Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group

The Voice for Cannabis in Sonoma Valley since 2017

 

Watch our latest video: Local Control: The Bane of the California Cannabis Industry

Our Public Comment to the Sonoma City Council

SVCG speaks up for a second dispensary at Sonoma’s Special City Council Goal Setting Session for 2025

Our Letter-to-the-Editor: Dispensary owner’s behavior cause for concern

John Loe was arrested Oct. 18 after firing a Taser at customers and brandishing a firearm, according to Sonoma County Sheriff’s officials

EDITOR: Dispensary owner John Loe’s recent arrest for allegedly firing a taser and waving a gun at two customers in his shop just south of Sonoma should be cause for grave concern to the general public and local policymakers.

Mr. Loe’s displays of white grievance and victimhood in public and private have been well documented in The Press Democrat and Index-Tribune. It’s one thing to align himself with the tenets of white supremacy and close down public meetings with racist, anti-Semitic tirades, but an arrest for brandishing weapons in a threatening manner toward innocents within his business establishment could be considered a sign of escalation.

Loe has had to face neighborhood complaints about his home-grown gun range, negative press over his hate-filled rhetoric, the prospective loss of his family home and business through bankruptcy and now possible weapons charges. All that considered, what guarantee is there that John Loe will not become a danger to himself or others in the future?

Members of the Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group have also found themselves the target of Mr. Loe’s ire. After we posted a number of local news articles about his behavior on our website, he reached out to address several of us personally in very ugly and disturbing tones.

Unfortunately, local policymakers, including members of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, excuse themselves as powerless to revoke Loe’s two dispensary permits or impose sanctions for abusing public trust.

In the case of the Sonoma City Council, certain council members once voiced support for John Loe’s dispensary just south of town as the answer to the city’s second dispensary issue.

We don’t believe that in their quest for more options and choices to Erich Pearson and Sparc’s monopoly, it’s reasonable to expect Sonoma’s citizens to patronize a business owned by a white supremacist.

So long as the city council refuses to release the RFP for the second dispensary, our patients and consumers will continue to be confronted by a false forced-choice: either run their risk patronizing John Loe, or knuckle under to Erich Pearson’s monopoly of service.

Gil Latimer
Founder, Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group

 

Controversial Sonoma cannabis dispensary owner arrested on suspicion of brandishing weapons at shop customers

John Loe was arrested Oct. 18 after firing a Taser at customers and brandishing a firearm, according to Sonoma County Sheriff’s officials


THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
 
Sonoma County’s most controversial weed purveyor has another headache on his hands — a recent arrest on weapons charges.
John Loe, known for his angry public tirades and anti-diversity screeds, was arrested at his cannabis shop — Loe Dispensary, at the Big Bend intersection south of Sonoma — on the afternoon of Oct. 18.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office reported that Loe, 50, fired a Taser at customers, then pulled a handgun from his waistband and pointed it at two people.
No one was injured. The Taser dart did not strike anyone.
Loe was arrested on a charge of felony assault with a Taser and a misdemeanor count of brandishing a firearm. He was booked at the Sonoma County jail and later released on $20,000 bail…

SVCG Comment:

Dispensary owner John Loe’s recent arrest for allegedly firing a taser and waving a gun at two customers in his shop just south of Sonoma should be cause for grave concern to the general public and local policymakers.

Mr. Loe’s displays of white grievance and victimhood in public and private have been well documented in the Press Democrat and Index-Tribune. It’s one thing to close down public meetings with racist, anti-diversity tirades, but an arrest for brandishing weapons in a threatening manner toward innocents within his business establishment could be considered a sign of escalation.

Loe has had to face neighborhood complaints about his home-grown gun range, negative press over his hate-filled rhetoric, the prospective loss of his family home and business through bankruptcy and now possible weapons charges. All that considered, what guarantee is there that John Loe will not become a danger to himself or others in the future?

Members of the Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group have also found themselves the target of Mr. Loe’s ire. After we posted a number of local news articles about his behavior on our website, he reached out to address several of us personally in very ugly and disturbing tones.

