the legal market and the illicit market are not going away until the illicit market goes away. That is the only way you enable our legal marijuana market to compete.”
“Yes it is going to cost SD county money to impact the illicit market. And probably more money than taxes are bringing in even if everything stays the same But hopefully you all understood that before you brought the legal market into our borders and even if not, this is where we are now. so it’s time to figure how much money law-enforcement needs and what laws they need in place to make a difference and get on with it.” My response to Debbie Berndt and to you, “Enforcement is the most obvious component to eliminate illicit businesses, but while the county continues to fuel the fire of drug abuse and addiction while ignoring prevention with harm reduction and needle exchange policies the drug abuse will escalate without abatement. *I think that is the goal. Harm reduction and needle exchanges are reactive, do not prevent harm as their title implies, expensive, high rate of recidivism… all of which is why they are supported by the marijuana industry (they don’t cut into their profits). Treatment and recovery systems will be overwhelmed without prevention.
SD Co doesn’t care about increased drug abuse/addiction and supports harm reduction and needle exchange because, unlike prevention, the industry that supports them, Big Marijuana is fine with them because they don’t cut into their profits. The rates of recidivism are so high that they continue to have customers for many more years. It is so reminiscent of the alcohol industry’s campaign to “drink responsibly”… blame the individual, great for a respectable corporate message but means very little.
Stanton Glanz: The cannabis industry has an interest in creating a regulatory environment which maximizes profits at the cost of public health, similar to the tobacco, alcohol, and food industries. This study sought to describe the cannabis industry's lobbying activities in the Colorado State Legislature over time.
1. High attrition rate for cultivators.
2. Market demand – w/o a consumer we don’t have a mkt.
3. 56 retailers all of SD is 56. 114 retailers are needed. Today we are focusing only on the tax.
4. “REVENUE GENERATING STRATEGIES”
5. All 6 previous “special tax measures failed—they require a 2/3 majority”. They want a “general tax measure” which only requires 50%+1 and goes to general fund
Hemp will be allowed in retail stores in the near future.
6. Taxes should be set at rates that ALLOW BUSINESSES TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND SUSTAINABLE
7. proactive REVENUE STRATEGIES WILL PROVIDE THE COUNTY THE FLEXIBILITY TO ADDRESS “equitable solutions for the county and businesses” what about community impacts… they are not part of the equation??????
8. Hemp currently limited to .003%THC but may change (go up) as it has in other states Environmental marijuana grow impacts; water/electricity environmental concerns.
Outdoor illegal marijuana grows:
• Are sucking California salmon and steelhead trout streams dry (Mendocino County); 3 watersheds; one plant per sq meter consumed 6 gallons/day; 112k plants consume 672k gallons EVERY day leaving nothing to support the fish
• One grow in Fresno County was growing 420,000 plants, worth $1.6 billion and would have consumed 2,520,000 gallons every day.
• Marijuana cultivation in Northern California could be catastrophic for aquatic species." • 32 outdoor and greenhouse grows in Oregon consumed more than 60 MILLION gallons of water/day during the growing season; 50% MORE than is used by ALL THE RESIDENTS OF SAN FRANCISCO.
• hikers and campers are going to find themselves in the middle of a field facing some very dangerous, armed bad guys
• cartels have been found in 15 states and as far north as Washington • The jewels of our park system like Sequoia National Park are not respected by pot entrepreneurs or cartels.
• Grows allow easy access to kids. In 2013, Clackamas County Mental health reported over 70% of teens entering treatment were for marijuana addiction.
• It is unconscionable that a federally illegal drug is permitted to be grown in city and rural residential communities. There are many public-safety risks living next to a pot grow; fatal armed robberies, fatal shootings, butane hash oil explosions, pungent foul odors, attract undesirable visitors, increased criminal activity, increased traffic and drive down property values. • Safe drug policies must be developed to protect the community and must include public safety, quality of life, and the protection of our property values. Unwanted marijuana grows should not be allowed in residential communities.
INDOOR GROWS
• Drain limited energy resources due to their need for high-wattage lights and powerful cooling systems.
