Oceanside Weed Abatement

The city of Oceanside, California, our neighbor to the west, is taking a rather silly, draconian stand against medical marijuana.  This seaside hamlet, long known as the doorway to Camp Pendleton, home of the Marine Corps, is thumbing its nose at state law and the will of the California voter.

Proposition 215, the Medical Marijuana Initiative, was passed in 1996 by 56% of the people.  That was twelve years ago.  It holds that people with a doctor's prescription can legally purchase and possess marijuana  in order to alleviate pain for a variety of ailments.  The Federal government has recently signaled that it will respect and defer to state marijuana laws and not raid medical marijuana dispensaries.

Proposition 215 added Section 11362.5 to the California Health and Safety Code, which:

    * Exempts patients and defined caregivers who possess or cultivate marijuana for medical treatment recommended by a physician from criminal laws which otherwise prohibit possession or cultivation of marijuana.


    * Provides physicians who recommend use of marijuana for medical treatment shall not be punished or denied any right or privilege.


    * Declares that the measure is not be construed to supersede prohibitions of conduct endangering others or to condone diversion of marijuana for non-medical purposes.


The City of Oceanside is having a meeting Wednesday night to declare a moratorium on marijuana dispensaries in their municipality.  This, despite the fact that there has never been a single application to open one in their city.  They want their planners to study the situation.

The City Council is considering an "urgency ordinance" Wednesday that would immediately prohibit dispensaries from opening and operating. The moratorium would last 45 days, with optional extensions of nearly two years.


City Planner Juliana von Hacht said marijuana dispensaries pose a "threat to public health, safety and welfare," since the city has no rules to govern them. She said they've been linked to increased crime, traffic and noise.

I have visited several dispensaries in other cities, and they have all been neat, orderly, and quiet.  It could be an elderly relative of yours or a friend suffering from a debilitating disease like arthritis or MS.  Far from the stereotypical caricature painted by the foes of marijuana, all of the players in the business, from the Doctors to the dispensaries to the patients, appear to take their legal obligations seriously.

It is sad that the City of Oceanside, which has had twelve years to study the issue, has never taken it's obligation to listen to the people of California seriously.  Their thwarting of the will of the people and state law is asinine and criminal.  There are no dispensaries currently operating in North San Diego County and medical marijuana patients are forced to go to San Diego or Orange County, a long and expensive trip.  To shut the door on future dispensaries preemptively shows major chutzpah and brazen disregard.

This kneejerk hubris on their part is a thumb on the eye to both those who live every day in debilitating pain and to the voters in the State of California.  Cities in our state should not have the right to pick and choose what parts of state law they will choose to obey.  I hope that voters will pay close attention to the votes of individual members on this issue.