After hearing from high schoolers Monday night, the Solvang City Council decided not to allow a yet-to-open medical cannabis shop to expand its offerings to include adult recreational use products.

Megan’s Organic Market, planned for 1210 Mission Drive, had requested last month that the city alter its rules restricting the city’s lone shop to selling medical marijuana.

Following a presentation by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, the council heard from a number of current and former Santa Ynez Valley Union High School students who spoke out in opposition.

At the end of an hour on the topic, the council directed staff not to return with a policy change and let the item die.

“I have never heard one resident tell me that they wanted it,” Mayor Mark Infanti said. “Everybody that I’ve heard from and of course everybody in the audience has said they don’t want it so I would move that we do not change the policy.” 

Councilmember Elizabeth Orona said she received a number of emails of concern about how a recreational dispensary would affect Solvang and the city’s brand.

“Frankly, we just don’t need this right now,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t think we need the money.”

“Because of the safety issues with the Sheriff’s Department and the overwhelming aspects that I’ve heard, this is one of those cases where, in my opinion, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze,” Councilmember David Brown said.

As a strong believer in property rights, Councilmember Robert Clarke said he had mixed opinions about the issue but supported the students’ stance.

He also agreed with a youth who questioned the dispensary’s slogan, “MOM knows best.”

“I’m kind of on the same page with you on that. I think it’s bad marketing,” Clarke said.

Councilmember Claudia Orona noted new wine tasting rooms are welcomed, but cannabis dispensaries draw concerns. 

“I think that’s something that we could collectively ask ourselves — why do we have a problem with one and not the other,” she said, adding she still would support the community’s opposition to the switch.

Councilmembers also expressed concern about questions regarding Megan’s Organic Market’s possible ties to Hellos Dayspring, who has been sentenced to federal prison for bribery.

However, the company’s attorney called the allegations defamatory and libelous, claiming they were made by a disgruntled former business associate. Dayspring has had no affiliation with the Solvang business, the attorney said.

Clarke also said he had questions about the impacts of cannabis on Lompoc’s crime rates since that city has welcomed cannabis with 65 licenses for various types of businesses including more than a dozen dispensaries. 

Sheriff’s Lt. Mark Valencia, who serves as Solvang’s police chief, provided a report about law enforcement issues surrounding cannabis. He said he couldn’t relate crime rates to a dispensary since Solvang’s hasn’t opened yet.

“I can tell you there has been an increase in Solvang with marijuana-related crimes,” Valencia said.

Law enforcement officers said one concern centers on legal cannabis purchases then resold illegally, often to juveniles. 

High-schoolers urged the council to consider the consequences that approving cannabis could have on youths and not the tax revenues it could generate, some sharing personal impacts on their lives.

Other students told about frequent instances of encountering cannabis use via vaping on the high school campus.

A Santa Ynez Vally Union High School teacher urged the council to reject the shop’s request to expand its sales.

“You’re thinking about money. Think about the students,” said teacher Gary Semerdjian.

The Solvang dispensary will be the second in the broader Santa Ynez Valley. A few miles east of Solvang, Santa Barbara County has permitted an adult-use cannabis dispensary to open in Santa Ynez.

Cannabis is legal in California and anyone 21 and older can purchase it for recreational use.

Anyone 18 and older can buy cannabis if they have a physician’s recommendation for medicinal use.

People with medicinal marijuana cards can buy cannabis products with more THC, buy more cannabis at a time, possess more cannabis, and grow more plants at home than recreational users, according to the state.