chapter 1
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chapter 2
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chapter 3
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chapter 4
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chapter 5
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chapter 6
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chapter 7
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chapter 8
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Bay Area man who said ‘white people will stand up’ receives social equity grant
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.
“At the heart of Tuesday’s chaos was John Loe”
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 antisemitic, racist or anti-gay?
You can read the article, “More vitriol aimed at Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, this time in person” at the Press Democrat.
Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group
The Voice for Cannabis in Sonoma Valley since 2017
Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group
The Voice for Cannabis in Sonoma Valley since 2017
<- We’ve got a ranting white supremicist 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.
Rather Fail with Honor than Succeed by Fraud – Sophocles
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
A Victory, but…
This sidebar once declared in its headline, “Success!”. And it was true at the time. After 4 long years of cajoling and discussion, the city of Sonoma had finally come to permit 2 walk-in retail cannabis dispensaries.
Unfortunately, though the first dispensary opened last spring, its owner, Erich Pearson of sparc, along with his personal lobbyist, Amy O’Gorman Jenkins, have worked with the Sonoma City Council to stop the process for a second dispensary.
Mr Pearson chose to misrepresent his financial situation to the Sonoma City Council in order to convince it to support what amounts to a city-sponsored monopoly, rather than face any competition that would provide medical patients with better prices, more product choices, and additional services.
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 Rachel Hundley in 2018 and Sandra Lowe in 2021.
Appearances are everything. Contributions can create avenues for corruption, either grand or petty. Cronyism and favors to rig a market are unacceptable.
Thanks
We thank everyone in this group and on our mailing list for their support, for signing the petition, for writing the letters and contributing to the discussions.
Thanks to Ken Brown and Jewel Mathieson for their years of advocacy for patients’ access to safe, legal medical cannabis. Their goal of local access has finally been realized.
And thanks to our past city council allies Amy Harrington and Logan Harvey for leaning forward on this issue. They helped define Sonoma as a city of progressive values in Sonoma County.
In the meantime, the Sonoma Valley Cannabis Group will continue to keep you informed on all the latest developments in 2022.
Best Regards,
Gil Latimer
More Featured Posts
this is a new post
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3MzhQHIqcc 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...
city council on zoom
Cannabis: Consumer Health and Wellness Concerns
This is a message that needs to be repeated over and over again in some quarters. We've forwarded this to the Sonoma City Council as a reminder that patients should not be restricted to only one retail outlet in the middle of a cannabis desert. Dear City Council and...
Living in a Cannabis Desert
All politics is local. Decisions made by city councils, mayors and commissioners have a direct and immediate impact on the lives of residents in their communities. Per California’s DCC, 56 percent of cities and counties prohibit the licensing of all cannabis business...
Product Availability an Issue in Sonoma
In her latest column for the Sonoma Sun, "If it works for veggie burgers…", SVCG member Josette Brose-Eichar writes, "Do we need a second cannabis dispensary in the City of Sonoma? My little personal story, I think points out, yes we do." It's well worth the read. Her...
Will the Sonoma City Council “get it”, or not?
During last week's council meeting, Vice Mayor Kelso Barnett acknowledged that so-called community benefits are not required for any other type of business, "…If we're trying to normalize cannabis businesses, we should treat (them) like any other business and to...
Cannabis Retailer Expands in Sonoma In Alliance With Craft Cannabis Brands From Northern California
Innovation, tailored customer experiences, competitive pricing, broader selection of products…These are the benefits of competition, something that Erich Pearson and Amy O’Gorman Jenkins of sparc and the Sonoma City Council are bound and determined to deny the...
New Ideas…
Recently, one our our SVCG members said, “It is too bad our city council is “deaf” to the reality of how Pearson does business.” My response? I don’t know how you get those who are deaf and dumb to hear and speak. It’s absolutely infuriating that not one of them,...
so, ok, no comment for you
city council on zoom
Cannabis: Consumer Health and Wellness Concerns
This is a message that needs to be repeated over and over again in some quarters. We've forwarded this to the Sonoma City Council as a reminder that patients should not be restricted to only one retail outlet in the middle of a cannabis desert. Dear City Council and...
Living in a Cannabis Desert
All politics is local. Decisions made by city councils, mayors and commissioners have a direct and immediate impact on the lives of residents in their communities. Per California’s DCC, 56 percent of cities and counties prohibit the licensing of all cannabis business...
City of Sonoma Continues to Support Sparc Dispensary Monopoly
Unfortunately, the city of Sonoma created, and continues to support, a monopoly that favors Sparc’s dispensary and limits service to our local patient community. Regardless that there is now service here, its availability remains seriously limited, no thanks to many...
Product Availability an Issue in Sonoma
In her latest column for the Sonoma Sun, "If it works for veggie burgers…", SVCG member Josette Brose-Eichar writes, "Do we need a second cannabis dispensary in the City of Sonoma? My little personal story, I think points out, yes we do." It's well worth the read. Her...
Will the Sonoma City Council “get it”, or not?
During last week's council meeting, Vice Mayor Kelso Barnett acknowledged that so-called community benefits are not required for any other type of business, "…If we're trying to normalize cannabis businesses, we should treat (them) like any other business and to...
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
There are good people doing good things in this industry. In the 30+ years spent advocating for medicinal marijuana, I have been fortunate to work with many right-minded, compassionate, ethical human beings who labor very hard every day to provide relief for those...
Cannabis Retailer Expands in Sonoma In Alliance With Craft Cannabis Brands From Northern California
Innovation, tailored customer experiences, competitive pricing, broader selection of products…These are the benefits of competition, something that Erich Pearson and Amy O’Gorman Jenkins of sparc and the Sonoma City Council are bound and determined to deny the...
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so, ok, no comment for you