Political Gumbo: Commissions, Weed and um… Imbleachment

The city finally got around to opening more of the local government last week when the Planning Commission met for the first time since January.

Of course weed was the issue that came up, as Pasadena Now first reported.

The cannabis-related discussions never happened as city officials decided to probe into allegations that came up against one of the operators less than 24 hours before the meeting was scheduled to begin.

But that wasn’t the biggest news that came out of the meeting.

The bigger issue apparently is the ongoing debate of just how many committees or commissions, if any, should hold meetings during the pandemic.

I’m not sure if all of them should be meeting, but definitely more than one could be doing the city’s business. I really think Public Safety should be meeting.

After all, the pandemic and the Safer at Home orders are not just financial issues, but also a matter of public safety.

At some point, we need to have some conversation about a possible social pandemic.

More Pandemic: Ishmael Trone had a great point this week when he spoke to PNow‘s David Cross. The problem will be convincing consumers it is safe to leave their homes.

More Weed: If I had to bet on it, I would still say that the remaining two dispensaries are not getting Conditional Use Permits.

Craziest thing about weed: 50k a month to rent a spot to sell weed? Yeah, somebody is high. I know the idea here is the permits are worth millions, but nobody has made a dime, legally, selling marijuana in Pasadena at this point. It’s a hell of a gamble. Well the city made $1.7 million just in application fees. The dispensary owners should heed Ice Cube, “Don’t get high on your own supply.”

Go home: People are protesting because they can’t go the beach. After all, you’re not free if you can’t go to the beach, yeah right. The Safer at Home order is revealing a lot about entitlement.

What Dré is Watching: I finally picked a new show, Manhunt Unabomber on Netflix. Good show so far. Also watching some anime and I renewed my Batman subscription.

Good stuff: Big thanks to Justin Chapman for having me on his show “Well Read.” I had a great time talking about our old PW days. Mentioning that, the first guest was the amazing PW columnist Ellen Snortland. I really think Justin has something here.

Final thought: If Trump loses because of his response to the pandemic, history should remember his call for people to inject or drink disinfectant as “Imbleachment,”