TO: Mayor and Council Members
Marlene Best, City Manager
Shawn Hagerty, City Attorney
FROM: Annette Ortiz, CMC, City Clerk
DATE: October 26, 2022
SUBJ: Updated Council Meeting Materials – October 26, 2022 NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENT:
The attached correspondence for Non-Agenda Public Comment was received and is provided for your consideration.
From: Barbara Gordon
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2022 7:36 AM
To: Rob McNelis <[email protected]>; Ronn Hall <[email protected]>; John Minto <[email protected]>; Dustin Trotter <[email protected]>; Laura Koval <[email protected]>
Subject: Non-agenda Public Comment
Dear City Council Members,
Red Ribbon Week is celebrated annually October 23-31. It’s the nation's oldest and largest drug prevention awareness program.
Red Ribbon Week started after the death of Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who in 1985 was brutally murdered by drug traffickers he was investigating in Mexico. After his death, people started wearing red ribbons to honor Kiki's sacrifice.
Red Ribbon Week is an environmental strategy, which means it goes beyond schools, churches and other groups into the broader community.
It serves as a catalyst to mobilize communities to educate youth regarding the harms and consequences of drug use, promote a drug-free lifestyle, and encourage the community to participate in drug prevention activities.
Alcohol and other forms of drug abuse in this country have reached epidemic stages, and it is imperative that visible, unified prevention education efforts by communities to eliminate the demand for drugs.
I urge the city to use Red Ribbon Week to create an awareness campaign that disseminates information to the general public about the dangers of drug use.
Drug abuse and addiction have far-reaching consequences that affect family, employment, personal health, health care systems, local communities, and society as a whole.
Thank you,
Barbara Gordon
From: Rebecca Rapp
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2022 1:08 PM
To: Dustin Trotter <[email protected]>; John Minto <[email protected]>; Laura Koval <[email protected]>; Rob McNelis <[email protected]>; Ronn Hall <[email protected]>
Subject: Public Comment LA times “New details show sprawling web of corruption in Southern California cannabis licensing.”
Good evening, Mayor Minto and council members, my name is Becky Rapp. I’m a public health educator concerned with the lack of prevention messaging regarding the marijuana industry. I cannot attend in person tonight but wanted to send my comments in hopes of consideration.
It seems the marijuana industry has the ear of the city as every policy that moves forward seems to benefit those profiting. Many local doctors working on the front lines of the mental health crisis have stated their concerns along with new, current studies that point to the detrimental harms high-potency marijuana can have, especially on the developing brain. Information that should not be ignored.
I can’t help but wonder why.
An article posted in the LA times last week titled, “New details show sprawling web of corruption in Southern California cannabis licensing.” The article describes how California lawmakers called for a statewide task force to crack down on corruption. Details are emerging in a bribery scandal and pay-to-play schemes. The counties that have been investigated are the Inland Empire, San Gabrielle Valley, and Southwest Los Angeles County.
The article goes on to describe that in some instances, government officials took on dual roles as lobbyists or consultants for pot interests. In fact, more than a dozen government officials statewide received income, ranging from thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands
from marijuana companies or had interests in pot businesses while still in office.
In no way am saying the city is involved in backyard transactions with the marijuana industry but it is curious as to why policy gets approved to profit in the industry and the community voice along with local healthcare professionals seems to be ignored. Perhaps more prevention messaging and counteradvertising would be appropriate, sending the message that you’re listening.