Unfortunately, local policymakers, including members of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, excuse themselves as powerless to revoke Loe’s two dispensary permits or impose sanctions for abusing public trust.

In the case of the Sonoma City Council, certain council members once voiced support for John Loe’s dispensary just south of town as the answer to the city’s second dispensary issue.

We don’t believe that in their quest for more options and choices to Erich Pearson and Sparc’s monopoly, it’s reasonable to expect Sonoma’s citizens to patronize a business owned by a white supremacist.

So long as the city council refuses to release the RFP for the second dispensary, our patients and consumers will continue to be confronted by a false forced-choice: either run their risk patronizing John Loe, or knuckle under to Erich Pearson’s monopoly of service.

Gil Latimer – Founder, Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group

Bay Area man who said ‘white people will stand up’ receives social equity grant

Loe at BOS

By Lester Black, SFGate Cannabis editor – Aug 5, 2024

John Loe, a pot shop owner in Sonoma County, received the grant in May as part of (Sonoma) county’s cannabis social equity program, which aims to help people impacted by marijuana criminalization succeed in the cannabis industry. In an interview Wednesday, Loe said that he was only awarded a grant because he was actively investigating the program.” Loe was awarded $39,687.50.

But wait, there’s more. This isn’t just about John Loe:

The county announced in May that it had issued $635,000 in cannabis grants, sending money to all 20 people who applied for the program. County Supervisor David Rabbitt said in a May press release that the program “aims to serve socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals” in the industry, but an investigation by the Sebastopol Times found that a majority of the 20 recipients “are among the most successful and influential people” in the county’s pot industry, including four people associated with SPARC, a cannabis retailer with seven different locations across the Bay Area.

This news only highlights how our local patients and consumers are held hostage by a combination of the poor implimentation of Sonoma County’s equity program, the greed of an undeserving Erich Pearson, the racial hatred of John Loe and the Sonoma City Council’s complicity in blocking reasonable access to cannabis medications and products.

You can read Lester Black’s entire article here.

Local Control: The Bane of the California Cannabis Industry

 

California must address the lack of availability of cannabis products within the state.

Local Control :

  • threatens consumer safety and perpetuates an unregulated market
  • undermines the survival of smaller scale cultivators
  • blocks access and business opportunities to minority communities
  • creates space for corruption and scandal among elected officials

Our Story of the City of Sonoma and the Politics of Local Control

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“At the heart of Tuesday’s chaos was John Loe”

by | Nov 28, 2023

This is the guy who 2 of our city council members suggested other investors team up with to help him overcome financial difficulties in opening two dispensaries outside of Sonoma.

According to the Press Democrat, “At the heart of Tuesday’s chaos was John Loe, also known as John Lobro, who previously made headlines when his Sebastopol neighbors complained about his frequent discharge of semi-automatic weapons at the personal gun range he has constructed on his property. Loe has also been trying to open two cannabis dispensaries in the Sonoma area.

“He has delivered angry messages at other recent public meetings. And on Sept. 22, he sent a demeaning, misogynist email to Supervisor Susan Gorin that took exception to a reference she had made to the gun range issue.

‘Be careful what you say about me to your friends in the press,’ Loe wrote in the email, which The Press Democrat reviewed. ‘i am taking notes and will hold you accountable. I promise you i will expose, challenge, and defeat you.’

He added, ‘i wish the worst for you and your loved ones including poor health and sickness.’”

We have to ask, would you ever buy from someone who is this animated by what he believes to be racism against White people?

You can read the article, “More vitriol aimed at Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, this time in person” at the Press Democrat.

<- We’ve got a ranting proponent of white grievance on the left, and a self-serving, ethically-challenged operator at the right ->, both of whom own dispensaries in the vicinity of the city of Sonoma and the Valley.

And right here in the middle, we have patients and consumers who are subjected to dubious service at the hands of those who do not reflect the values of our community.

