![\"Edible](\"https:\/\/wpdash.medianewsgroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Pot_Edibles_Kids_37010-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Edible marijuana samples are evaluated at a cannabis testing laboratory in Santa Ana in 2018. (AP Photo\/Chris Carlson, File)<\/p>\nRecent changes to California law<\/a>, allowing an \u201cice cream truck\u201d delivery model for medical marijuana (even if a city forbids storefront retail sales), expands access even further.<\/p>\n (An aside: While this can be a good thing for many, we have too-intimate knowledge of how easy it is for underage kids to get their hands on this stuff. A gummy from a friend in San Diego. A 17-year-old stomping up the stairs in a panic, heart racing, fearing death. A call to 911\u2026fire engines\u2026ambulances\u2026curious neighbors pouring into the street. Bad things happen when 100-pound people eat gummies containing 10 mg of THC! Legalization, inexperience and easy access can be a very scary mix.)<\/p>\n Enter now Getting it Right from the Start, a project of the Public Health Institute,<\/a> an Oakland-based nonprofit that seeks to prod cities toward stronger health protections, especially for kids.<\/p>\n As part of \u2018Getting it Right,\u2019 the nonprofit scores cities based on the safeguards they employ. The group wants to see cannabis businesses located far from schools, parks and other places where kids congregate, and it wants distance requirements between such businesses as a way to prevent overconcentration. The group wants prominent warnings about the dangers of cannabis overuse. And they want a nix on products that are appealing to kids.<\/p>\n A perfect score on the Public Health Institute\u2019s test is 100.<\/p>\n No city in California came close.<\/p>\n The group\u2019s highest-ranking city was Pomona<\/a>, with 60 points, far eclipsing any municipality in Orange County.<\/p>\n Pomona caps the number of retail licenses, bans temporary cannabis events and on-site consumption, requires a 1,000-foot buffer from schools and other youth-sensitive sites, mandates in-store health warnings, prioritizes equity in hiring and dedicates local cannabis tax revenue to youth programs and prevention, the organization said. It takes in about $500,000 per year from cannabis revenue.<\/p>\n In O.C., the highest scorer was Santa Ana<\/a>, with 40 points. The city goes beyond the requirements of state law by limiting the number of retailers and requiring a distance of at least 600 feet from schools and a distance between retailers. It requires health warnings to be displayed and it restricts cannabis business signage. Santa Ana also imposes a local retail tax on cannabis, and dedicates that revenue to youth and prevention programs.<\/p>\n Laguna Woods<\/a> got the next-highest score, at 25 points. It also went beyond state requirements by requiring distance between retailers; having a local retail tax; limiting billboards; prohibiting temporary event permits; and prohibiting on-site consumption.<\/p>\n Costa Mesa<\/a> scored 21 points. It requires cannabis businesses be at least 1,000 feet from schools and other kid areas; imposes signage restrictions, and prohibits on-site consumption. The city was praised for requiring independent, third-party ID verification for cannabis delivery (as were Los Angeles, San Jose and a few others).<\/p>\n La Habra<\/a> scored 21 points as well. It doesn\u2019t allow cannabis stores, but delivery is OK. For that, the city requires local permits while limiting delivery destinations and imposing a local retail tax. But research has shown that rates of youth cannabis use are highest in places that only allow delivery sales, the public health folks point out.<\/p>\n Stanton<\/a> scored 18. It limits the number of retailers; has a local retail tax; signage restrictions; and prohibits on-site consumption.<\/p>\n Several O.C. cities that don\u2019t allow cannabis storefronts do have regulations on deliveries.<\/p>\n \u201cGarden Grove, Irvine and La Habra all require deliverers to obtain a local permit, which is great, as it allows them to monitor the retail sales occurring within their boundaries,\u201d said Alisa A. Padon, a research scientist with the\u00a0Prevention Policy Group and\u00a0Public Health Institute.<\/p>\n \u201cGarden Grove, Tustin, and La Habra all limit delivery destinations, for example, prohibiting delivery to schools, parks, or youth centers. We\u2019d like (cities) to prohibit delivery to college dorms and campuses, too. Cypress and Tustin both prohibit temporary cannabis events, such as those at county fairs and in parks, where children and adolescents are inevitably exposed, even when certain areas are age-limited.\u201d<\/p>\n But there\u2019s much more, however, that cities can and should do.<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornia built the largest legal cannabis market in the world, but we still lack the public-health guardrails required for a legal but addictive product,\u201d said Dr. Lynn Silver, senior advisor to the groups, in a prepared statement. \u201cAs cannabis products grow more potent and marketing more aggressive, the evidence of harm is mounting. Local leaders must respond to what the science tells us \u2014 not to industry narratives.