Open letter to City Council

I am a longtime Benicia resident and would like to make a comment about an observation I made recently. I drove along Highway 780 not long ago, and I could not get over the amount of trash along the section that encompasses the five exits for Benicia. Every yard of the ground along the median and shoulder side is filled with garbage!
We have such a beautiful, historic city and I am always so proud to tell people that I live here and to promote all the wonderful things to do here. My first thought, after feeling disgusted by the sight of all that mess, was to think of what people who have never visited our quaint town, must think when they see this! It gives a very poor impression of our otherwise clean and well kept city.
I realize that the city may not be responsible for the condition of this area and any clean up necessary since it is a public road, but I felt compelled to write this letter. I am hoping that the Benicia City Council can have a conversation about this problem and make some positive decisions regarding a solution.

Suzanne Hyde,
Benicia

The truth about potency

Regulated cannabis opponents often cite the increasing “potency” of contemporary cultivars as a foundation to argue against cannabis in general or edibles in particular. The amount of psychoactive THC in cannabis products appears to trigger a great amount of concern to opponents, and will be a contentious point when the City Council discusses possible medicinal and adult-use storefronts.
Since 1996 in this state, consumers over 18 that wanted cannabis for any reason needed only to secure the approval of a California-licensed MD or DO. While there are clearly many consumers that benefit from cannabis for pain management and other ailments, there are also many others that secure the necessary approval simply to experience the euphoria of the THC response, and they don’t feel any pain either. It is safe to say the existing regulated medicinal cannabis activity in the state already includes strictly “recreational” consumers.
The percentage of THC in cannabis has increased dramatically since 1996 to where it is now pushing on 30 percent in some cultivars that have been developed by master growers. The response in humans is not something that can be defined by the amount of THC or non-psychoactive CBD of a particular cultivar. There is a wrongly held belief that cannabis response is universal in humans, or that some cannabis is medicinal and some is “recreational”. Depending on individual physiology and the ailment to be treated, some cannabis with very high percentages of THC provides the greatest relief, especially in pain management, loss of appetite, or sleep disorders. Conversely, some patients experience relief from cannabis with lower THC and higher CBD. Either way, cannabis is available today in the regulated medicinal market with low to high percentages of THC. As of Jan. 1, some of those same cultivars will be packaged for adult use markets. The new rules will allow state-licensed distributors or retailers to move existing medicinal use only stock to adult-use packaging for a six month period, then new rules will come out. All packaging will be required to have either an “M” or “A” sticker affixed. For example, a cultivator sells ten pounds of a particular cannabis with high THC percentage to a processor. Five pounds is packaged in one eighth ounce increments, and an “M” label is affixed to the packages. The remaining five pounds is also packaged in one eighth ounce increments and an “A” label is affixed. Both are available at the point of sale. During the course of sales, the “A” packaged cannabis is popular with consumers and is depleted while plenty of “M” packaged cannabis remains. The retailer re-packages some of the “M” cannabis as “A” cannabis to meet consumer demand and orders more of the popular cultivar. The “M” and “A” categories are strictly statistics and accounting exercises for the present time. I believe that cannabis will be sold in the future without partitioning to “M” or “A” categories. Both consumer types will be subject to sales tax and excise tax, but the “M” product consumer can have the sales tax waived if they possess an ID from the state verifying them as a Prop. 215 patient. The purchase of the ID from the state is optional, but patients with only the requisite approval of an MD or DO are not granted the waiver. The new rules also limit the daily amounts a patient or adult can purchase. Other than taxation rules and daily purchase limits, there is no difference in medicinal or adult-use cannabis other than the milligrams of THC permitted in edible products acquired by patients or adult consumers.

Stan Golovich,
Benicia

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