We deserve better. Why should we be victimized by circumstances that strong arm us into giving away our hard-earned money to support businesses more interested in profit than honorable service?

We believe everyone would be better off if the city of Sonoma would stop protecting Erich Pearson and company, cease running John Loe as a screen against reasonable access, and start the process for the second dispensary.

#boycottsparc #boycottloedispensaries

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.

Erich Pearson Libels Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group in Front of Sonoma City Council

by | April 23, 2023

Erich Pearson, CEO of sparc, currently operates 5 cannabis dispensaries in Sonoma County and San Francisco. His dispensary in the city of Sonoma has been open for nearly 2 years and until recently enjoyed the enviable position as the one and only cannabis retail shop within a 15 mile radius. It was, at the very least, a one hour round trip drive to any of his competitors.

In order to maintain his retail stronghold, Mr. Pearson has employed numerous questionable tactics, but the charge he lodged against us in public to the Sonoma City Council, strikes a new low. See video, above.

1. Our Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group is a 200+ member independent, informal advocacy group. 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. We view any charge to the contrary as defamation of character, resulting in a negative reflection on our reputation.

2. Furthermore, we can say with certainty that no members of SVCG have allied themselves with any “out-of-town operator” who lives in San Francisco.

3. SVCG has never received any funding from any outside source.

4. Our mission has been to assist the city of Sonoma shape compassionate cannabis policy and to keep our members informed of developments that bear on their needs. SVCG finds Mr. Pearson’s accusation that our group is something more than an unfunded, small town, grass-roots advocacy group to be insulting, deceitful and completely devoid of truth.

Under circumstances such as this, a public retraction and apology would be an appropriate remedy.

Gil Latimer

Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group

The Bigger Story…

The city of Sonoma’s cannabis ordinance allows for two walk-in dispensaries. Unfortunately, though the first dispensary has been open for two and a half years, its owner, Erich Pearson of SPARC, along with his Strategic Advisor and part owner of the Sonoma store, Amy O’Gorman Jenkins, have been lobbying the city to block the process for a second dispensary.

On September 8, 2021, Pearson told the city council that he had to close 2 shops in San Francisco because he “couldn’t pay the bills”, and he was facing a 1.2 million dollar rebuild. He did not, however, disclose that he was preparing to open a new dispensary and consumption lounge on Polk Street in San Francisco. Poor on the one hand, prosperous on the other?

The result was that the city council voted to support what amounts to a city-sponsored monopoly and that for the foreseeable future, Mr. Pearson will not face any competition that would provide medical patients and consumers with competitive prices, more product choices, and additional services.

Pearson has since opned a new dispensary in Napa and currently operates 7 stores in the Bay Area.

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 in 2018 and 2021, including Sandra Lowe, who eventually became Mayor. Most recently, Mayor Lowe appointed Ms. Jenkins to the local Planning Commission.

Appearances are everything. Contributions can create avenues for corruption, either grand or petty. Cronyism and favors to rig a market are unacceptable.

The videos above chronicle how small-town politics, local control, and greed intersect to deny the citizens of Sonoma and the valley the right to reasonable access to cannabis.

Comments submitted to the above post, “At the heart of Tuesday’s chaos was John Loe”. The first of the following exchanges was between John Loe of Loe Dispensaries and the Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group.

#boycottloedispensary  #boycottsparc

Comments

John Loe on March 13, 2024 at 6:51 am
192.145.119.77

All customers are coming to Loe Dispensary if they don’t like sparc. Only Gil and Josie want to rabble rouse boomers and be intolerant of pearson why don’t you bullies leave Erich and me alone? Go protest a developer or climb a tree or something assholes.

________________________________________________________________________________

Gil Latimer  on March 18, 2024 at 9:08 pm (Edit)

Thank you for your comment, Mr. Loe. We’re curious, since you mention yourself with Erich Pearson in the same breath, are you friends with each other?

________________________________________________________________________________

“Not John Loe” on March 19, 2024 at 5:00 am      Fakeloe@gmail.com
192.145.119.56

That’s none of your business, Gilbert, you intolerant schmuck. Off yourself.

