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Advocates Dedicated to Overturn Ban in Oceanside

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SD-LocalNews

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]O[/dropcap]ceanside has been in a tug of war with collectives for years, and has been in an apparent game of “whack-a-mole” with cannabis, according to City Attorney John Mullen. In January, the City Council voted to uphold its ban on collectives, cultivation and delivery services due to safety concerns. According to KPBS, since 2012, the city of Oceanside has experienced 46 cannabis-related robberies among other crimes. But that isn’t stopping the Association of Cannabis Professionals (ACP) from trying to overturn the city’s ban.

According to the Seaside Courier, ACP President Chris Siegel plans to gather signatures on a petition that qualify a measure proposed by the ACP for the November ballot. Siegel made this decision after hearing testimonies from patients and collectives in Oceanside which included veterans, elders and members of the school district. “[Oceanside] has a large and active patient base that has been vocal about its desire for access. We want these patients, their supporters and the general public to have a chance to have a voice on this important policy,” Siegel stated.

The ACP’s measure will be modeled after San Diego’s medical cannabis ordinance which requires collectives to obtain a conditional use permit before they can be approved by the City Council. The measure will also require collectives to create a 1,000-foot buffer zone between themselves and schools, churches, playgrounds and other collectives. In order to qualify for the ballot in November, the ACP’s measure must obtain signatures from 10 percent of the city’s registered voters, as explained by The San Diego Union Tribune. Once the petition is reviewed and ready to distribute, the ACP will have 180 days to collect an estimated 7,700 signatures.

If the ACP is able to collect a sufficient amount of signatures the City will have to choose whether it should approve the measure as presented, submit the measure to voters in the next municipal election or order a report to be conducted within 30 days that will highlight the impacts of the measure. If the council chooses to demand a report, after the 30 days or whenever the report is submitted, they will then have to decide to adopt the measure or let voters decide. In order for the measure to make it on the November ballot it would have to go before the City Council by August 10.

In March, the Oceanside City Council voted to allow delivery services from outside of the city to deliver medical cannabis to patients, as long as the business registered with Oceanside police, submitted a background check for all of its drivers and apply for a city business license. This concerned some patients as the only legal delivery services close to Oceanside are located in the city of San Diego. “A collective an hour away is not going to go out of its way to register every driver with the Oceanside Police Department, get a restrictive business license, carry a $1 million policy and be subject to background checks to deliver a $50 order,” stated David Newman, an Oceanside resident. The ACP’s measure will allow patients to get their medicine in due time and eliminate the worry of whether or not a collective will be willing to delivery medical cannabis to Oceanside.

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