Concord Gets Closer to Scoring the Cannabis!
Right now, at this very moment, there are no cannabis delivery services or dispensaries within Concord city limits. A quick search on Weedmaps shows the closest dispensaries to Concord are in Berkeley or Vallejo, which can be quite a costly and time-consuming trek in Bay Area traffic. Delivery companies do service Concord residents, now, but their operations are not based inside the city, therefore the city does not reap tax revenue benefits. City Council held a study session Tuesday to discuss how to rectify and regulate the cannabis desert that is Concord.
Budtender weighs out cannabis for sale. Photo courtesy of Unsplash/Get Budding
The meeting was productive and reflected broad support for the establishment of some types of cannabis businesses What they unanimously support is permitting delivery and testing laboratory businesses – where they diverge is on the dispensary issue.
Most people present at Tuesday’s special session outwardly supported the idea of medical dispensaries in town but Councilwoman Laura Hoffmeister and Mayor Carlyn Obringer were a little more than hesitant to move forward with recreational-use storefronts.
“I’m not convinced that retail sales for adult use is appropriate for our community,” Hoffmeister said.
Councilman Dominic Aliano played the middle and dare we say NIMBY line with his vocalized support for adult-use dispensaries, so long as they are not established in the Monument Corridor he represents. Vice Mayor Tim McGallian’s take was a bit confusing – he kind of, sort of backed the concept of retail storefronts with the caveat that they don’t sell vaping products or smokeable flower, making us wonder if he knows how weed works.
The one council member who seems to be on board with reality of life in 2019 and in accordance with what California voters approved under Proposition 64 is Edi Birsan, the city’s mayor until recently.
“To make it simple, I’m all in,” Birsan said.
“On everything?” Obringer asked.
“Yes,” he replied.
There is still much work to do before a commercial ordinance is in place but Tuesday’s meeting showed signs of a once-reluctant city coming closer to puff, puff, passing a plan to benefit both Concord cannabis users and tax payers.
Too bad Birsan is not still the mayor.
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