ABC 30 studies
The State Auditor zeroes in on town of Fresno, criticizing the way it licenses authorized hashish dispensaries.
In a 60-page audit printed final week, the state auditor discovered the potential of corruption and conflicts of curiosity.
State auditor Grant Parks wrote that Fresno's “course of lacks transparency concerning what number of doubtlessly profitable cannabis-related permits have been issued by town supervisor, presumably eroding public confidence within the course of.” .
Robin Goldstein is an economist at UC Davis, the place he research hashish markets. He broke down the audit throughout an interview with Motion Information.
“I believe the issues in Fresno, particularly, are associated to not having an appeals course of for candidates,” Goldstein mentioned. “The thought of no punctuation in blind. The concept that there was no anonymity within the course of was additionally problematic.”
The report additionally criticizes town supervisor's energy to approve purposes, however metropolis communications director Sontaya Rose says that's what town council wished.
“The ordinance handed by the Fresno Metropolis Council in 2018 provides the Metropolis Supervisor the accountability and authority for creating the allow utility analysis course of and for issuing permits,” Rose mentioned. “Nonetheless, the mayor and metropolis council have the authority to attraction this choice.”
Fresno shouldn’t be alone. The audit additionally discovered issues with how three different California cities and two counties license their dispensaries. Goldstein says he's not stunned.
“The pervasive downside all through the state is these limitations — these synthetic quotas or these synthetic caps on the variety of licenses that may be awarded,” Goldstein mentioned. “When you could have a man-made intervention the place some producers are allowed to supply, and others usually are not, customers lose. They pay increased costs for decrease high quality.”
The Metropolis Council president and town's communications director inform Motion Information Fresno they’ll take into account the audit's suggestions sooner or later.
