Let's look back to the California legal cannabis election results in 2016.
Since November 9, 2016 legal cannabis was created after overwhelming approval by California voters. Those counties that did not vote in favor had their voices heard (sort of). Those counties that voted yes are entitled to allow legal retail cannabis businesses to open and operate with good public policy from both the state and local levels. Legal cannabis has rolled out with great success but more work needs to be done. In 2021, a statewide report was issued citing not one legal cannabis retailer allowed a minor to enter their store since legalization. Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok are the enemies here.
Cities are welcoming the increased tax revenue as well as the additional "community benefits" cannabis applicants offer. During the pandemic legal cannabis was deemed an "essential" business to remain open. Allowing a legal cannabis retail business in your business/shopping districts increases foot traffic to revitalize those areas littered with vacant storefronts.
Below is a reminder of how your residents voted in 2016:
CALIFORNIA STATEWIDE 57.13%
SAN MATEO COUNTY 62.96%
Brisbane 68.9%
Unincorporated 67.8%
Pacifica 67.4%
Half Moon Bay 67.3%
Menlo Park 66.7%
East Palo Alto 66.6%
Redwood City 66.2% (Allowed legal cannabis retail businesses March 2022)
Portola Valley 65.5%
Woodside 65.3%
San Carlos 65.0%
San Mateo 64.1%
Belmont 64.0%
Burlingame 63.0%
San Bruno 60.4%
Foster City 59.3%
Colma 58.7%
South San Francisco 57.8%
Atherton 57.8%
Daly City 56.3%
Millbrae 55.5%
Hillsborough 54.0%
SANTA CLARA COUNTY 58.3%
Campbell 62.78%
Cupertino 50.50%
Gilroy 56.78%
Los Altos 58.56%
Los Altos Hills 58.54%
Los Gatos 61.95%
Milpitas 51.24%
Monte Sereno 58.47%
Morgan Hill 57.37%
Mountain View 67.66%
Palo Alto 65.90%
San Jose 57.10% (Allowed legal cannabis retail businesses December 2015)
Santa Clara 58.99%
Saratoga 53.01%
Stanford 78.64%
Sunnyvale 59.46%
ALAMEDA COUNTY 66.4%
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY 60.7%
MONTEREY COUNTY 62.6%
SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY 74.3%
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 69.9%
40 out of 57 California counties approved Proposition 64 in 2016.
Sources: ShapeTheFuture.org - Ballotpedia,org - Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters