Our previous post featured two Sonoma city Council members arguing over a possible conflict of interest regarding a second dispensary in the city. Here now, the discussion continues.
Though the city council finally voted to permit a second dispensary, there’s been no action on that because Erich Pearson of SPARC, Amy O’Gorman Jenkins of the lobbying firm Precision Advocacy, and Emily Paxhia of Poseidon Asset Management (a major funding source of SPARC) have spent the last 3 and a half years lobbying to protect their stranglehold on cannabis retail in Sonoma at the expense of Sonoma’s citizens. Oh, did we mention that Jenkins and Paxhia also have a percentage of the SPARC Sonoma shop? More to come…
SVCG Blog
A Hollow Victory
This sidebar once declared in its headline, “Success!”. And it was true at the time. After 4 long years of cajoling and discussion, the city of Sonoma had finally come to permit 2 walk-in retail cannabis dispensaries.
Unfortunately, that good cheer was short-lived. Though the first dispensary plans to open this spring, its owner, Erich Pearson of sparc, along with his personal lobbyist, Amy O’Gorman Jenkins, have worked with the Sonoma City Council to stop the process for a second dispensary.
Mr Pearson chose to misrepresent his financial situation to the Sonoma City Council in order to convince it to support what amounts to a city-sponsored monopoly, rather than face any competition that would provide medical patients with better prices, more product choices, and additional services.
Ms Jenkins, who runs her own lobbying firm, Precision Advocacy, and is also the Legislative Advocate for the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA), is a native to Sonoma. Her ties to the local community afford her a unique position to influence local policy. She was a contributor to the campaigns of cannabis-friendly candidates Rachel Hundley in 2018 and Sandra Lowe in 2021.
Appearances are everything. Contributions can create avenues for corruption, either grand or petty. Cronyism and favors to rig a market are unacceptable.
Thanks
We thank everyone in this group and on our mailing list for their support, for signing the petition, for writing the letters and contributing to the discussions.
Thanks to Ken Brown and Jewel Mathieson for their years of advocacy for patients’ access to safe, legal medical cannabis. Their goal of local access has finally been realized.
And thanks to our past city council allies Amy Harrington and Logan Harvey for leaning forward on this issue. They helped define Sonoma as a city of progressive values in Sonoma County.
In the meantime, the Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group will continue to keep you informed on all the latest developments in 2022.
Best Regards,
Gil Latimer
Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group
The Voice for Cannabis in Sonoma Valley since 2017
The mission of Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group (SVCG) has been to assist the city of Sonoma form a compassionate cannabis policy that will ensure safe and legal access to medicinal cannabis for the residents of Sonoma and Sonoma Valley.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
On January 20, 2021, the city council voted to amend our ordinance to permit an additional walk-in retail dispensary. The newly revised ordinance went into effect on May 19.
A second retail outlet would improve service to the 45,000 people living in the greater Sonoma area. Competition can provide folks here with easy, safe access to more product choice, better services, etc. That’s what the free market is all about, isn’t it? Everybody wins, the city, adult consumers and *especially* medical users.
However, there have been forces within the industry that are working against the second dispensary option and would prefer that the new permit process be slow-walked. You can read about it in this post.
The Story Part 4: Emily Paxhia of Poseidon Chooses to Go “Dark” as We Press for Cannabis Justice in the City of Sonoma
In our previous post we noted our email exchange with Emily Paxhia of Poseidon Investment Management who is also a part owner of Erich Pearson's (SPARC) Sonoma dispensary. We allowed four weeks for response, and...
The Story Part 5: No Dispensary for You!
Watch two city councilmember/attorneys trade verbal blows over charges of conflict of interest in a small-town dispensary scheme. This is the taproot of a poisoned process that continues to plague the citizens of the Sonoma...
The Story Part 3: What Happens When an Unstoppable Force Meets an Immovable Object?
Just to remind, our first email to Emily Paxhia, Managing Partner of Poseidon Investment Management, outlined how our advocacy organization had been libeled by Erich Pearson, CEO of SPARC, one of Poseidon’s major...