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.

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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.

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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

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