Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jun 2014
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.utsandiego.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386
Author: Edward Sifuentes
Page: B1

OCEANSIDE SAYS NO TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHOPS

Council Rejects Request to Change Zoning Rules, Citing Fears of
Crime

Oceanside - The Oceanside City Council unanimously voted Wednesday to
deny a medical marijuana dispensary's request that the city change its
zoning rules to allow pot shops to operate in town.

Council members said the shops aren't a good fit for the community and
could lead to crime and more drug use by young people.

"I believe it's just not right for us," said Deputy Mayor Esther
Sanchez. "It's just too easy to get a letter from a doctor saying that
you can use marijuana for medical purposes."

The city's zoning regulations don't list marijuana dispensaries as an
approved use, so such stores can't obtain city permits. A shop called
Nature's Leaf Collective opened about a year ago anyway. After the
city ordered it to close, owner George Sadler applied for a zone
amendment in September, asking Oceanside to loosen its rules.

Joshua Hamlin, an attorney representing Sadler, said Wednesday the
city could create specific regulations for dispensaries, to address
concerns about crime and drug use by minors.

"These are legitimate concerns," Hamlin said. "These concerns are
addressed by the (proposed zone) amendment. We can address them
further by other amendments."

Last month, the dispensary petitioned the city's Planning Commission
to adopt a zoning amendment allowing the shops. That panel agreed on a
3-2 vote and recommended that the city change its regulations.

City officials had already sued the dispensary in an effort to shut it
down. A Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction earlier
this year saying Nature's Leaf must stop operating, but he delayed the
order from going into effect until the city made a decision.

Based on the outcome of the vote, the judge will likely allow the city
to shut down the dispensary, said City Attorney John Mullen.

Several dozen people attended Wednesday's meeting, some in support of
the dispensary and others against.

Some health advocacy groups - including representatives of the North
Coastal Prevention Coalition - spoke against allowing such shops in
Oceanside. Several of them said dispensaries attract crime.

Supporters of Nature's Leaf said patients need safe access to
marijuana and regulations would help, not create more crime.

"It offends me to be treated like a criminal," said Vin Linville, a
medical marijuana advocate who has emphysema. "We're not criminals. We
only ask for a tiny place to stand."

Mayor Jim Wood said he sympathized with those who had a legitimate
need to use marijuana for medical purposes but he asked that they
petition the state to create a better way to distribute the drug,
possibly by allowing pharmacies to dispense the drug rather than pot
shops.

"We need a different approach to distribution," Wood said. "This is
not going to be a good thing for our city ... not now and not the way
it's set up."

The city's planning staff had recommended that the council deny the
zoning amendment. Even though California allows the use of medical
marijuana under Proposition 215 - an initiative approved by voters in
1996 - the drug remains illegal under federal law.

In a staff report, city planners said the Oceanside Police Department
considers medical marijuana dispensaries a public safety hazard.
Police investigated 26 robberies involving marijuana in the city last
year, according to the report.

At least one of the robberies occurred at the Nature's Leaf
Collective, according to the report.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt