Jan 6 2025 Newsletter - Sonoma County Cannabis Scorecard

January 6th, 2025

Sonoma County’s Cannabis Program Gets a Failing Grade

The Public Health Institute (PHI) issues scorecards of cannabis policies annually, and once again, Sonoma County’s Cannabis policy failed the grade. These scorecards, produced by their “Getting it Right from the Start” program, evaluate the policies passed by California cities and counties, rating them on a 100-point scale.  The results highlight another dismal performance by Sonoma County; a score of 37, maybe a solid D.

As the legal cannabis market in California has grown enormously, local policy efforts to protect youth, public health and equity have lagged behind. PHI asks, “What are communities doing to protect youth, public health and equity?”   PHI aims to educate policymakers and promote more protective rules.  

The scorecard highlights glaring holes in the County’s policies.   Of 25 policy categories, Sonoma County received a zero score in 14 of them.

Will the Cannabis Ordinance Proposed Changes Improve the Score?
NO!

Sonoma County’s proposed changes to its Ordinance would reduce the already abysmal D grade, by weakening policies on retailer requirements, encouraging on-site consumption, and decreasing taxes. Each of these proposals further undermines the County’s health.  If all the policies being proposed were adopted, Sonoma County’s current score of 37 would drop to ~20 – an undeniable F.  Scores would be lowered in the following categories:

PHI Scorecard Category                   Points lost with  proposed policy            Sonoma County’s new Proposals:

Prohibit temporary events permits                           5                                           Proposal is to allow up to 104 events yr/

                                                                                                                          / per site (and no limit on # of sites)

Prohibit on-site consumption                                   3                                            Proposal is to allow

Limit # of retailers                                                 4                                           Proposal is to eliminate the cap

Required distance between retailers                       2                                             Proposal is to eliminate this requirements

Retail location restrictions                                      3                                             Proposal is to eliminate many restrictions

Local retail tax                                                     3                                              Tax rates no long cover program cost

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No points would be gained in the 14 categories which received a zero score - none of these are being addressed in the proposed ordinance update! The zero grades will remain.

What Are Our Recommendations?

Sonoma County implement the best practices outlined by PHI with a goal to be best in class, that protects youth, reduce problem cannabis use and promote social equity.  

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Our campaign to preserve what we all hold near and dear needs your support. Your tax-deductible donation will fund technical experts and our legal team that are critical to our effort to require the County to protect our environment, children, and the health and safety of our neighborhoods.

The Neighborhood Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, volunteer-based, dedicated to advocating for proper cannabis and land-use policies that benefit the community. All donations support these efforts.

You can donate online , or you can mail a check to:

Sonoma Neighborhood Coalition
PO Box 1229
Sebastopol, CA 95473

Thank you for your support and donation.
The Neighborhood Coalition team

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