The City of Paso Robles hosted a forum on Cannabis last night. The intent was to give the community an opportunity to give feedback on expansion of Cannabis regulations, like allowing retail stores to sell recreational marijuana in Paso Robles.
About 60 people attended the workshop, but only one from the city council. Mayor Steve Martin attended to hear and see what the community had to say. Council candidate Chris Bausch attended the workshop. No sitting members of the council attended. However, about ten members of the city staff attended the workshop.
Assistant City Manager Chris Huot gave a history of Cannabis regulations in the city and the time line for changes in the state law, including passage of Proposition 64 which legalized the recreational use of Cannabis in the state.
A representative from HDL, a Cannabis consulting firm, also provided background information. He said San Luis Obispo County is short 9 retailers county-wide. Currently, there are Cannabis retailers in Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo and Grover Beach.
Several retailers and cannabis delivery service operators spoke including Sunny Mulinax who has a Cannabis operation in Morro Bay. That business currently delivers recreational pot to people in Paso Robles.
Grace Hall talked about her family’s medicinal marijuana delivery business. Dubs Spring Garden has been delivering medical marijuana to Paso Robles patients who have doctor’s prescriptions for about ten years.
Some people talked about the tax revenue that will be generated by the sale of recreational cannabis in Paso Robles. Others spoke about the danger of exposing youth to cannabis. Some said that licensing retail pot shops would eliminate or reduce an illicit Cannabis market. The discussion continued for over two hours.
Assistant City Manager Chris Huot said the meeting’s video will soon be on the city’s website. There is also an online survey about Cannabis on the city’s website. He said the issue will probably come back to the Paso Robles City Council in October.
