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Request to Place Cannabis Discussion on Youth Commission Agenda
Dear Chair and Youth Commissioners,
I respectfully request that this marijuana issue be placed on your next meeting agenda as a roundtable discussion item due to its direct public health and safety impacts on Sacramento youth.
Why are we considering rolling back long-standing protections that have kept marijuana dispensaries and smoke lounges away from places where youth live, learn, and grow?
Why are we discussing allowing these uses next to:
* Parks and recreation areas
* After-school programs and youth-serving facilities
* Residential neighborhoods
* Childcare centers and school-adjacent spaces
* Recovery centers
* Churches, places of warships
This directly affects you — these are the environments you live in every day.
From a public safety standpoint, these are high-cash businesses that can attract:
* Robberies and attempted robberies
* Burglaries and organized theft
* Spillover crime into surrounding neighborhoods
This can lead to increased police activity and, in some cases, gun-related incidents that impact nearby communities.
From a public health standpoint, placing smoking lounges near youth environments raises concerns about:
* Normalization of substance use at younger ages
* Exposure to smoking behaviors
* Impaired driving risks in surrounding areas
* Conflicts with individuals in recovery
At the same time, the City invests heavily through the Sacramento Children’s Fund in:
* Violence prevention
* Mental health support
* Substance use prevention
* Safe spaces for youth
There is a clear contradiction between funding youth protection and increasing proximity to these risks.
I respectfully ask the Chair to:
* Place this item on the next agenda
* Allow time for a Youth Commission roundtable discussion
* Encourage youth voices on an issue that impacts your generation
This is a moment to stand up and be heard.
If we cannot clearly justify removing these protections, we should not remove them.
Thank you for your leadership and commitment to Sacramento’s youth.