According to the letter, this would allow current cannabis retailers and applicants to stabilize financially. The moratorium would also give the city time to decide how and if it would limit the number of dispensaries allowed in the city, the letter said.

“The past two years have been tough for all businesses in Napa and ours are no different,” the letter said. “We are currently doing everything we can to increase sales and become financially viable. “

The coalition letter goes on to say that a cap on the number of retail dispensaries could further allow businesses to become financially stable and sustainable because “the amount of cannabis sales in the city will be distributed among the dispensaries.”

Additionally, the letter says that authorizing adult cannabis sales will boost the city’s economic development, increase tourism, allow safe access to drugs, and increase the city’s tax base. Currently, many community members and tourists are leaving town to buy cannibals, order them from delivery companies outside of town, or turn to the illegal unregulated market, the letter said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated tourism and devastated the local government budget,” the letter reads. “Cannabis offers a unique opportunity to stabilize and develop tourism. People travel all over the world to taste the great wines of Napa, and now it’s great cannabis.