The following is a letter to the editor in today’s IT, In dank we trust, by Will Shobrun, – I posted a Comment, below..

EDITOR: “Back in the old days,” he said, leaning on his wizard cane, “it was called dope.”

Also referred to as smoke, pot, reefer, jay, Mary Jane and a salad of euphemisms. It was never called cannabis, as in, “Yo, bro, got any cannabis?” “Cannabis” was the invention of some doper English major who got off on Latin, and embraced by city councils all over America drooling for tax dollars.

The way to “test” marijuana, a name only used by government drug agencies, was to first smell it and then smoke it. The nose knows was the motto, well, my motto, and it’s still true, and the acid (ahem) test was to smoke the stuff. It was either really good, gooood, all right or junk. Simple, easy, scientific-ish and you’re out the door.

Now capitalism rears its coiffed head, advertising and PR geeks take over, and a perfectly natural substance to get you high is hyped and packaged up the yin-yang. Thanks to the packaging, adding 40 tons of indestructible plastic to oceans and landfills that won’t break down until the year 20,003 (rough calculation), you can’t smell it or even see it at purchase.

So as they say at the bar I hang out in, caveat emptor, which means … trust me sucker, would I lie to you?

Will Shonbrun

Sonoma Valley

Will, I agree with much of what you’ve said. As a 30-year advocate for medicinal marijuana, I never supported Prop 64. It is pseudo-legalization that has destroyed the traditional market through over-regulation and over-taxation to benefit deep-pocket players. Only legislation through Sacramento can change 64 and good luck with *that*. The other option is another statewide ballot initiative to make things right. It should be planned for 2024 (2022 is an off-year and too risky). But, it’s still a tall order.

So in the meantime, the current playing field is all we have. And our patient community *especially* needs safe, local access to marijuana, or cannabis, or whatever you want to call it. The current issue facing Sonoma is the need for a second dispensary to provide patients and adult consumers with the choices they deserve in order to better serve 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.

What we’re asking now is that citizens send an email to the city council in support of a second dispensary and, better yet, come speak at the January city council meeting. You do not have to be a resident of the city, as this affects the entire south end of the Valley. It’s easy to keep up to date on this issue via Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group. Type that into Google or Facebook and you’ll find us for the latest information.

– Gil, Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group

Hello Everyone, Happy New Year!

Let’s take that leap of faith and hope for a better one on the other side… 🙂

We continue to look forward to the January 20 city council meeting for a discussion regarding an additional dispensary, though that date remains tentative. We’ll be sure to keep you aware of the latest developments.

In the meantime, it can’t hurt to start a new year off on the right foot, so we sent the following to the city council this morning:

Happy New Year to City Council and Staff,

First, we’d like to congratulate Jack Ding on his election to the Sonoma City Council. As the first Asian American to serve on the council, we imagine Jack will bring a fresh perspective informed by his unique personal journey from Nantong, China to Sonoma.

Our congratulations also to Logan Harvey, who was chosen by the council to serve a second consecutive year as our city’s Mayor. He did a bang-up job in his first term and we expect he’ll put that new gavel to good use this term, as well.

We extend our best wishes to Vice Mayor Madolyn Agrimonti, who was just selected to serve in that chair by a 4-0 vote. The Vice Mayor could be considered sort of the “rock” of the council, having served longer than anyone else currently serving and well-known for her good humor, honesty and steadfastness.

We’re also happy to see Amy Harrington, who has previously served as Mayor, sworn in for her second term on the council. We’ve always appreciated her solid leadership and open and fair-minded consideration of issues facing Sonoma.

We would also like to welcome Sonoma’s new Interim City Manager, David Kiff, whose knowledge of and expertise in Sonoma County issues can help keep our city on track.

As we move past the trials and tribulations of the past year, we feel all of the above bodes well for the future of the city of Sonoma.

Wishing all a happy, healthy and successful New Year.