Quick Take
Bryce Berryessa, who is trying to open a cannabis dispensary in Santa Cruz at Mission and Laurel streets, pushes back against school administrators trying to block his business from opening because it is close to schools. He says he has complied with all laws, has worked to open for more than a year and has been considerate of school requests about signage. “It is disingenuous of school board members to say they support legal cannabis while actively and aggressively advocating for a policy that would put us out of business,” he writes.
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I was disappointed by the misinformation and lack of evidence in a recent Community Voices article by top school officials about my proposed partnership with WAMM Phytotherapies to open a dispensary on Mission and Laurel streets in Santa Cruz. While I respect the school board members and administration, there are several important points the community should consider.
First, I want to stress that we are fully compliant and prioritize safety. Our proposed location meets all existing city laws and zoning requirements for cannabis businesses. These ordinances were established with extensive public input and approved by the city council. Our planned dispensary exceeds the minimum distance from the school by 250 feet (142%), and we have a flawless record of operating safe and responsible dispensaries in the area for over a decade without any citations or violations.
In consideration of the concerns raised by the school district, we have limited our signage to a single monument sign and green cross, redesigned our facility to ensure that no cannabis products can be seen from any public right of way, and voluntarily agreed to sell medical cannabis only to those age 19 and older with a medical card, despite local and state law allowing sales to those 18 and up.
Our partnership with WAMM Phytotherapies underscores our commitment to compassionately and collaboratively serving our community’s most vulnerable. For over 30 years, WAMM has provided vital support and free medical cannabis to chronically or terminally ill patients.
This new location will ensure we can continue to expand WAMM’s compassion program to provide this vital service countywide to 200 members by the end of 2024. WAMM members often have limited mobility, so having a location close to members who live on the Westside and in North County is paramount to the program’s continued success. Our goal is to carry on their legacy of compassionate care with pickup points in Watsonville, Soquel (Treehouse) and the Westside.
The article raises concerns about youth cannabis use. It’s crucial to note that no evidence links legal, regulated dispensaries with increased youth cannabis use.
Data from the Santa Cruz Healthy Kids Survey shows a significant decline in substance use among local middle and high school students beginning in 2018, the first year of full cannabis legalization in our state. Studies nationwide, including by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, support the idea that legalization reduces youth access and use.
We fully agree that any substance use by minors is a concern, but legal cannabis dispensaries are not the problem.
No city or county dispensary has received a citation for transacting sales to minors, as confirmed by the Santa Cruz County Cannabis Licensing Office and the Santa Cruz Police Department. Minors are not permitted to enter, nor can they purchase cannabis products from dispensaries.
We understand the importance of youth education and prevention and have worked with groups such as Community Prevention Partners to address these issues proactively in our community.
As a direct result of conversations with school officials in September 2023, we’ve created an online resource, safecannabis.net, which provides information for parents, adult consumers and community members on how to deter youth substance use, safely secure cannabis and other intoxicants in the home, and lists county mental health and addiction resources. We are committed to partnering with parents and the school board on initiatives that directly address their concerns and help to make our community safer.
We sincerely hope they reach across the aisle to work with us on these issues, as we share many of the same concerns and values.
The school board and its administrators are actively opposing our current compliant location and, in addition, advocating for a 2,000-foot buffer zone from schools and child activity areas such as parks, day care centers, etc. This change would effectively ban all new cannabis businesses and potentially displace existing compliant businesses. Evidence does not support this drastic measure, and the suggested change ignores the careful process that created our current cannabis ordinances.
These ordinances have been successful and have worked to promote our city’s public health and safety, as evidenced by the outstanding records and reputations of our city’s current cannabis retail establishments. It is disingenuous of school board members to say they support legal cannabis while actively and aggressively advocating for a policy that would put us out of business in the city and lead to a de facto ban on legal cannabis businesses moving forward.
It took us nearly six months to find a compliant location that met the city’s stringent zoning requirements. We have invested over a year of time, resources, and significant capital to open our location at the former Emily’s Bakery. We did this confidently, knowing we had met all the rules and criteria established under city law and precedent.
Despite this, we face opposition from a small, yet very vocal, minority. We have a petition and encourage residents to reach out to council members at citycouncil@santacruzca.gov. We also have posted extensive FAQs on our website.
We are confident that good government will prevail, and we look forward to serving the Westside community, working with our neighbors and expanding our partnership with WAMM.
Bryce Berryessa is the owner/operator of Hook Outlet and Treehouse dispensaries. You can email him to show support for the dispensary at support@hookoutlet.com.