Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Advocates for the cultivation, distribution and sale of medical marijuana won an important victory Wednesday when the Oceanside City Council agreed to forward the recommendations of an ad hoc committee to city staffers for more work.
The committee, after a six-month series of meetings with residents, farmers and representatives of the cannabis industry, outlined a framework for how licenses would be issued and regulated, with requirements for surveillance, alarm systems, signs, lighting, locks and on-site security
"This is a good ordinance," said Councilman Jerry Kern, who served with acting Mayor Chuck Lowery as the council's appointed representatives on the committee. "It was a lot of work on everybody's part."
A city staff report and first draft of the ordinance could be ready for the council to consider as early as February, Kern said.
The committee also recommended commercial cultivation be allowed only in agricultural zones and only east of Interstate 5, in part as an attempt to separate the industry from Oceanside's burgeoning craft brewery scene.
The 3-1 decision to proceed, with Councilwoman Esther Sanchez opposed, narrowly avoided a 2-2 deadlock that would have stopped the effort.
Councilman Jack Feller has sided with Sanchez to oppose legalization in the past. But Wednesday, Feller agreed to consider the idea after listening to 46 public speakers, many of whom pleaded for easy and safe access to medicinal marijuana as a substitute for opiates and other dangerous or addictive prescription drugs.
"My heart goes out to users who are veterans and children," Feller said. "If this was about just medical marijuana and cultivation for medicine, there might be a chance I would support it."
His stance has always been about protecting children from drugs, he said, and he would support the measure if it were limited to medicinal cannabis, and no recreational uses.
Kern and Lowery assured Feller there would be no recreational use in the proposal, and that council members will have additional opportunities to guide the development of the measure.
Two cannabis-related ordinances will be required to enact the measure, City Attorney John Mullen said by email Thursday. Both will be considered by various city commissions, including Economic Development, Police and Fire, and Planning before going to the City Council for final approval.
One ordinance would consist of zoning amendments to incorporate the new policies for land uses such as cultivation, distribution and manufacturing, Mullen said. The other ordinance would add amendments to the City Code requiring annual licenses for the businesses, along with police background checks, security plans and more.
Council members emphasized that city regulations are needed to take control of a business that otherwise will be lost to the state, a local ballot measure or the black market.
Proposition 64, passed by California voters in 2016, takes effect New Year's Day, legalizing recreational marijuana for anyone 21 or older. However, marijuana remains illegal everywhere under federal law, and many cities have passed laws to outlaw it or limit its use.
Oceanside has enacted bans on cannabis cultivation, distribution and sales in recent years, though it allows two licensed delivery services. Yet an online search quickly turns up dozens of distributors in the city.
"We took this step to prevent outside interests and the state of California from wielding power over the safety of our seniors, veterans and youth," Lowery said in an email Thursday. "I'm proud of our community."
Sanchez said she could not support the proposed measure because, with two council members on the committee, the state's open-meeting law prevented her from attending the committee meetings.
"I feel like I was excluded from the dialogue," Sanchez said, adding that there has been no input from city staffers. She and others also have said the committee should have focused on whether marijuana should be legal, not how to legalize it.
Kern responded that the committee was appointed by the council to do the groundwork for legalization, and return its results to the council.
"Our task was (to determine) how do we implement the will of the people," Kern said.
Legalization has strong support among many Oceanside residents and some of the city's largest farmers, who see cannabis cultivation as a profitable substitute for long-time crops such as vegetables, avocados and citrus that are being squeezed out by the rising costs of land, water and labor.
The Vista City Council also has talked about ways to legalize medical marijuana dispensaries, but in September decided to hold off discussions until January.
A San Diego nonprofit called the Association of Cannabis Professionals filed notices of intent earlier this year to circulate petitions to collect enough signatures to place legalization measures on the ballot in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista and other cities in the county.
However, Dallin Young, the group's executive director, said recently the group has decided to back off its initiative efforts to see what happens in Oceanside and Vista before proceeding.
