RULES REDUCE THREATS TO YOUTH, HEALTH AND SAFETY

Last month, our City Council in National City took the bold step of passing a new cannabis ordinance. This comes five years after California voters approved Proposition 64, which legalized recreational use and allowed local regulation of cannabis. With our council’s vote, we are taking a step toward more local control of cannabis in National City and doing it in a way that keeps our youth safe, reduces illicit markets and addresses social equity.

Unregulated, illicit shops are often linked to fraud, violent crime and property crimes. The products sold at illegal cannabis locations can come from illegal growers and have been found to contain pesticides and dangerous chemicals. It’s also these illegal shops that have been accused of selling products to teenagers. Prohibition of regulated cannabis operations is counterintuitive to addressing these problems as it allows these illicit markets to thrive, endangering local governments and law enforcement while diverting precious resources to shut them down.

As a father, I share the same deep concerns about preventing youth from using cannabis as do our mayor and the rest of our council members who are also parents and grandparents. Research has shown adverse effects for pregnant women and teens who use cannabis. We must prioritize efforts to work with the state on programs and funding. The California Department of Public Health has developed an excellent series for parents and youth mentors called “Let’s Talk Cannabis” to educate and inform parents and youth on prevention and safety.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California budget proposal allots a full 60 percent ($377.5 million) of state cannabis taxes to education, prevention and treatment of youth substance use disorders. Public safetyrelated activities — including testing for drugged driving — will get another 20 percent ($125.8 million). Cleanup, remediation and enforcement of environmental impacts created by illegal cannabis cultivation will get 20 percent ($125.8 million) as well. These state resources highlight areas of youth prevention, public safety and environmental justice that also align with our city’s vision.

In National City, more than 60 percent of our residents are renters. Most landlords prohibit smoking, and all Section 8 housing forbids cannabis of any kind. Residents can be evicted for using a substance recommended by their doctors and legal in California. Adults need safe, regulated places to use cannabis, just like bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. By keeping it in private establishments and away from youth and other sensitive spaces, lounges actually protect public safety by allowing safe, supervised consumption without risk of eviction. Cities like West Hollywood have already established robust, anti-drugged driving protocols to prevent driving under the influence and to protect public safety.

By keeping it in private establishments and away from youth and other sensitive spaces, lounges actually protect public safety by allowing safe, supervised consumption without risk of eviction.

It is critical that our city address social equity and, specifically, for the individuals and communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs and cannabis convictions. The nonprofit Last Prisoner Project captures the moral injustice well in this statement: “Imagine sitting in a cell for years, decades, even for life, convicted of an activity that is no longer a crime, while thousands of other people build intergenerational wealth doing exactly the same thing.”

We as elected leaders have a moral responsibility to repair the damage and trauma from previous punitive cannabis policies and discriminatory enforcement by ensuring those who have been harmed can be included in the economic upside to the legalized cannabis industry. Growing up in National City, I’ve been witness to a life trajectory that changed forever when a friend was arrested as a teenager for selling cannabis and after serving his time struggled to find a stable career due to that arrest record.

Our social equity policy could allow individuals with past cannabis arrests and convictions, or individuals from communities with disproportionately high arrests, to have economic access to this new industry. They could enter the cannabis industry as entrepreneurs or as employees with high-quality, union jobs that provide upward mobility. These were some of the ideas suggested at the city’s social equity public workshop Tuesday and more discussions on social equity will take place in August.

Robust regulation of the cannabis industry reduces the threat to youth, community health and public safety. We plan to engage our community in establishing strong local guardrails that allows safe access to cannabis patients and adults. We are planning for the future in National City, not arguing about the past. Our citizens deserve no less.

Lounges protect public safety by allowing safe, supervised consumption.

Bush is a father of a 10-year-old and 8-year-old, and a council member in National City, where he lives.