Martinez council OKs permit for pot dispensary despite school district’s concerns

The Martinez City Council approved permits for the city’s second cannabis dispensary, despite objections from local school administrators and almost two dozen other people that it would be too close to Alhambra High School.

At this sometimes-testy meeting on Jan. 15, council members said they were conflicted about the would-be location of Embarc, 2-1/2 blocks from the high school on busy Alhambra Avenue. None said in the 3-0 vote, with one abstention, that the location was ideal, but they said the dispensary’s operators, the family of retired U.S. Rep. George Miller, not only met all the requirements and more for approval, but that the longtime Martinez family is staking its legacy on its operation.