Stuck Between Four Feet and a Gold Mine

Only two years later, the Pacifica Planning Commission voted 3-2 in favor of revoking Seaweed Holistics' Cannabis Activity Permit at an Oct. 3 hearing.

The commission reasoned that the business was not in compliance with aspects of a conditional permit the Williams had asked for to help get their store to comply with aspects of their agreement— including their storefront window size, and repayment of over $20,000 in unpaid fees (largely from 'staff time' charges related to their permit's processing and amendments).

During a Nov. 14. meeting, the City Council found no basis for the business's appeal, but gave owners a temporary reprieve.

The Williamses have until Dec. 15 to pay the original $4,080.56 fine and are expected to pay the balance owed in monthly installments of $1,822.69. If they fail to meet a payment deadline city officials say the permit will be revoked for good.

The city requires a cannabis business' storefront window to be unobstructed glass, covering 45% of the entire storefront and 60% of its horizontal length.

By the city's calculations, measuring the building's storefront width as 24-feet, Seaweed Holistics' window takes up 37% of the storefront space - under the threshold.

However, the issues arise over the definition of "storefront." Pacifica's city ordinance defines it as the "front facade of the cannabis operation."

The Williamses don't count the extra four feet from the right of the front door to the wall as storefront space because it contains stairs that lead to an upstairs "non-cannabis retail space"—in other words, not part of the  retail operation of their business.

Therefore, they believe their storefront width should be measured as 20-feet—which, when recalculated, would mean they are indeed in compliance with the ordinance.

"Even though it was their mistake, we hadn't discovered it in time," Tony Williams said. “We are compliant, and always have been."

"Everyone thinks everyone in the cannabis business is making money all the time. It's not like that. At all," Tony Williams said.

Ana Leaño-Williams, CEO of Seaweed Holistics, said that half of their monthly revenue goes to keeping the lights on. It took them two years in business just to break even.

Tony Rodruguez of Coastside Cannabis is among those who felt that Pacifica was reluctant to open its doors to the cannabis industry:

Despite their struggles with the city over their unique storefront window requirement, the Williamses still enjoy providing the community with their knowledge on the medicinal benefits of cannabis.

The couple and their staff pride themselves on the attention and personalized care they provide to their "patients"—which is how they view their customers. Instead of "budtenders," they have "cannabis consultants."

Their clientele ranges from cancer patients and people dealing with Parkinson’s disease and dementia, to sleep issues and chronic pain.

The Williamses say they are filling a niche in the market by providing older people over 50 with information about the health benefits of cannabis. The topic is personal to them.

A decade ago, Tony had his first seizure.

No addictions, no trauma, no family history—no warning. Within a few weeks, he was experiencing multiple seizures a day.

After lengthy treatment at UCSF and an amalgam of medications, the small business owner’s seizures were considered under management—but it wasn’t until a friend recommended he try Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) that Tony's seizures really became more tolerable, he said.

“Cannabis has genuinely saved my life,” Tony Williams said. It's a belief that impassioned the Williams' journey into this industry—and why they don't want to be forced out of it.

"What does the city gain by closing us?" he wondered.