September 14, 2018 – A Marin County organization funded by the US Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) sent a mailer to every resident in Fairfax, California urging them to come out and oppose the approval of adult-use cannabis sales at a town council meeting last August 15.
The mailer, issued at taxpayers’ expense, claims that cannabis shops are associated with higher levels of property crime, that regular use of cannabis can lead to life-long addiction problems, that permissive attitudes lead to higher teen use, and more.
The mailer was issued by the Twin Cities Coalition for Healthy Youth Working to Reduce Substance Abuse, which received $125,000 in 2017 via the Central Marin Police Authority from The Drug-Free Communities Support Program (DFC), an ONDCP/SAMHSA grant program that provides funding to community-based coalitions that organize to prevent youth substance use across the country. CADCA, an organization of such groups, participated in behind-closed-doors meetings meant to detail Prop. 215 after it passed in California in 1996.
Since the passage of the DFC Act in 1997, the Program has funded more than 2,000 local anti-drug coalitions. The Trump Administration just announced that in 2017 it upped DFC grant funding to nearly $91 million, supporting a record 731 community partnerships. To read a full list of all 2017 grant awardees, click here for new award recipients, and here for continued programs.
Residents in Fairfax countered with a flyer of their own urging residents to come out and stand up for Prop 64, which passed with 77.9% support from the town’s voters.
The publicity stirred up a high turnout at the Town Council meeting. Fairfax (Pop. 7,600), located in progressive-hip Marin County, is the home of the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, the oldest medical dispensary in the nation and only storefront dispensary in the county. Adult-use businesses have been subject to a moratorium that expires in October. At the meeting, opponents expressed concern about the impact on kids, while outraged proponents turned out in force and warned of the danger of the black market. In the end, the council cautiously directed the planning commission to draw up a plan for limited, discreet, adult-use sales on a use-permit basis.
