Congratulations! We did it. The regulatory ordinance was finally passed on a 3-2 to vote. The first reading of the zoning ordinance also passed 3-2 and its second reading should be completed this Sunday in a special, short meeting.

There are a number of loose ends that need to be addressed in the coming weeks, but your city of Sonoma will now permit a medical dispensary and more!

Thanks to everyone in this group 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 has finally been realized.?

Thanks to our City Council allies Rachel E Hundley, Amy Harrington and Logan Harvey for leaning forward on so many fronts to help define Sonoma as a city of progressive values that will be admired as a pacesetter.?

This campaign was never about making it easier for stoners to get their weed, as many of the opposition would like to think. It was always about the patients. Always. Recreational is fine, but if a choice had to be made between it and medical, I’d throw rec under the bus in a New York minute.

It has been a long 24 months since I climbed aboard this roller coaster. Ups, downs, twists and turns, you just try to hang on and do your best to steer. Let your passion fuel you. Let your desire to make things better fuel others to influence, inspire and make an impact. That’s how progress is made.