Last week, we showed you the video of Erich Pearson, CEO of SPARC defaming our group in front of the Sonoma City Council. Here is the letter we sent to Emily Paxhia of Poseidon Investment Management, his major funding source.
My name is Gil Latimer and I am the founder of the Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group (SVCG), a 200+ member, independent advocacy group based in the city of Sonoma, California. For the past six years, our mission has been to assist the city of Sonoma shape compassionate cannabis policy that affords its citizens safe, legal access to cannabis.
During the April 19, 2023 Sonoma City Council meeting, Mr. Pearson made false, harmful and defamatory statements in order to portray our group as an untrustworthy, bad faith actor in our pursuit of reasonable access to cannabis for patients and adult consumers in Sonoma Valley.
<quote from video>
SVCG is not, nor has it ever been, affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with any other company, agency or government agency. Furthermore, no members of SVCG have allied themselves with any out-of-town operator, nor has SVCG ever received any funding from any outside source.
Due to Mr. Pearson’s reckless and damaging statements, SVCG has suffered harm to its character and reputation and endured great emotional distress.
– 2 –
Mr. Pearson’s defamatory comments were communicated live and on digital video to the citizens of Sonoma and the greater Sonoma Valley, causing SVCG to defend its good name and reputation on as many Sonoma Valley social media and news media platforms as possible.
Mr. Pearson made a management decision when he leveled his charges against our group in public. We question his ability to make ethical choices in the pursuit of capital. We suggest that no one who makes these types of choices should be in a position of leadership in a company in which you have a significant investment.
We applaud your commitment to growing with the cannabis industry in an honest, responsible, and non-exploitative way. We support your pledge to present cannabis in a positive light as a legitimate medicine for patients in need of appropriate medical therapy. In light of this, we do not feel that maligning our good work in the community is in line with your investment thesis.
Recognizing your commitment to best practice and ethics, we request that Poseidon bring our concerns to Mr. Pearson and suggest that he make a public retraction and apology at a future Sonoma City Council meeting.
We look forward to your reply and assistance in finding a resolution to this issue. Sincerely,
Gil Latimer, Founder, Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group
hashtag#boycottsparc hashtag#medicalmarijuana hashtag#cannabis hashtag#cannabisbusiness hashtag#cannabisi
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.
An Obvious Question…
SEEWEED – PART ONE – McLovin Farm in Laytonville
https://youtu.be/lVMYGCgAE0c Short film (16 minutes) featuring just one of many legacy family cultivators trying to survive in the Emerald Triangle, where some of the best cannabis flower we all enjoy is grown. Starting at the Mendocino Producers Guild markets in...
People are getting hurt…
Cannabis has been king in this rural area of northern California. But as prices plummet, communities and business owners are hurting, with no clear solutions in sight. Many blame Proposition 64 for undermining small growers....