Although I don’t use cannabis myself, I’ve remained a staunch advocate for allowing retail cannabis for San Bruno due to the fact that dispensaries are heavily regulated, safe, and bring massive economic benefits to the cities in which they operate.
In 2022 I voted with a council majority to allow up to three storefront dispensaries in San Bruno, in specific commercial areas with safety zones around schools and other sensitive use areas. After the 2022 election, and as applications were being solicited from potential retailers, a new council majority voted to pause the program and ultimately to reduce the allowed number of retailers citywide to one, and also to restrict the allowed areas of operation to completely exclude our downtown. This action still puzzles me especially considering that the council had full discretion to only approve a single dispensary regardless of the number of applications if we wanted to start the program slowly.
In August of 2023 I voted with a unanimous council to choose Embarc as our vendor, and the Embarc facility opened at 120 El Camino Real in November 2024.
2020 Vision: Cannabis
I am in favor of allowing cannabis dispensaries to operate in San Bruno, subject to strict oversight regarding where they may operate within our City. I spoke on this topic at the City Council Meeting on June 9, 2020 (clip below).
“We have an $8 million budget shortfall that we’ll be dealing with for years to come, and an opportunity to attract a recession-proof, heavily regulated business to our city, an opportunity that won’t come up again for two more years. Now is exactly the time to move forward with a ballot measure.
“If you’re against cannabis, vote no on the ballot measure. And if it does pass, then don’t patronize the dispensary. I don’t plan to…I don’t use cannabis, but I do see the benefit it brings to several of my neighbors in San Bruno who suffer from chronic illness. I also see the massive economic benefit it will bring and that our City desperately needs.”
Currently San Bruno residents drive to other cities to legally purchase cannabis and leave their tax dollars in those cities, and residents from cities to our south drive right by San Bruno to drive to San Francisco or Pacifica to spend tax dollars that we could get right here in San Bruno.