Richard Miller, co-owner of STASH medical marijuana dispensary, addresses the West Sacramento City Council at their Jan. 21 meeting. Miller requested the city restore grant funding it had awarded him then rescinded for no disclosed reasons under the state Department of Cannabis Control’s Local Jurisdiction Retail Access Grant program for siting a medical marijuana dispensary in the city. Photo courtesy of City of West Sacramento

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) – Proponents of a medical marijuana dispensary in West Sacramento may be hoping they have the same luck lobbying the City Council as proponents of a new lease for a food non-profit seem to have had.

Both groups addressed the council at their Jan. 21 meeting. Richard Miller, co-owner of the Sacramento-based medical marijuana dispensary business STASH asked council to reconsider a decision made by the city to rescind grant funding that would have enabled the business to open a dispensary in West Sacramento.

Miller said his business participated in the city’s request for proposal to site such a business after West Sacramento received state funding from the Department of Cannabis Control’s Local Jurisdiction Retail Access Grant program.

According to a Jan. 13, 2026, article on the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) website, West Sacramento received grant funding to assist it in implementing a “social equity cannabis” program. The funding was started in 2023 to support local programs aimed at combating the negative effects felt by individuals from illegalization of marijuana, something that changed when California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996 and recreational marijuana in 2016.

West Sacramento was approved to receive $175,000 from the grant program based on its population. It was also awarded another $60,000 from the program in “equity bonus funds” because it was implementing a social equity cannabis program, bringing the total to $235,000.

Miller said his organization undertook the year-long Request for Proposal (RFP) process, and after meeting all the requirements and investing time and money to do so, received an award letter from the city on July 17, 2025, along with an invitation to participate in a development agreement to site West Sacramento’s first medical cannabis storefront. Seven weeks later, Miller said he received a letter from the city notifying him they were rescinding his funding and canceling the entire equity retail program, providing no reason for the move.

Miller claimed a public records request to the city by him showed the decision was made after receiving a complaint from an “unsuccessful applicant.” He also claimed the applicant was “politically connected” and participated despite not meeting criteria and having been twice rejected in the long Request for Proposal process.

“This is not equity,” Miller told the council. “This is not transparency and this is not justice. A true commitment to equity requires honoring the process, the criteria and the outcome when the outcome is reached fairly.”

Miller, a marijuana advocate for over 30 years, asked council to reverse the decision and reinstate the award to STASH. While not wishing to pursue litigation, he said he was prepared to sue if needed to restore the award.

Nine individuals addressed council at the meeting, all supporting Miller and the social equity cannabis program. Several of them related personal stories about how using medical marijuana had benefited themselves, family members and their families as a whole.

An email request made to the city of West Sacramento for more information on the social equity cannabis program and clarification about the Request for Proposal was not returned at press time.

For advocates of the food non-profit organization Three Sisters Gardens, their appearance at the Jan. 21 meeting was at least the third time in the past six months they had brought the issue of extending their lease of city property at 5th and C streets in the Broderick District to a council meeting — and this time they got some results.

Three Sisters Gardens advocates had asked the council to include discussion of their lease as a meeting agenda item. City Council rules require such a request must first be advanced by a council member, and after a Dec. 3 meeting where over 30 Three Sisters Gardens advocates spoke, Councilwoman Norma Alcala requested the issue be put on a January meeting schedule.

The city has been in negotiations with Three Sisters Gardens regarding the least since early 2025, with nonprofit representatives hoping for a long-term agreement that would enable them to more solidify and expand their operations.

According to their website, Three Sisters Garden uses urban agriculture to “engage community members to get involved in creating a food system that is good for us and the environment.”

Founded in 2018 by Alfred Melbourne, Three Sisters Gardens now operates four garden plots, three in Sacramento, that distribute over 90% of the vegetables grown to “food-insecure” homes in the community. According to its 2025 Impact Report, the organization distributed 42,534 pounds of food along with 1,654 hot meals, providing enough food to feed 61 families and 246 individuals per day, 22,500 families and over 90,000 individuals annually.

In her request, Alcala said not only did she wish to discuss Three Sisters Gardens lease but also look at options the city can take to support other non-profits. Melbourne told the council a long-term lease would help the organization’s plans to serve more families and individuals — particularly youth — in the community, through growing food as well as education about sustainable nutrition.

“It would be way more conducive to teach our youth in a space that is going to be out of the elements and have all the different things that we’ll need to be able to store our food and preserve our food and create the space that’s going to be more open and inviting to our public and guests that we have coming,” he added.

“This is one of the most valuable resources we have in West Sacramento,” resident Kimberly Cargill said in support of the request.

Council voted 3-0 to put the Three Sisters Gardens lease and nonprofit assistance issue on a future agenda. Council members Quirina Orozco and Dawnté Early were absent.