Redondo Beach City Council Meeting on 12/2: Consent Calendar H16

Redondo Beach City Council Meeting on 12/2: Consent Calendar H16

My 3-minute Public Comment

Good evening, Mayor and Councilmembers.

I’m glad to see the City taking stronger action to regulate smoke shops. If those businesses had been held to the same high standards that cannabis dispensaries must meet, we would not have experienced many of the problems we’ve seen. Redondo had more than a dozen smoke shops — yet we are considering only two cannabis dispensaries, with strict zoning, security requirements, and ID verification just to enter the building.

It’s time to stop equating unregulated smoke shops with what will be high-end, professionally designed cannabis retailers that blend into our existing business districts. These are safe, well-managed operations held to higher standards than almost any other type of business in the city.

I’m pleased we are moving forward with permitting health-regulated cannabis dispensaries that will provide safe access to both medicinal and adult-use cannabis for the 75% of Redondo Beach residents who are over 21 — more than 52,000 people.

As we proceed with the City’s survey, I do have some questions about the process:

• I couldn’t find a copy of the proposed survey, all residents should know what is being asked for transparency?

• How were the questions developed?

• How were the 500 voters selected, and how is that group distributed across age ranges

• Who reviewed or approved the questions?And was anyone with industry knowledge consulted during this process?

• When is the survey being distributed, how long will people have to complete the survey?

• When will the results be made public?

I’ve heard that at least one Councilmember may have provided input. But this person did not even know the difference between CBD and THC when I talked with him in March. If that is the case, it underscores why independent, expert guidance is so important. Cannabis is a regulated industry with medical, legal, and scientific components — and it deserves accurate, fact-based handling, not the current fear tactics.

That’s why I urge all of you: Please do your own research. It is your responsibility to be fully informed before answering the survey.

• How many of you have ever been inside a modern, well-run dispensary? I encourage everyone involved to visit places like The Artist Tree or Sweet Flower. These are beautiful, well-managed retail spaces that look nothing like the outdated stereotypes.

• How many of you have even tried current cannabis products?

And while you’re researching, please also review the well-documented health benefits cannabis provides — especially to adults over 50. It improves sleep, reduces pain and stress, supports cognitive health, eases the side effects of chemotherapy, and is showing effectiveness in treating Female Orgasmic Disorder, which affects over 70% of women.

These are real quality-of-life benefits that affect many of your constituents.

As I have said before: Two highly regulated dispensaries will NOT negatively affect children. Quite the opposite — they make our city safer. Legal dispensaries reduce the unregulated Black Market, which is the only place where minors can currently access anything. Children cannot enter dispensaries. Period.

If we’re concerned about youth safety, we should be far more focused on e-bikes, the Internet, social media, and human trafficking — not two secure, adults-only businesses with cameras, security guards, and state oversight.

Seventy-five percent of our population is over 21. These residents deserve safe, local access to medicinal and recreational cannabis — not a policy that pushes them to other cities or unregulated sources.

Thank you for taking this step and thank you for continuing to move Redondo Beach toward a safe, informed, and community-focused approach to cannabis.

If you have any questions, you are more than welcomed to contact me at drjoani@aol.com.