City council votes to allow adult-use cannabis delivery, will look into retail sales
– The Paso Robles City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday night to expand cannabis access by allowing the city’s three existing delivery businesses to serve adult-use (recreational use) customers and to begin work on a framework that could permit storefront sales.
Mayor John R. Hamon Jr. and Councilmembers Kris Beal, Steve Gregory, and Fred Strong voted in favor of both actions, which were listed as options 2 and 3 in the item report staff recommendations.
Councilmember Chris Bausch cast the lone “no” vote, saying he could not support retail expansion.
Community members, including the business community, largely spoke in favor of allowing recreational delivery and potential storefronts. Several said the city was missing out on tax revenue that could support services, and others argued storefronts would ensure safer, more closely regulated, and properly taxed distribution.
Paso Robles has remained one of the most restrictive cities in San Luis Obispo County, along with Atascadero, according to the staff report. Storefront dispensaries and cultivation are prohibited, and local businesses have been limited to medical deliveries. Adult-use cannabis delivery has been permitted only from companies based outside the city.
California voters legalized medical cannabis in 1996 with Proposition 215 and adult use in 2016 with Proposition 64. Paso Robles responded by limiting cannabis to medical deliveries in certain zones. Voters later approved Measure I-18 in 2018, which established a general tax on cannabis businesses. The city later allowed temporary adult-use deliveries, capped at three permits, but that authorization expired in 2023.
If storefronts move forward, city staff will work with a cannabis policy consultant to develop a governance framework covering licensing, zoning, operating standards and community engagement. That process is expected to take eight to 12 months.
Paso Robles currently receives about $46,000 annually in cannabis delivery tax revenue. Projections suggest storefront sales could generate $600,000 to $920,000 annually, though staff cautioned that revenues remain uncertain due to competition, illicit sales, and industry volatility.
Also Tuesday, the council unanimously accepted El Camino Homeless Organization’s 2024-25 end-of-year report and approved a $111,000 payment to continue operations into fiscal year 2025-26.
The amendment consolidates shelter services into ECHO’s 90-day program, ending five night-by-night beds. Showers, laundry, and dinners will continue, and a 10-bed weather-based warming center will open in November 2025. The agreement also dissolves the Community Stakeholder Committee while maintaining monthly newsletters for concerns, and updates reporting requirements with the Homeless Services Division.
Click here to view the full report on ECHO operations.
Watch the full meeting streamed live on YouTube below:
