A COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE ON MARIJUANA BUSINESS. SharonCARES March 26, 2018

Transcription

1 A COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE ON MARIJUANA BUSINESS SharonCARES March 26,

2 Outline 1. Legal Status of Marijuana [1] 2. Social Harm 3. Social Costs Outweigh Revenue 4. Stories From Legalized States 5. Money Talk 6. Environmental and Other Impact from Cultivation [1] Marijuana herein refers to recreational marijuana unless specified as medical. 2

3 Stop Marijuana Rampage in Youth I voted yes for legalization but not a shop in my town. Adult s right to use marijuana is not taken away. Wellness of Sharon residents particularly adolescents is important. Take this opportunity to stop drug rampage in youths through education and discussion. 3

4 What Message Do We Send to Our Children 4

5 Social Costs Outweigh Revenues Commercialization = Normalization Increasing black market = regulated market Increasing youth use; youth perception of drug s harm reduces but access and exposure increases Impacted learning ability causes more money on prevention Potential increases on students violation on drug policy, suspension, dropouts, referral to law enforcement Public safety and public health to be impacted Cash transactions likely lead to robbery Increasing fatality caused by pot related impaired drive Increasing crimes, emergency room visits, homelessness North Andover residents voted to prohibit $100M in 20 years 5

6 CVS Did the Right Thing (1) it was deemed incompatible with the CVS brand as a wellness company; and (2) because it was, in their words, the right thing to do. 6

7 Core Value and Restoration Family and children friendly Best school system south to Route 128 Cares about youth and education Wellness, health and safety as priority Undermined core value cannot be restored by taking drug money, increasing youth s exposure, spending drug money to fix drug problem. 7

8 Do We Want More Marijuana in Sharon? A drug destination Profit from marijuana business will not mitigate or eliminate existing youth use A town building a long-lasting economy addicted to marijuana money Ideology is a factor, I don t want to be known as the town that grew marijuana. Janis McLaughlin, North Andover 8

9 Marijuana is Harmful to Health Cannabis/Marijuana is illegal under federal law. [1] Heroin and marijuana as Schedule I drug; Opioids on Schedule II. [DEA]. Legalizing and regulating recreational marijuana use does not change danger to users and others. Public including adolescents are exposed to health risk for the mere purpose of getting HIGH from recreational marijuana. [1] See 21 U.S.C. 802(32)(A) for the definition of a controlled substance analogue and 21 U.S.C. 813 for the schedule. 9

10 14 Average THC & CBD levels 12 in the US: MARIJUANA POTENCY THC: Psychoactive Ingredient CBD: Non-Psychoactive Ingredient THC CBD Data from the NIDA-sponsored Potency Monitoring program at the University of Mississippi, showing average THC and CBD levels in samples of marijuana seized by federal, state and local governments in each year shown. 10

11 Gilman,

12 2015 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey Data (High School): High School MJ Use in Two Counties that Allow Rec Pot Shops Denver County Pueblo County *Denver and Pueblo Counties are known for their pot-friendly policies. 12

13 Youth Use of Marijuana in Colorado and Denver Trending Up Faster Than National Average 13

14 Increases in Youth Use of Drug in Colorado 14

15 15

16 Youth Exposure to Marijuana Increases in Colorado 16

17 Increases in Diversion/Black Market 17

18 Increases in Unlawful/Black Market in Denver 18

19 19

20 Net Revenue is Insignificant Town operating budget $81M/year; $221K/day Assuming dispensary s annual net tax revenue is $1M Only 4.5 days Sharon s operating expense Sharon Gallery s net financial impact estimated $8.6M for 6 years average $1.4M per year. Black market is cheaper and flourish combined rising supply will cause recreational marijuana sales to decrease 20

21 Sales Projection & Community Impact Fees Annual sales projection by town as $20 to 60 million. Up to 3% local sales tax and up to 3% community impact fees, total up to 6%. Impact fee estimated $550K to $650k [town s presentation dated January 22, 2018]. Assuming $20 million in sales, town collects up to$600k in sales tax ON A QUARTERLY BASIS meaning $150K each quarter; and up to $600K in community impact fee. However, a portion, all, or more than $600K impact fee is to be spent by town on mitigating impact as needed, fees from dispensary must be deposited in a separate account, town disburses fees when it occurs, and town shall not retain any portion as income used for purposes not directly related to impact purpose. [CCC Municipality Guide March, 2018, Page 14]. When, how much needs to be spent, and who decided it is time to spent, remain critical questions, if not coincides well with collection of sales tax, town may need to compromise its cash flow. 21

