Oceanside may allow pot delivery

Medical marijuana patients’ stories nudge officials to seek rules for such a move.

OCEANSIDE — In an unexpected turn, Oceanside officials agreed this week to move toward allowing licensed medical marijuana businesses to deliver within the city.

The City Council signaled the move while discussing state regulations — set to take effect this year — allowing the licensing of medical marijuana businesses in cities that haven’t expressly banned them.

By a 4-1 vote, lawmakers adopted an ordinance outlawing dispensaries, but asked city staff to come up with regulations that would permit delivery services.

Oceanside has a history of strict policies against pot shops and consistently has cracked down on stores that opened illegally in the city. But several council members said they had been moved by the testimonies of medical marijuana patients who spoke during Wednesday’s meeting about how the drug had helped them.

Councilwoman Esther Sanchez said a friend suffering from terminal cancer who recently decided to stop treatment has used medical marijuana for pain management.

“I personally understand the need to ensure that we have some kind of … safe access” to medical marijuana, Sanchez said.

On Oct. 11, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a package of bills — collectively referred to as the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act — that establishes a licensing system for cultivation, delivery and dispensing activities throughout the state. Unless local governments have ordinances in place by March 1 that regulate or ban those activities, the state rules will apply.

Oceanside council members said they wanted to make sure the city had its own rules in place.

“We do have to consider the safety of our residents,” Sanchez said. “If we are going to allow some kind of delivery, I would want to have regulations like registering with the police department, like having drivers be 21 and over and having some kind of bond to ensure that — if there is some kind of trouble — there is some responsible way of addressing it.”

Councilman Chuck Lowery voted against the proposal because he wanted to offer an alternative: legalizing delivery services within the city immediately.

“I would suggest that we allow for delivery to qualified patients from licensed dispensaries that operate outside the city of Oceanside,” Lowery said.

“That will resolve the issue. We don’t have to wait for staff to do some kind of study.”

Oceanside police recommended against allowing delivery services because they said medical marijuana businesses were magnets for crime.

Since 2012, there have been at least 45 robberies related to the sale, purchase or possession of marijuana in Oceanside, according to a police memo. Of those robberies, 24 were committed using firearms and 11 involved weapons such as knives or stun guns.

In one of the robberies, a 19-year-old man delivering marijuana to several individuals was shot twice and left paralyzed, Lt. Adam Knowland said.

“Social issues aside, from the police department’s standpoint, the violence alone creates a public safety issue,” Knowland said.

Councilman Jerry Kern said the city has to balance the competing interests of keeping the public safe and allowing patients access to medical marijuana.

“I think this is a good compromise,” Kern said. “We protect ourselves from the state legislation, and we also go forward with our own.”