________________________________________________________________________________

Gil Latimer  on March 20, 2024 at 3:59 am

I don’t know why someone would send a second comment via a German VPN with a fake Gmail address attached to what seems like a fictitious name, ”Not John Loe”. And what’s with including a link to the Kanye West gear that features the German coat of arms?

Notwithstanding the comments in which someone identified as John Loe called me an “asshole” and that I should kill myself, what else would he like to contribute to this dialogue?

Would he like to address what he said in the video of the October 3, 2023 Sonoma Board of Supervisor’s meeting?

Again, perhaps he can shed some light on his relationship with Erich Pearson, the CEO of SPARC, who holds the sole dispensary permit in the city of Sonoma. He must have emailed him over the years, just as he has me. Perhaps Mr. Pearson has even responded? However, friendly or not, both Loe and Pearson are competitors.

Though someone responding as “Not John Loe” notes it’s none of my business, all this is of interest to the Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group. How often has Mr. Loe communicated with anyone at the Sonoma City Council over the years? Why did two members of the city council suggest in public that someone should partner up with Mr. Loe because was having financial trouble?

________________________________________________________________________________________

“Frank White” on March 27,2024 at 3:59 pm     Fwhite62@gmail.com       Boomerdystopia.com

31.187.78.226

Gil and Josie are hateful and spiteful losers. This stupid cannabis group has nothing to do with cannabis appreciation or enthusiasm and everything to do with selfish boomers hating and being intolerant. Many members have left this hatful group and they complain publicly that the group is a political tool for the spiteful intolerant haters. Pearson and Loe invested their money and lives into being pioneers in Sonoma valley to bring safe access to the local citizens. Gil and Josette have this cannabis hate-group to defame and disparage local cannabis businesses so that they can continue their hate campaign of intolerance against the homosexual maverick Pearson and the Christian family-man Loe. Everyone knows what Gil’s problem is. He is a small hatful man with enough time on his boomer hands to hate hate hate all day long. And I watched the Loe video from the board meeting and he was great. He was speaking against racism and called the board racists for their racist policies. Maybe you should watch the comments and not what some dishonest writer takes out of context. I applaud Loe for his activism. And Gil, you are a small man. Leave Pearson alone. Leave Loe alone. Your hateful intolerance shows who you are, that why your cannabis group is a joke of the valley. If enthusiasts want to enjoy real cannabis culture they know where to go and it’s not your narcissist rag. Be careful who you defame. Pearson and Loe seem to have lawyers watching you Gil.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Gil Latimer on March 30, 2024 at 7:34 pm

There appears to be an interesting evolution in comments made to this website. The first reader to contribute was dispensary owner John Lobro, AKA John Loe – we’re not exactly sure which is which. Mr. Lobro/Loe, sent his comment through a VPN in Nuremberg, Germany. For someone animated by what he believes to be racism against white people (see video), it’s interesting that he posted through a service based in a city that also hosted the Nuremberg war trials. You may remember that’s where justice was meted out to Nazi war criminals.

The second commenter posted as “Not John Loe”, again through the same service in Nuremberg, Germany, and with the address Fakeloe@gmail.com. “Not John Loe” also supplied a link to Kanye West, a “White Lives Matter” supporter – the kind of movement that brought torch-carriers to Charlottesville.

In the first comment, John Lobro/Loe called me an “asshole”. In the second comment, “Not John Loe” said I should kill myself.

Now we have a third comment, this time from one “Frank White” (brilliant! 😉) with a link to boomer dystopia.com. Go ahead, click through it. The site is hilarious, though its authors probably wouldn’t appreciate that critique, because there’s nothing funny about how Boomers have been the ruin of everything.

Unlike the first two comments, which came through Nuremberg, Germany, home of the trials of the worst war criminals in the history of the modern world, this one came through a service in, you’ll never guess – Tel Aviv, Israel. Ironies pile on ironies. The logic of this is about as twisted as a Texas tornado.