22 Town May Need to Make Up for Shortfall of Community Impact Fee Should 3% of sales is less than the actual community impact fee, town must make shortfall from taxation unless provided by town otherwise. [CCC Municipality Guide March, 2018, Page 14]. 22

23 FD Sales Projection by Town is Unrealistic Assumptions Facts Up to 30 recreational dispensaries within 25 miles of Sharon Large sales to patriot stadium visitors on event days 37 companies in this area have received medical licenses, including the provisional licenses before 7/1/2017 Located in northbound of Route 1, stadium rules, traffic blocking, store zoning restriction $20-60 Million in annual sales Average $1.7M in CO and $1.5M in WA. Two dispensaries with largest sales in WA $17M and 15M, both located in large and populous cities. Annual sales $30M, 800 transactions daily, average $100 per transaction Store size and parking lot capacity are limited. 23

24 Average Annual Sales Per Store 24

25 Highest Store Revenue in WA 25

26 SharonCARES Projection I Factors: ØThe recreational marijuana sales in 2017 in Colorado reached $1.09 billion; ØThe number of recreational retail store of Colorado in March 2018 is 527. Conclusion: The average annual sales for one recreational store would be around $2.1 million The math: $1.09 billion/527 26

27 SharonCARES Projection II Factors: ØThe population in CO in 2017 is estimated around million; ØThe annual sale per capita is $215. The math: $1.09 billion/5.067 million Conclusion: Annual sale at Sharon will be $3.8 million The math: $215*175,000 (Sharon population) 27

28 Can Sharon Break Even? Ø Assuming $3.8M annual sales by FD Ø 6% of $3.8M is $228K Ø FD will bring Sharon $228K; Ø Assume all the community impact measures estimated by town are enacted, $600K is expensed The first year of net revenue to town is $228k - $600k = - $372k 28

29 Cannabis is Needy Crop Cannabis is an especially needy crop: High temperature (25-30 Celsius degrees) Strong light Highly fertile soil Large volumes of water 29

30 Untold Story Impact From Cultivation Irrigation system Electricity usage Ventilation and humidity control (mold) Fertilizer, Pesticide, Gas emissions Water usage: 132 days of a typical 4-resident home 10,000 of this 30

31 CHIEF TILDEN KAUFMAN S PUBLIC STATEMENT, FEB 7, 2018 From a public safety perspective regarding recreational marijuana being sold in Sharon: I have a number of concerns (as do all of us in law enforcement) to include but not limited to: The police and fire department s will be at the forefront of all related calls/responses stemming from this facility and what it brings. At the end of the day it will be on us to respond. As with alcohol retail stores, there is a potential increase in car crashes due to drugged driving (if purchasers choose to use the product after purchase and operate while under the influence). Both alcohol and marijuana are drugs. Using either drug while driving can significantly impair a driver s ability to operate a vehicle. We would need to train Drug Recognition Experts to be able to testify as to Field Sobriety Tests. This is an evolving subject in Massachusetts law enforcement case law. Selling it here in Sharon recreationally will present new opportunities for children/youth to experiment, or accidentally ingest the drug. Opportunities will present themselves. Sharon is not immune to the opioid epidemic, and in the world of public safety, the advent of marijuana becoming more readily available will certainly impact our profession. You could draw comparisons to alcohol in some ways, but to us it is another means of impacting public safety, and our daily duties/responsibilities. Security at the sale sight will be of huge concern to us. Potential robberies, cash only business, loitering, etc. at or near the site. We have met with town officials to discuss these issues should recreational sales this occur. We have discussed a number of safeguards/restrictions that should be in place to better manage these concerns, and they are being addressed on a number of levels. In the law enforcement community, I have colleagues who are actively involved in shaping the parameters surrounding the sale of recreational marijuana. This is all new territory that is evolving on a daily basis 31