Oceanside CA— Oceanside Advocates for Safe Access (OASA), announced, at a press conference in front of Oceanside City Hall, on Monday, that it has filed an initiative to allow for locally regulated adult use cannabis businesses in the city of Oceanside. The initiative is intended to supersede the ordinance as approved by the City Council on March 28, 2018.
“After having done everything in our power and allowing the City every opportunity to align themselves with the will of the voters, we are left with no other option than to fully support this voter initiative that will finally bring safe, lab tested medical marijuana to the patients of Oceanside and North County,” said Amber Newman with Oceanside for a Safer Community.
In May of 2017, the City of Oceanside put together an ad-hoc committee to review the possibility of creating new regulations for the City of Oceanside to allow the cultivation, distribution and dispensing of medical marijuana.
The committee was comprised of Deputy Mayor Chuck Lowery as Committee Chair and Council Member Jerry Kern as Vice Chair along with Dr. Rafe Trickey, City Treasurer, Dr. Wendy Wiehl, a Doctor of Clinical Pharmacy and Director and Professor of Alcohol and Other Drug Studies at San Diego City College and, Andrea France, an Oceanside resident who is a Multiple Sclerosis patient.
In a 3-1 vote in favor last December, the Council approved a request by Deputy Mayor Lowery and Council-member Kern that the Council forward the recommendations of the Medical Marijuana Ad Hoc Committee to appropriate staff and advisory boards/commissions for review and comments to be brought back to Council for adoption at a later date. Council-member Sanchez was the dissenting vote.
“The committees recommendations were hijacked by City staff and a City Council majority who dismantled the results of the committee.” said Amber. She said the ordinance that was approved continued to deny safe access to medical marijuana.
Amber Newman and her husband David, with Soothing Seed Cannabis Nursery have been working for safe access to medical marijuana since 2015. “Last year we shelved our initiative to give the City an opportunity to install their own sensible regulations. The ad-hoc committee worked diligently for months to craft what they thought was a reasonable and responsible ordinance,” said Amber. “It was a worthy jumping off point. It had lots of potential to expand on and fine tune with no voter initiative necessary.”
Amber said, “This initiative will protect our neighborhoods by allowing legal regulated access instead of black market dispensaries and deliver services.”
The group will hold signature gathering training meeting for volunteers at 7:00pm tonight, June 13, 2018 at the One Minute Cannabist located 3041 Industry Street. “We have no chance of making the November 2018 ballot. The current plan is to take the full six months and get as many signatures as we can. We are going to hit the streets on Thursday.”
To learn more about Oceanside for a Safer Community, visit their website: https://oceansideforasafercommunity.org/