But, let’s address our third commenter, “Mr. White”, the true identity of whom we cannot be certain.

“Mr. White”, you mentioned “the homosexual maverick Pearson and the Christian family-man Loe.” We find that an interesting combination of phraseology. On the one hand you mention a ”homosexual”, and on the other, a God loving “Christian”. You seem to know John Loe, Mr. White, can you tell us if Loe and Erich Pearson are friendly? Do they perhaps break bread together?

Previous commenter “Not John Loe” couldn’t answer our question regarding communications between he and the Sonoma City Council regarding his desire to open a dispensary. Two councilmembers suggested someone should team up with Loe to help him resolve his financial problems in opening a shop. Do you know anything about that, Mr. White? Do you know why John Loe is selling his 5 million dollar home in West County? Too many complaints about the gun range on his property? Will the possible 300-foot setback keep him from growing cannabis on his land? Or is he just plain out of money?

Mr. White, could you tell us why John Loe wrote the following to Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin? “Fat old lady… Be careful what you say about me to your friends in the press… Washed up hag… I wish the worst for you and your loved ones… Silver haired loser… Go to hell.”

I’m not sure how anyone can expect to build a successful business when they call people names and tell them they should kill themselves. Who would recommend to their friends and neighbors that they spend their hard-earned money to support someone whose sense of decency and humanity is so opposed to their own?

We suggest, “Mr. White”, that you have a talk with Mr. Loe. And don’t forget to invite “Not John Loe”

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One Cost of Hate Speech

by Gil Latimer | Nov 25, 2023

Please do not support the business of hate. The world is in a bad enough state without folks unknowingly patronizing businesses operated by those whom the press appears to have associated with prejudice and racism.

The following column was published in a recent edition of the Sonoma Sun.

I have chosen not to patronize Loe Dispensary or Lefever Mattson owned businesses. But, we each have to make our own choices and search our own consciences when making these choices. For me that choice is not to add to the financial enrichment of those who in my opinion are racist, anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ rights and anti-women’s rights.

2 local dispensary owners choose profit over principles

by | Oct 25, 2023

SVCG member Josette Brose-Eichar and I spoke during the Public Comment period at a recent Sonoma City Council meeting. Thanks to Perri Ellis Paniagua for emailing the council, as well. The key items put before the city council:

· Cannabis, Honesty and Equality – Erich Pearson, who owns the only dispensary in town, has thrown honesty aside in order to protect his own interests. He recently defamed our group in a city council meeting.

· According to The Press Democrat, another dispensary owner, John Loe, who recently opened a store outside the city limits, has stood before the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and vented hateful rhetoric.

· We need businesses that promote honesty and equality and we should *not* support businesses that don’t.

· We have sent a letter to Pearson’s capital investors, Emily Paxhia and Poseidon Asset Management, asking for a retraction of the libelous remarks he made about our group to the city council.

· We also authored a Position Paper regarding local control and the lack of retail outlets that has been signed by many cannabis organizations and companies.

Bottom line, we’ve got a ranting hater over here, an ethically-challenged operator over there, and stuck right in the middle is an electorate that overwhelmingly supported Prop64, imploring for better access.

Add a Comment

Retraction and Apology from sparc CEO Joseph Erich Pearson Necessary

by | May 4, 2023

Two responses from our Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group regarding the city council’s mishandling of the 2nd dispensary issue and the accusations made against us by sparc CEO Erich Pearson.

Thanks to Perri Ellis Paniagua for her letter. My rejoinder to Pearson’s false allegations is on that page, as well.

https://www.sonomanews.com/article/opinion/letter-to-the-index-tribune-editor-may-5-2023/

For private responses: SVCG@sonomavalleycannabisgroup.com

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Did You Know?…

Did You Know?…

by | Mar 20, 2023 |

From Josette Brose-Eichar, SVCG Policy Group member:Did you know that they city of Sonoma’s cannabis ordinance was updated in 2021 to allow and license a second dispensary? Did you know the present Sonoma city council placed putting the second dispensary out for bid...

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