First in a series

Judging by the urgent flood of penetrating, diverse questions following a smart and cogent presentation on the very new state of cannabis yesterday morning, many Culver City residents are roaming in a dark space about the soon-to-be legal marijuana enterprise.

Young Morgan Sokol of the seven-year-old Culver City cannabis business known as MedMen addressed a middle-aged audience of Chamber of Commerce members at the Courtyard by Marriott.

That matchup was what sparked questions that persisted considerably longer than her pinpoint and balanced update.

It was the first time that the parent- and government- and business-oriented audience ever had listened to someone with the title “director of compliance and regulatory affairs.”

Clearly an advocate for the legalization of marijuana, Ms. Sokol delivered a comprehensive and bitingly fair report in a businesslike manner.

Ms. Sokol’s established the tone in her opening words:

“We have seen a rapid change in public attitudes toward cannabis in recent years.  Twenty-nine states have medical marijuana laws on the books. Eight states have passed laws legalizing adult use of recreational marijuana.”

In her only political sally, Ms. Sokol said that “despite grumbling from Atty. Gen. Sessions, two-thirds of Americans now live in states that have some kind of marijuana laws on their books.”

Government, she noted, is catching up.

“Congress isn’t that far behind,” Ms. Sokol said. “Starting in 2014 and in every year since, Congress has renewed an amendment that provides protection to states that have medical marijuana laws.”

(To be continued)