Permits for a cannabis dispensary operated by the family of former Congressman George Miller could be approved Wednesday night by the Martinez City Council.
If approved, the business, named Embarc, would be 2 1/2 blocks from Alhambra High School.
On Nov. 20, the City Council approved intent to award a conditional certificate to Embarc, with the final approval anticipated for Wednesday.
But the approval did not come without criticism, as officials from the Martinez Unified School District criticized both the proposed location of Embarc — 2 1/2 blocks away from the high school – and that school officials weren’t notified about the proposed cannabis dispensary location until shortly before the Nov. 20 meeting.
According to a city staff report, Martinez officials including police Chief Manjit Sappal met with Martinez schools Superintendent CJ Cammack, and George Miller IV (the son of the former Congressman) on Dec. 4 to
discuss related issues. Though “a resolution to all issues was not achieved,” according to a city staff report, Embarc proposes several new measures to address many of the school district’s concerns, including an additional
representative on a Community Advisory Board dealing with dispensary-related issues.
Wednesday’s Martinez City Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 525 Henrietta Ave.
47 comments
Personally, I am not supportive of pot use or shops; however, kids today are as mobile as ever. Two and a half blocks, One block, Five miles… It doesn’t matter.
When I was a kid, the high school was the most unsafe place there was for drugs. I remember getting cornered in the ally by the stoners, and they would not let you pass until you smoked weed.
And the intermediate school….the overpass by Oak Grove MS was the scariest place to walk over when I was a young 7th grader.
Commonsensenor-
Too bad you couldn’t have fooled the
stoners and not inhaled, like Bill Clinton did.
Put it in the cafeteria and save the kids a walk.
That might make cafeteria food more appetizing.
The kids can already get weed a lot closer than that. Like in the parking lot or behind the gym or whatever. Why would they even walk all the way down to the street? OK, Boomer, we’ll get it whatever you decide. I did you like that, kind of cute, huh?
How close to the high school is the nearest liquor store??
Less than a Block Away….It’s been there for 30+ years…..Where’s the Outrage on that??
I was going to say the same thing.
Kidzero – That’s a great observation. A point about that liquor store, however. The owners/cashiers are very friendly and cool. There’s very little loitering outside (maybe because of the blasting Adult Contemporary tunes). And have you had their sandwiches? They pack on the meat. Best sandwich bargain in town.
George Miller IV wants it so shut up.
Yep, plan on a whole bunch of gaslighting coming from those who have Financial interests in this. They’ll even go so far to tell you that the kids already all have drugs on their person.
A better Common sense location would be: Howe rd, Pacheco blvd near Arthur or Sunrise Dr where there’s already light Industrial.
It will pass as it was already an insider done deal, the public is just being notified of what they already planned and are going to do.
Kinda misleading to call it a “dispensary”. It is all about profits from recreational use – getting people stoned and addicted.
Most people who use dispensaries were already pot smokers. I was, and everyone I know who goes to a dispensary was. You either smoke pot or you don’t. Whether or not there is a dispensary close to you has nothing to do whatsoever with whether or not you smoke pot. Same is true for alcohol. Having a new liquor store around the corner does nothing to create alcoholics out of previous non-drinkers.
Proximity shouldn’t be an issue if it is done correctly. The kids can’t walk into a bar and get a drink either, theoretically.
A kid from Clayton Valley Charter broke into Northgate and trashed the science area, broke an aquarium and a bunch of computers, and posted it on Snapchat. Are they mad because Northgate took their teachers? Maybe they should put a pot dispensary on Alberta.
Are you worn out from the flips and twists it took to make that anecdote relatable to this thread?
So how does a break-in at NGHS have anything to do with a dispensary in Martinez? Stick to the topic, Jojo.
Who really thinks the location of this dispensary will have any effect on high school kids. Any products that can be purchased in a dispensary have exorbitant taxes attached, so kids can buy their weed much cheaper on the street.
Personally I have no issue with it. Dispensary’s often have very high security with ID scanners and even armed guards sometimes. I don’t think it would be an issue because kids get their marijuana from friends or dealers. I highly doubt they would try to go to a legitimate business where they would likely just be turned away.
Perfectly stated.
Maybe, before you sit on your couch and criticize the decisions made based on your outdated and ill informed view of the marijuana industry take a field trip like those that approved the new business in our community. Go look at other brick and mortar stores and see how they operate. Go see their security measures, go see what the environment is like before you pass judgement. After you do that go hang out at a liquor store or mini mart in the area and see how they compare. After you’re done with your field trips come back on this thread and tell me how the recreational sale of marijuana is ruining our kids and our future.
Average Joe, Right now, cannabis storefronts are on double-secret probation. Everyone is paying attention and they are very focused on security, appearance, etc.
