The days of Manteca residents who want to purchase regulated marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes having to go to Modesto or elsewhere are numbered.

Interim City Manager Toni Lundgren expects staff to be ready at the Feb. 21 meeting to present City Council with the framework needed to officially start accepting applications for the three coveted storefront retail marijuana within Manteca’ city limits.

Council members 13 months ago agreed to allow storefront marijuana sales in Manteca.

Driving the decision was the revenue aspect.

But that said, what got reluctant council members such as Charlie Halford — a retired Manteca police chief who knows all too well the serious public safety issued connected with black-market marijuana sales — to sign on was the public health and safety aspects of the move.

Data gleaned from the state showed that in 2019 there were more than 7,000 unique individuals in the  two Manteca zip codes that visited Modesto marijuana stores.

That represents tax dollars that Manteca could have netted that went instead to supporting day-to-day municipal services such as police, fire, and streets in Modesto.

Halford, who conceded he still had mixed feelings in December 2021 when he voted with the council majority, said he wrestled with the decision. He noted regulated retail storefront sales with rigorous testing, testing, and security provides those using marijuana a much safer product and a much safer environment to purchase it.

Money spent in regulated storefront operations won’t be going into gang-related or drug cartel pockets.

And even though Sacramento is  now dealing with issues of taxes being too high which in turn has undermined efforts to push back on black-market sales given experts say they are flourishing even stronger than before the law changed, there is still a strong demand for storefront sales that involves extensively tested products marketed in a secure location.

As a result, Manteca has a list of almost 60 entities that are awaiting the chance to submit an application for one of three marijuana sales permits the city will issues in the coming months.

 Lundgren, in being tasked to implement the council’s directive as one of her first assignments after becoming Manteca’s interim city manager, said at the time she planned to make sure the process and oversight being put in place was done right.

That is what the city staff has been doing for the past year to make sure they are able to effectively vet applicants, have all requirements in place to assure public safety, and to have law enforcement prepared from the start to effectively oversee the three retail sales points.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com