• In 2012, a Berkley National Laboratory scientist, Evan Mills, Ph.D. found that legal indoor marijuana growing facilities accounted for 1% of national electricity use at a cost of about $6 billion per year, compared to just $1 billion in energy costs for the pharmaceutical industry. Mills told Bloomberg some bigger growing facilities today use up to $1 million in power every month. • In Colorado 1,200 licensed medical and recreational growing facilities eat up roughly half the state’s new power demands. Last year, those facilities combined used about the same amount of energy as 35,000 households.
• Boulder County charges growing facilities just over 2 cents per kilowatt hour consumed as does Arcata, California, “Officials now bank $300,000 a year from an ‘excessive energy use tax’ that went into effect in October 2013.”
Handout – IASIC1.org
https://iasic1.org
By HANNAH PARRY FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 17:55 EST, 14 February 2022 | UPDATED: 19:11 EST, 14 February 2022 The number of young children being poisoned by eating their parents' pot brownies soared by 320% to record levels.
Dr. Diane Calello, executive and medical director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, told DailyMail.com she'd seen a significant rise in children being exposed to cannabis in recent years.
A study in the Pediatrics journal found a significant increase in the incidences of children under age 11 accidentally consuming cannabis edibles after marijuana was legalized in the 18 states, District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.
Calello said that every time a drug or substance was made more available, there was an increased number of poisonings, 'and when you make that as appealing as edible cannabis...' Calello said that the problem with edibles was that they resembled candies or treats like brownies or cakes - making them irresistible for young children. A child was also likely to eat an entire 'candy bar' of edibles - which would be multiple doses.
The number of young children being poisoned by eating their parents' pot brownies soared by 320% to record levels (stock image)
She said she had seen a national and local trend of children being exposed to edibles after an increased number of states chose to legalize or decriminalize cannabis.
New Jersey voted to legalize marijuana in 2020 which saw police and residents relax their stance on the drug until it was finally signed into law in February 2021.
National incidences of cannabis edibles poisonings
CHILDREN UNDER AGE FIVE
2019
957
2020
2119
CHILDREN AGED 6-12
2019
370
2020
943
'We saw a big jump (in poisonings) in 2020,' Calello said, adding that more people being at home and looking to soothe their anxiety during pandemic lockdowns could also have affected the figures.
The medical director of the New Jersey Poison Control also dismissed the idea that weed was harmless and the myth that someone can't overdose on marijuana.
'It can be dangerous for a child,' she told us. 'Seizures in adults are extremely rare but in children, they need much less to get very sick.'
Calello added that she had personally cared for a child who had a seizure due to a cannabis overdose and another who had to be on a ventilator.
Even mild symptoms could be extremely distressing for a young child.
In 2021, New Jersey Poison Control Center assisted in the treatment of 150 children - 99 of those under the age of five - who ate cannabis edibles.
For children under the age of five, this jumped from 73 in 2020 and just 31 cases in 2019. In the space of two years, numbers of incidents rose 320%.
Nationally, cases have been rising in recent years, from 187 cases among children 6-12 in 2016, to 370 in 2019.
But cases then skyrocketed between 2019 and 2020.
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34 states and Washington D.C. have legalized marijuana in some form, including recreational use, medical use and sales
In the same age range, cases jumped by 573 from 370 to 943.
Summary: For the under-five age range, cases soared from 957 in 2019 to 2119 in 2020, according to data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers. • Numbers of children under FIVE being poisoned by eating their parents' pot brownies and gummies has soared by 320 percent over past three years as more states legalize the drug • Dr. Diane Calello, executive and medical director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, told DailyMail.com she'd seen a significant rise in children being exposed to cannabis in recent years
• A study in the Pediatrics journal found a significant increase in the incidences of children under age 11 accidentally consuming cannabis edibles after marijuana was legalized in the 18 state
• Calello said that every time a drug or substance was made more available, there was an increased number of poisonings
• 'And when you make that as appealing as edible cannabis...' • She dismissed the idea that weed was harmless and the myth that someone can't overdose on marijuana
'It can be dangerous for a child,' she told us. 'Seizures in adults are extremely rare but in children, they need much less to get very sick.'