What do you think it will look like in 10 years, when cities open 10 or 20 instead of 1 or 2? When 15% of the population has Cannabis Use Disorder (Google it for more info), instead of 1-2%?
Smart, caring parents are trying their best to keep this frequently abused substance (and others) away from their kids. Let’s help them.
@Average Joe… You should listen to the resident expert Concord Mike on here about all things cannabis, he’s looked everything up on the internet. It does have 33 carcinogens you know!
No kid would pay the inflated prices and/or submit to I.D. & records keeping of legal pot shops. The free market negates all that.
Finally, some clear thinking on the subject. Mahalo brah!
Students will be safer if we have a marijuana dispensary and some fast-food joints (no pun intended) as close to the High (no pun intended) School as possible. And just think of the sales tax revenue this will generate.
There’s probably more weed at the high school than the dispensary sells!
And it’s available no questions asked from a friend they trust on campus. Perhaps we should ask why the dispensary would want to be located so close to its biggest competitor.
I think all of you who are so vehemently anti-pot, should really try some.
Not the strain you smoked in 1968. Things have changed.
Marijuana helped my aunt eat when she was struggling with Stage III breast cancer and could not keep any food down.
It’s not what the media portrays it as. If used properly and responsibly.
I
I never had a problem with appetite when smoking dope. However, it did interfere with science classes in college. There’s a reason people called it dope.
I think all of you who are so vehemently anti-pot, should really try some.
Not the strain you smoked in 1968. Things have changed.
Marijuana helped my aunt eat when she was struggling with Stage III breast cancer and could not keep any food down.
It’s not what the media portrays it as. If used properly and responsibly.
Liquor is far more destructive and harmful. I know, my mom and grandmother were alcoholics. Made for a really messed up childhood.
I’m generally “pro-weed”, but I agree with those that think this is an awful location. But that is the least of my weed concerns. Now that America has apparently “turned the corner”, are we just going to pretend that thousands of Americans are not still incarcerated for what today would be minor, or even non-existent, weed offenses?
There are people serving long prison terms for small amounts of weed (granted, in other states) , and now we have a situation where a former congressman is given a green light to set up a brick and mortar pot shop near the high school, with the implicit blessing and protection of the city council and the Martinez Police Dept.?
Am I crazy, or do thousands of those people need to be let out of prison, and maybe replaced with some of the people that put them there?
“Am I crazy, or do thousands of those people need to be let out of prison, and maybe replaced with some of the people that put them there?”
Oh, I don’t know – can you give us a specific law broken by the people that put them there?
I love how the city gave the one permit
To
The congressman son. At least that is what I am
Understanding from this article.
That is my understanding too.
Someone should open a seafood restaurant next door & call it “CRAB ME” (Embarc mirrored)
(Yes, I’m stoned)
Brilliant!!
No common sense whatsoever from you people.. It’s only going to be open to persons 21+ and unless an irresponsible adult buys it for them, they’re not getting any. Same with a liquor store.. Not a difficult concept.
I’m all for a walk in dispensary. Most of you (expletive) don’t even realize that you can already buy a medical marijuana card online for $40 and have it delivered from one of the hundreds of mobile dispensaries there are in the East Bay. You’re worried about these teens walking into a heavily secured store when really they’ve been having it delivered for years.
If you have a medical marijuana card (that you can buy online) and you’re 18, you can buy. Half the seniors are 18. Putting it near a high school is stupid.
Just because kids smoke it and sell it at school, still doesn’t make it right to have it so close to schools. I wouldn’t want a dispensary, bar, liquor store, porn shop or X rated movie theater there either. Aren’t any of you concerned about the people it might attract while your kids are walking to and from school? Smoke up, drink up, touch yourselves, I don’t care, but not around the kids!!!
Kids don’t get their pot from dispensaries. Dispensaries card their customers. Kids get their pot from some creep that hangs out in the park next door.
What about safety? There will be increased traffic. Also, increased foot traffic. What about increased crime possibility? Someone waiting outside to rob someone on the way out. Put it some where else!
Still within the limits of the law on how far a dispensary must be from schools.
Still have to be 21 with ID to get in! (checked at the door!)
where’s the closest liqour store near the high school? Safeway? They don’t check ID to walk through the booze department!!!
I’ve got news for you, the kids aren’t interested in a dispensary. They are getting their pot from the black market. Even if they wanted to go in, they can’t. You have to hand over your ID to get in the door. Some take your ID, have you wait in a lobby and give you your ID back when its your turn to shop. Then you go into another room, with even more security. People really are clueless about how this works. As others have stated, booze and cigarettes are available closer to the schools and are under far less scrutiny.
I’m fine with the location, as long as a firearms retailer would be allowed to open in the same proximity to the school.
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