For years, St. Paul’s elected leadership has taken an aggressive stance toward regulating tobacco sales, shops, products and marketing.

On Wednesday, anti-smoking advocates urged the council to do the same for cannabis sales, starting with tighter guardrails around where it can be sold.

“I’m having deja vu,” said Damone Presley, director of the youth program Vision in Living Life – Change is Possible. “To me, they’re already looking a lot like the tobacco industry. And the tobacco industry targets communities of color. … The time for prevention is before sales start, not after.”

The council likely will vote next week on new zoning controls that may bar new cannabis shops from opening within 300 feet of primary and secondary schools outside of downtown. That mirrors city regulations around liquor stores, rather than tobacco stores, but anti-smoking advocates on Wednesday called the proposed zoning amendments too weak.

Under state statute, the city council could opt instead for a school distance requirement of up to 1,000 feet.

“I’m disappointed, frankly, that St. Paul is not taking full advantage of the opportunities you have to regulate cannabis sales,” said Jeanne Weigum of the Association for Nonsmokers-Minnesota. “It’s very easy to loosen regulations, and nearly impossible to tighten them.”

Council reaction

Council Member Cheniqua Johnson said her constituents have expressed concern that without greater guardrails, cannabis shops will become heavily concentrated on the East Side.

“I’ll be monitoring this pretty carefully,” she said.

Council Member Nelsie Yang, who also represents the East Side, recommended that daycare centers, not just schools, be added to the zoning language. She noted that street corners that house liquor and tobacco shops sometimes become hang-outs where violence breaks out, with a fatal daytime shooting outside an East Maryland Avenue tobacco shop in her ward on Tuesday tragically illustrating the point.

Council President Mitra Jalali called the proposed 300 foot school buffer appropriate for a dense, urban environment, and that city licensing and inspections would offer some oversight. She said the state Office of Cannabis Management was overdue for outreach to St. Paul residents and retailers about how the industry will be regulated.

“We would love to partner more closely to make sure we’re doing all of the thoughtful work,” Jalali said.

Council Member Anika Bowie called opening the door to cannabis sales overdue.

“My values are around decriminalizing … entrepreneurship,” she said.

Related Articles

St. Paul teachers union urges ‘No’ vote against property tax-funded childcare subsidies on St. Paul ballot

St. Paul City Council to host public budget hearing at El Rio Vista

Letters: To evaluate this St. Paul question, I need more information delivered in good faith

Joe Soucheray: Rondo residents’ objections over bike lane shouldn’t be ignored

Letters: Tax, tax, tax, spend, spend, spend, year after year