OCEANSIDE — After years of debate, storefront cannabis dispensaries may soon become a reality for the city of Oceanside.
The City Council moved forward on April 19 with direction for staff to develop a program within 120 days allowing two permits for cannabis shops.
The city currently regulates recreational cannabis retail, distribution, manufacturing and testing businesses and allows for up to two delivery-only dispensaries but no storefronts.
Councilmember Eric Joyce, who, along with Councilmember Rick Robinson, brought forward the proposal to the City Council, said the city’s current policy that only allows delivery options doesn’t make sense.
“When we talk about access, it can be delivered to a person’s storefront,” Joyce said. “For me, it seems much safer to have (cannabis) in a single location and not out for delivery, where there are video recordings and where we have monitoring from our staff and know what is happening in the building.”
For those opposed to cannabis storefronts, the top concern is the potential for increased youth exposure and access to cannabis.
The legal cannabis industry is highly regulated throughout the state and does not allow for the sale of recreational cannabis to anyone under the age of 21. However, medicinal cannabis is accessible to those 18 and older through a medical card or certification.
Supporters of cannabis storefronts argue regulating legal sales will deter “black market” or illegal cannabis operations.
“I know that an illegal market thrives best when there’s not a regulated market, and young people are more likely to access an illegal market,” Joyce said. “We’re actually creating a safer place by having stores that are highly regulated that put downward pressure on the illegal market.”
Joyce and Robinson’s original proposal included directing staff to create a program that would allow for up to four cannabis storefronts within the city; however, that was lowered to just two at the cautionary request of Councilmember Peter Weiss.
Weiss and Robinson also suggested prioritizing the city’s only existing delivery dispensary, MedLeaf Delivery, whose owners have been eagerly waiting for the city to allow storefront options.
Karen Thomlinson, general manager and owner of MedLeaf, Oceanside’s only non-storefront dispensary, pointed out that neighboring Vista has received significant tax dollars since allowing for storefront and delivery dispensaries, collecting approximately $18 million in tax revenue from cannabis sales since 2020.
Vista’s 11 storefront options and delivery services pose a significant challenge for Thomlinson, who has previously approached the City Council about allowing storefront options due to her inability to compete with nearby cannabis suppliers.
Although the potential tax revenue is tempting, not every council member or resident believes it’s worth what they consider the potential risks associated with cannabis sales.
Mayor Esther Sanchez, the only member of the council to vote against the direction to staff, said she remains opposed to the idea of cannabis storefronts.
“I don’t want to raise revenue for that purpose,” Sanchez said. “It’s not something for the health and safety of the community… if you’re an adult, that’s your business, but my concern is for the youth.”
Speakers both for and against the concept of cannabis storefronts were passionate about their opinions.
John Byrom of the North County Prevention Coalition claimed that nearly 40% of suicide victims had cannabis in their systems when they died and that San Diego emergency rooms are seeing about 40 visits per day for services related to marijuana usage.
According to UC San Diego Health, a study identified a 1,808% relative increase in the rate of cannabis-related trips to the ER from specifically elderly Californians aged 65 and older between 2005 and 2019.
Others pointed out that tobacco and alcohol are more readily accessible and far deadlier than cannabis.
“The reality is tobacco and alcohol are legal and available at every single corner store and are responsible for more death and violence in one day than cannabis has caused since becoming recreationally legal in 2016,” said South Oceanside resident Mitch Silverstein.
Silverstein also noted that many Oceanside residents are driving out of the city and taking potential tax revenue to Vista for cannabis.
“I’d personally rather spend my money here and give tax revenue to Oceanside, and I know a lot of other people who would, too,” Silverstein said.
The tax revenue would fund youth development programs, community resource centers, parks and recreation scholarships, job training, improving parks in low-income neighborhoods, gang prevention, drug use prevention and public safety.
Joyce said he would like to see some of the funding directed toward decoy operations for the police department to ensure minors are not accessing legal dispensaries.
H/T: thecoastnews.com
