In a stunning reversal, the Williams City Council voted 4-1 against a new ordinance that would allow retail cannabis stores to operate within city limits.
After approving the first reading of the ordinance by a 3-2 margin in March, the majority of the council decided at their April 19 meeting to say no to the controversial industry.
California’s voters in 2016 legalized recreational marijuana use for adults, but the law did not supersede local authority to prohibit the cultivation, manufacturing, or dispensing of the product.
However, one successful pot shop would have generated about $500,000 to $1.5 million annually in new tax revenue to help the city with infrastructure and the rising cost of doing business, officials said.
The money would come from charging the stores 5% of their gross proceeds, in addition to the 1.5% the city would receive from sales taxes, said City Administrator Frank Kennedy.
“We believe this would be financially beneficial to the city,” Kennedy said. “As we all know, there have been and continue to be complaints about our roads…We went for Measure C – the half-cent tax – in November. It didn’t pass.”
Two weeks before the council’s final decision on the ordinance, the city held a public workshop to get input from residents.
Support for cannabis in Williams was mixed.
Those in favor said a cannabis business would bring money to city coffers and provide users with a product that is cultivated without pesticides and environmental contaminants.
“Whether you like it or not, marijuana is legal,” said former Mayor Pat Ash, who spoke at both meetings. “I also know if it was bad, then the movement would be to repeal the law.
Then there would be a litany of towns closing up shops and kicking people out. But I only heard of one store that was shut down, and that was because they didn’t pay their revenues to the city, nothing else.”
Those opposed to open retail of marijuana fear the city would be selling out to outside pressure and marketing strategies that influence young people to take up a product that may be legal, but is engineered to be highly addictive.
Correctional Counselor Joel Rolon said he has spoken with more than 100,000 inmates in his 17-year career and believes marijuana is a gateway drug.
“I have never met an inmate who started out smoking methamphetamine right off the bat – never.” Rolon said. “It started slow and then it progressed…It’s like alcohol. It starts with a beer. I never saw a dude that said, ‘One day, I’m going to be an alcoholic. From now on, I’m just going to drink every day.’”
Williams Councilwoman Maria Leyva, who was initially favorable for allowing retail cannabis, withdrew her support because studies show that youth who live near dispensaries use marijuana more frequently and have a more positive view of marijuana.
While Leyva toured multiple facilities and found that they generally lived up to their promise to provide a clean and secure place to purchase cannabis, she said studies show that people who use marijuana have increased risks for mental health issues and that marijuana negatively affects developing brains until the age of 25.
“Those in favor of the decision we have before us; if we vote no, it will be an inconvenience, and they will have to order online or travel to Colusa to purchase from their dispensaries when they open,” Leyva said. “But those against…their fear is that if even one of the teens of this area gets addicted because of the attractiveness of the access, because of the temptation, then it is one too many. Is it worth the cost of repairing our roads? It’s a tough decision.”
While a motion to approve retail cannabis might have died at the table, Councilman Alfred Sellers Jr. ultimately put the matter to a vote.
Councilman Roberto Mendoza, who voted with Sellers against the ordinance at the March meeting, seconded the motion the second time around.
The motion failed 4-1 with only Mayor Don Parsons voting in support.
Councilwoman Kate Dunlap declined to comment about her change in sentiment.
Mendoza, who opposed the open sale of cannabis at both meetings for the same reasons Leyva gave, also said that none of the city’s expectations from the legal cannabis industry has materialized.
The city approved a cultivation operation north of the wastewater treatment plant last year, then eventually suspended the business after the owner failed to pay its fees.
The city originally anticipated $178,000 in annual revenue from the cultivator, but slashed the fees to about $80,000 due to the downturn in the market.
The business made just one payment of $19,000, officials said.
But cannabis users said legal cultivation cannot thrive without legal retail establishments to sell cannabis products, leaving many users to continue to purchase weed from the black market.
“If we have a store, it is going to deter people from selling it on the streets illegally,” said longtime Williams resident James Franco. “And then we lose out on those tax dollars…People are going to get it regardless.” ■