Inching toward cannabis in Monterey and Pacific Grove is mostly slow going.

Good afternoon.

This is Pam Marino, beat reporter covering Monterey and Pacific Grove. After years of eschewing cannabis sales in any form, both cities are possibly on a path toward allowing dispensaries, finally catching up with the rest of California four years after voters said yes to recreational adult-use cannabis. 

Watching the approach of the two cities, I’m reminded of the old Aesop’s Fable of the Tortoise and the Hare. In P.G., City Manager Ben Harvey burst out of the gate on Sept. 2, asking the City Council to approve an ordinance that would allow for two dispensaries in town, within months.

The hew and cry from opponents was loud and swift—most notably from representatives of the Pacific Grove Unified School District, who seemed to think the children of P.G. would face dire consequences if cannabis was openly for sale.

Four councilmembers disagreed, noting adults can go elsewhere for legal cannabis and bring it home (or have it delivered) anyway. Pagrovian children are exposed daily to two of the most commonly used drugs in the U.S.: alcohol and tobacco, said Councilmember Robert Huitt.

The four voted in favor of one dispensary, with Mayor Bill Peake and Councilmember Jenny McAdams voting no, voicing concern mostly over the way the ordinance was worded rather than the prospective dispensary itself.

It’s the process that’s now in the crosshairs of a petition aiming to undo the ordinance. Resident Debby Beck is preparing a petition aiming to overturn it, using a referendum process allowed under state law. “It felt so rushed to me, and that was a concern,” she says. (She is questioning the cost of bringing a dispensary to town, claiming city officials didn’t do a proper analysis of hiring additional police and other additional staff.)

If Beck can collect 1,100 signatures of registered voters in 30 days, the ordinance will be blocked from moving forward and will go to a vote of the people at a later date, unless the council overturns its previous vote. Beck is confident she can collect the signatures.

If P.G. is the Hare, Monterey is the Tortoise. The Monterey City Council is holding a special meeting tomorrow, Sept. 30 at 4pm, to consider amending its cannabis ordinance and possibly allowing sales inside the city.

The staff report takes a measured approach, asking the councilmembers to define their objectives and goals. Recreational access or just medicinal? What are their revenue targets? What are the public safety concerns?

The eight-page Monterey report might be just the kind of analysis that Beck says was missing in P.G. It goes into detail explaining legal issues, state regulations, revenue generation, impact on policing and community services and more.

If a majority of the Monterey City Council is behind the idea of allowing cannabis sales (expect Councilmember Ed Smith to hold his ground against it as he’s done in the past), an ordinance could come before council next year. Mayor Clyde Roberson has already signaled he’s softened on his tough-on-cannabis position. 

Harvey was hoping to have a dispensary project before the P.G. Planning Commission by November. Estimate to any commercial cannabis activity in Monterey: nine to 15 months.

Now we’ll just have to wait and see who wins the race.

-Pam Marino, staff writer, pam@mcweekly.com

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