Oceanside approves pathway for first in-store cannabis sales

Oceanside has approved a process to issue its first four in-store retail cannabis licenses despite lingering concerns that the shops could make it easier for underage people to acquire the substance.

The Oceanside City Council’s decision Wednesday was its latest step in a years-long march from the legalization of medical marijuana toward over-the-counter sales of adult recreational weed products.

The city previously has approved 20 licenses for various other types of cannabis businesses, from cultivation to off-site distribution, of which only five licenses are active. Together the active licenses are held by just two businesses that manufacture or deliver cannabis products.

The final version of the retail licensing procedures includes measures to prioritize applicants with “a proven track record of abiding by collective bargaining agreements.” It also adds increased distances between retail shops and some schools, and eliminates a requirement for applicants to have a specific location for their shop before obtaining a license.

The Oceanside City Council voted 4-1 Wednesday to create the licensing program. Mayor Esther Sanchez voted no, saying that the shops would make it easier for young people to obtain cannabis products.

“Access is especially an issue for me,” Sanchez said. “I have seen families destroyed because of marijuana.”

Councilmember Jimmy Figueroa said he also worries how the stores could affect school-aged children, although he voted for the licensing program.

“I have a lot of concerns … about proximity to after-school programs and problem neighborhoods,” Figueroa said. He suggested a portion of the city’s cannabis-generated tax revenue be directed to social programs with a drug-abuse prevention element.

“One of my hopes is to create a revenue stream for our youth programs that are always under-funded,” he said.

Councilmember Rick Robinson said he understands the need to protect children, but that access to illicit substances has always been a problem with rebellious young people.

“If walking by a store is enough to cause someone to fall, they are going to fall anyway,” Robinson said.

Councilmember Eric Joyce agreed with a point Sanchez made, that access for young people is more likely to be a problem in neighborhoods with economic and social problems.

Joyce suggested the city consider opening up the Coast Highway corridor for cannabis sales, an area that is off-limits in the program approved Wednesday. That idea would have to be brought to the council at a future meeting to be considered.

Cannabis shops will be allowed only in some commercial and industrial areas. They will be prohibited in all areas west of Coast Highway, anywhere in the downtown district, the Mission San Luis Rey Commercial Village area and master planned communities.

The shops must be at least 1,000 feet from residential neighborhoods, public parks and playgrounds, youth centers and libraries, childcare facilities, churches, high schools and middle schools. They can be as close as 550 feet to other public or private schools.

Oceanside legalized medical marijuana in 2018. Since then it has gradually expanded its licensing program. In 2020, the City Council approved the first delivery-only retail sales. Also that year, it agreed to allow recreational cannabis businesses.

The City Council majority agreed in 2023 to create two licenses for walk-in retail shops and possibly a third if the city’s one operating delivery-only license holder could qualify for it. Later the council decided to offer up to four retail licenses and prioritize the two existing operators.

So far, the city has issued 20 licenses for a variety of cannabis-related businesses, from cultivation and manufacturing to off-site distribution. The five active licenses are held by MedLeaf, which only delivers cannabis products, and Left Coast, which has manufacturing and commercial distribution businesses, but no delivery.

A city staff report in 2023, before the fourth license was proposed, said Oceanside can expect to receive about $1.3 million annually in tax revenue from three retail cannabis sales licenses.

Oceanside’s neighbor to the east, Vista, has 10 cannabis retailers. Elsewhere in North County, Escondido, Carlsbad and San Marcos prohibit commercial marijuana activities.

San Diego County and several other cities within the county, including Encinitas, allow limited commercial cannabis activities.