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Public commenters urge La Mesa to track youth vaping and cannabis impacts
Summary
Public health advocates and residents urged the council to track and publicly report outcomes from Proposition 64 mitigation funds, highlight youth vaping harms and support education and enforcement programs.
Several public commenters used the general comment period to ask the council to monitor and report health and safety outcomes related to cannabis and vaping.
Peggy Walker, who identified herself as a public‑health worker and youth mentor, described seeing “alarming rates of child poisonings, cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, anxiety, depression, psychosis, school failure, and addiction,” and urged the city to publicly report outcomes from the Proposition 64 remediation funding for youth exposure and illegal sales. "No child's life or future is worth any amount of tax revenue," she said.
A second remote commenter, Madison, identified as a mother and public‑health advocate, urged strong enforcement of tobacco‑retail laws, education for youth and parents, and policies to reduce youth access to e‑cigarettes. Madison warned that high nicotine concentrations can harm adolescent brain development and increase risks of depression and anxiety.
Those remarks framed later council discussion about a proposed 1% increase in the city's cannabis business tax (item 13.1), which proponents said could fund prevention, enforcement and behavioral health services.
