Marijuana apparently does mellow people.

Consider Give Every Child a Chance.

The highly-regarded non-profit has been providing free tutoring to struggling kids for more than a quarter of a century in Manteca, Lathrop, and Ripon.

Nealy a decade ago, they launched a fundraiser.

It was the San Joaquin Valley Brewfest.

It has since been repackaged as the Red, White & Brew wine and brewfest.

There were those on the board that were skittish about it.

The reason was the message it could be sending.

It is an event centered around alcohol to raise money essentially to help kids.

The uneasiness may have been a bit Victorian, complete with the then prerequisite double-standard thinking of that long ago era.

The equation they worried about was simple.

They feared people may add alcohol centered fundraiser plus youth-focused group and come up with the answer that it was sending the wrong message.

It’s not that the profit from alcohol sales hadn’t help fund tutoring in the past.

But those alcohol sales were tied to dinners and such where it wasn’t the main focus.

So out of caution, GECAC downplayed their connection to the event.

In the first year, it was literally buried in their marketing.

The brewfest, by the way, checked all the appropriate responsibility boxes.

Designated divers. Security. Servers tuned into keeping things mellow.

By all accounts, it was wholesome — unless, of course, your values are such that drinking any alcohol is completely unacceptable.

The queasiness with each passing year became less and less.

Now, it is front and center in marketing efforts that the brewfest benefits GECAC.

Fast forward to today.

Whatever reservations GECAC had as an organization a relatively short time ago about  being connected with “adult vices” have mellowed.

The  public face of GECAC — the chief executive officer — has joined forces with an applicant that hopes to land one of three initial permits the City of Manteca will issue for firms to sell marijuana products out of a storefront.

 The CEO of GECAC would head up an advisory board that would — in the case of the applicant Embarc — decide how to divvy up a set share of the profits for marijuana sales to various community endeavors.

As such, that has given some pause.

Is it the best optics to have the head of one non-profit to have an oversized role in determining what non-profits  benefit from what is excocted to be a healthy stream of marijuana profits?

Such a concern is superficial at best.

After all, if Embarc gets a permit the percentage of the profits they are committing to go to non-profits in the community at the end of the day is their money.

Embarc is 100 percent entitled to use whoever they wish to determine how to distribute a share of their profits.

But there is more to it.

Embarc sought out community leaders not just to serve on the advisory committee but for an individual who would be a “local owner.”

Local owner is just what it implies — ownership.

Embarc shares equity with local owners.

That means the local owner — their “boots on the ground” to help look after their interests and address any community concerns that may arise — will benefit financially from the arrangement.

This has caused a buzz of questions in some circles.

*How does the dual role of a CEO of a non-profit 100 percent focused on kids square with being a beneficiary of the sales of legal marijuana?

*Would such an arrangement in any manner jeopardize federal funding such as the $795,000 Manteca Unified School District  has directed GECAC’s way to operate programs this year?

*Will it diminish GECAC’s standing in the community as what the non-profit likes to boast is a “premiere youth-serving organization that is dedicated to the growth and development of our young people”?

*Is Embarc trading on the reputation of GECAC to increase its chances of securing a permit?

 Let’s look at those questions in the reserve order of how they are listed.

*The city is using an impartial third party to screen applications. While the community component is part of the expectations, it is a box check item.

*Even though storefront marijuana sales are clearly legal for cities to allow in California, there are still a rather large number of people — although likely not a majority — of the community that not only have dim views of the law but are so in a passionate manner.

*It is doubtful that the federal bureaucracy and politicians would drill down low enough to yank federal funds that go to non-profits that also get funds from marijuana sales that are still illegal on the federal level. But then again, given the climate in DC these days you never know.

*The dual role as CEO of GECAC and a local owner of a cannabis dispensary at the very least will be seen as odd. As for the worse case scenarios, that depends upon whatever prism one views marijuana use and its impacts through.

On one hand, it would be no different than the CEO also being part owner of the 123 Club.

It is interesting to note one of the co-founders of Embarc mentioned Boys & Girls Clubs as a conduit they use to meet their requirement of marijuana education for young people through.

It was made clear they have never been in contact with the local Boys & Girls Club and if they funded such a drug education program for youth the club would have 100 percent control over what was being taught.

But if the premier non-profit dealing with youth in Manteca is GECAC, why not use that organization as an example of an organization that could possibly end up satisfying the applicant’s need to support drug education for youth of they are a successful applicant?

It would seem if the CEO of the organization can be a local owner then GECAC would be a logical suggestion to handle the drug education part as well.

At the end of the day, recreational use of cannabis — just like alcohol — is legal for those 21 years or older.

And just like alcohol, marijuana has some serious issues surrounding its use.

People like to say alcohol is no different than marijuana.

The Family City is about to put that saying to the test.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com