Cannabis troubles

Last November, the Pacific Grove City Council voted 7-0 to give staff the go-ahead to develop a proposal for a city-licensed Pacific Grove retail “Pot Shop.” Forty percent of PG citizens voted “No” on marijuana “Measure M” this last election. The city has a huge unfunded financial liability and needs cannabis tax revenue to fund the deficit. Cannabis cash will NOT make a dent in the looming deficit. Promised cannabis income was vastly over-estimated by PG Council cannabis advocate Chaps Poduri. In fact, local pot businesses have asked for radical relief from high taxes levied on their products. Criminal cartels are much more nimble competitors to “legal” pot operations in Monterey County. But the real cost will be paid by our young people. Even my 10-year-old granddaughter knows that using marijuana is “dumb,” but the pressure on young kids to join the “cool cannabis crowd” is enormous. Erica Komisar a mom and psychotherapist writes in the March 1 issue of the Wall Street Journal about the horrible consequences of weed for her kids and other teens. Powerful synthetic versions of THC, the psychoactive element in cannabis, is dramatically increasing teen paranoia, and negative emotions so intense that more young kids are experiencing serious mental breakdowns and significant emotional isolation and pain. Worse, the incidence of teen suicide is exploding. THC is the most prevalent psychoactive chemical found during autopsies of teen suicides. As a grandfather and psychologist, please contact your Pacific Grove City Council members and ask that the Cannabis Ordinance requires a 1,500-yard “Safe Kid Perimeter” around each and every “Pot Shop” they license. — Dr. Michael E. Gibbs, Pacific Grove