In the summer of 2017, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) held 20 public workshops across the unincorporated communities in the County to gather feedback to help guide and inform cannabis policy decisions. The feedback received from the sessions offers a snapshot of the concerns and desires of a broad cross-section of the public across much of the County on cannabis issues.
The communities visited include:
- Topanga
- Santa Monica Mountains
- Claremont/La Verne
- La Puente
- South Whittier
- Rowland Heights
- Quartz Hill
- Hacienda Heights
- West Covina
- Athens/Willowbrook
- East Los Angeles
- Walnut Park
- West Athens/Westmont
- Florence-Firestone
- Belvedere Park
- West/Whittier/Los Nietos
- Altadena
- Lennox
- Santa Clarita
A number of recurring themes arose from the feedback received. Most common were that restricting access and exposure to youth should be the highest priority and public information and education is an essential part of the transition to cannabis regulation. Another common theme that emerged was a desire that new licensed businesses have a connection to and positive impact on the communities where they locate, which would include local ownership and local hiring for such businesses, and a return of tax revenue to those communities.
The full report on the workshops provides more information and contains all the feedback received. It can be reviewed, downloaded, or printed here:
Advisory Working Group Recommendations
As part of the outreach efforts to gather feedback to guide the development of cannabis policy in Los Angeles County, OCM convened the Los Angeles County Advisory Working Group on Cannabis Regulation. The group had 17 members representing a diverse ranged of stakeholders and viewpoints, including local elected officials, public health experts, community stakeholders, and cannabis industry representatives, among others. All members discussed a wide range of topics pertinent to the legalization of cannabis and used a consensus-based decision-making process to produce 64 recommendations for a regulatory framework for commercial cannabis in unincorporated County areas. The Advisory Working Group report further describes the process and details all the recommendations produced. The report can be reviewed, downloaded, or printed here:
Interested in using a similar process with a working group in your jurisdiction? Please contact Community Partners. From administering the process to fostering the development of consensus recommendations, Community Partners’ facilitation services were key in the outreach and stakeholder engagement process.