\u201d<\/p>\n Pot and kids<\/p>\n Legalization has gone hand-in-hand with the notion that pot is safe. Back in 2000, more than 58% of high school seniors said that regular cannabis use was risky. In 2023, only 31% said the same \u2014 even as the potency of products increased.<\/p>\n One-third of high school seniors said they\u2019ve used cannabis, \u201ca number far exceeding that for tobacco use and one that should be concerning to all of us,\u201d the report said. \u201cThose who start young and use frequently are at the highest risk for developing dependence and adverse effects; therefore, minimizing use by this group should be a key policy objective.\u201d<\/p>\n Among young adults aged 19-30, close to half \u2014 43.6% \u2014 reported using cannabis in the past year.<\/p>\n California teens living closer to cannabis retailers have higher rates of use and dependence, studies have found, while national data show daily use among young adults has quadrupled, with one in 10 using daily.<\/p>\n The California State Auditor documented widespread failure to enforce rules prohibiting products and marketing targeting young people.<\/p>\n And the California Department of Public Health reports that since pot was legalized cannabis-related emergency room visits have spiked.<\/p>\n -In 2016, before legalization took full effect, there were 289.7 cannabis-related emergency visits for every 100,000 California residents.<\/p>\n -In 2019, after legalization, emergency visits peaked at 351.6 for every 100,000 residents.<\/p>\n -In 2023, emergency visits dipped to 331.5 per 100,000 residents, still well above pre-legalization levels.<\/p>\n Young people are impacted the most \u2014 more than half of cannabis-related emergency room patients were age 15 to 35.<\/p>\n Peer-reviewed evidence found that placing strategic limits on cannabis retailers can have a positive impact on youth cannabis use, the report said. A study of 103,000 California teens found that problematic cannabis use in that age group was 21% lower in jurisdictions with bans, and that longer drive times to the nearest cannabis retailer, as well as a lower density of storefront retailers, were associated with lower teen use.<\/p>\n That echoes the experience with alcohol and tobacco, the report said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe legalization of cannabis has potential social benefits as well as potential harms,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the transition to a legal market moves\u00a0forward in California, communities have a collective responsibility to act to protect youth and keep this emerging market from boiling over in harmful ways.\u201d<\/p>\n Making it work<\/p>\n Costa Mesa has been one of the pioneers \u2014 and is doing just that, city officials said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not seeing or hearing about any increased use of cannabis by minors under 21,\u201d said Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens. \u201cIf you go into our brick and mortar stores, they\u2019re very well regulated. There\u2019s a conditional use permit with a lot of different conditions and \u2014 for the purpose of this issue \u2014 you have to present your ID no matter how how old you are. I\u2019m 63 \u2014 21 times 3 \u2014 and I have to show ID.<\/p>\n \u201cThey keep your information on file and every time you go in, you have to present ID before you enter the store. You have an ante area, you have a security person there checking IDs before going in where merchandise is.\u201d<\/p>\n The city\u2019s 1,000-foot buffer rule, to distance legal shops from child-centric places, exceeds state rules that call for a distance of at least 600 feet.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s rules have evolved over the years as a counter to \u201ctrap shops\u201d \u2014 unlicensed cannabis pop-ups that you might have found in an underutilized strip mall \u2014 that proliferated during the early days of legalized weed, straining code enforcement and police resources in many cities. Those places were unregulated, untaxed and, typically, not particularly conscientious about checking ID.<\/p>\n \u201cWe spent a lot of time shutting those trap shots down,\u201d Stephens said.<\/p>\n<\/a>Laguna Woods resident Mayer Morchy sniffs pot contained in a clear plastic sensory pod with the press of a puff button at The Artist Tree cannabis dispensary, which opened in Laguna Woods on May 31, 2024.
\n(Photo by Mark Rabinowitch, Contributing Photographer)
\nPassing grades?<\/p>\n<\/a>In this Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018 photo medicated High Chew edibles are shown on display and offered for sale at the cannabis-themed Kushstock Festival at Adelanto, Calif. (AP Photo\/Richard Vogel)<\/p>\n<\/a>A 24-year-old woman Riverside woman suspected of being under the influence of cannabis was arrested after colliding with a pickup truck and killing the driver on April 19, police said. (Photo by OnScene.TV)<\/p>\n<\/a>The interior of STIIIZY, a cannabis retailer, on Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa, on Thursday, June 22, 2023. It is the company\u2019s first store in Orange County, which opened in May 2023. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register\/SCNG)<\/p>\n