"I Support the Democratic Process" Says Supervisor Skip Thompson

By Supervisor Skip Thomson

My Stance on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Since my decision to not go with county staff’s recommendation on prohibiting the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries in the unincorporated parts of the county, there have been many speculations and assumptions about my stance on this issue.

I want to make it very clear; I neither support nor oppose the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries in the unincorporated parts of the county. What I do oppose is not taking the time to engage the public in the democratic process on a topic that is clearly important for thousands of our residents.

Since the passage of Proposition 215, the Solano County Board of Supervisors has been challenged by continuing developments in the implementation of medical marijuana dispensaries. In 2009, the Board adopted an urgency ordinance establishing a moratorium on the approval of medical marijuana dispensaries for 45 days. The Board then passed additional moratoriums on this issue on August 23, 2011, October 4, 2011 and July 24, 2012.

Meanwhile, unregulated medical marijuana dispensaries have sprung up within Solano County. There are already between 15 to 25 dispensaries operating in Vallejo without fully developed regulations.  While these dispensaries are voluntarily paying taxes and generating hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue for the city, the lack of regulation has certainly not fostered the sort of legitimate business structure that helps to create jobs and reduce crime in our community.

In the years prior, the Board of Supervisors lacked the sort of information necessary to come to agreement on the implementation of medical marijuana dispensaries. My vote directed county staff to engage the public and gather the information we are going to need to give this issue the sort of consideration that it deserves.

This week the county will finish conducting a series of five community outreach meetings to gather public input on the options that the Board of Supervisors should consider in regulating medical marijuana operations in unincorporated areas of the county.  I was at the one in Vacaville and I will be present at the meetings in Fairfield and Dixon. I highly encourage you to attend to learn and share your thoughts. Details about the meetings are at solanocounty.com/medicalmarijuana. 

By initiating this process the Board has given staff and the community a year to figure out all of the criteria that should be considered in order for us to determine if we should have medical marijuana dispensaries in the unincorporated area and if so, to consider where the appropriate places are and under what conditions. At the end of this process we will have your input and more information to make a better informed decision on this issue.

I am truly proud to be your Supervisor and thank you for granting me the opportunity to serve and represent you.

Sincerely, Skip Thomson