San Diego is the only city in the county and one of the few in the state that has created a legal, fully regulated supply chain for the drug from cultivation to sales.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Oceanside gives go-ahead for medical marijuana - The San Diego Union-Tribune
Author: Phil Diehl
Contact: Contact the Union-Tribune - The San Diego Union-Tribune
Photo Credit: Phil Diehl
Website: The San Diego Union-Tribune - San Diego, California & National News
The committee, after a six-month series of meetings with residents, farmers and representatives of the cannabis industry, outlined a framework for how licenses would be issued and regulated, with requirements for surveillance, alarm systems, signs, lighting, locks and on-site security
"This is a good ordinance," said Councilman Jerry Kern, who served with acting Mayor Chuck Lowery as the council's appointed representatives on the committee. "It was a lot of work on everybody's part."
A city staff report and first draft of the ordinance could be ready for the council to consider as early as February, Kern said.
The committee also recommended commercial cultivation be allowed only in agricultural zones and only east of Interstate 5, in part as an attempt to separate the industry from Oceanside's burgeoning craft brewery scene.
The 3-1 decision to proceed, with Councilwoman Esther Sanchez opposed, narrowly avoided a 2-2 deadlock that would have stopped the effort.
Councilman Jack Feller has sided with Sanchez to oppose legalization in the past. But Wednesday, Feller agreed to consider the idea after listening to 46 public speakers, many of whom pleaded for easy and safe access to medicinal marijuana as a substitute for opiates and other dangerous or addictive prescription drugs.
"My heart goes out to users who are veterans and children," Feller said. "If this was about just medical marijuana and cultivation for medicine, there might be a chance I would support it."
His stance has always been about protecting children from drugs, he said, and he would support the measure if it were limited to medicinal cannabis, and no recreational uses.
Kern and Lowery assured Feller there would be no recreational use in the proposal, and that council members will have additional opportunities to guide the development of the measure.
Two cannabis-related ordinances will be required to enact the measure, City Attorney John Mullen said by email Thursday. Both will be considered by various city commissions, including Economic Development, Police and Fire, and Planning before going to the City Council for final approval.
One ordinance would consist of zoning amendments to incorporate the new policies for land uses such as cultivation, distribution and manufacturing, Mullen said. The other ordinance would add amendments to the City Code requiring annual licenses for the businesses, along with police background checks, security plans and more.
Council members emphasized that city regulations are needed to take control of a business that otherwise will be lost to the state, a local ballot measure or the black market.
Proposition 64, passed by California voters in 2016, takes effect New Year's Day, legalizing recreational marijuana for anyone 21 or older. However, marijuana remains illegal everywhere under federal law, and many cities have passed laws to outlaw it or limit its use.
Oceanside has enacted bans on cannabis cultivation, distribution and sales in recent years, though it allows two licensed delivery services. Yet an online search quickly turns up dozens of distributors in the city.
"We took this step to prevent outside interests and the state of California from wielding power over the safety of our seniors, veterans and youth," Lowery said in an email Thursday. "I'm proud of our community."
Sanchez said she could not support the proposed measure because, with two council members on the committee, the state's open-meeting law prevented her from attending the committee meetings.
"I feel like I was excluded from the dialogue," Sanchez said, adding that there has been no input from city staffers. She and others also have said the committee should have focused on whether marijuana should be legal, not how to legalize it.
Kern responded that the committee was appointed by the council to do the groundwork for legalization, and return its results to the council.
"Our task was (to determine) how do we implement the will of the people," Kern said.
Legalization has strong support among many Oceanside residents and some of the city's largest farmers, who see cannabis cultivation as a profitable substitute for long-time crops such as vegetables, avocados and citrus that are being squeezed out by the rising costs of land, water and labor.
The Vista City Council also has talked about ways to legalize medical marijuana dispensaries, but in September decided to hold off discussions until January.
A San Diego nonprofit called the Association of Cannabis Professionals filed notices of intent earlier this year to circulate petitions to collect enough signatures to place legalization measures on the ballot in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista and other cities in the county.
However, Dallin Young, the group's executive director, said recently the group has decided to back off its initiative efforts to see what happens in Oceanside and Vista before proceeding.
San Diego is the only city in the county and one of the few in the state that has created a legal, fully regulated supply chain for the drug from cultivation to sales.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Oceanside gives go-ahead for medical marijuana - The San Diego Union-Tribune
Author: Phil Diehl
Contact: Contact the Union-Tribune - The San Diego Union-Tribune
Photo Credit: Phil Diehl
Website: The San Diego Union-Tribune - San Diego, California & National News
