Public commenters and some council members press council to consider retail cannabis policy; ad hoc subcommittee proposed

Public comment at the visioning workshop focused heavily on whether Escondido should allow retail adult-use cannabis and whether the city should pre-authorize a local tax. Speakers included industry veterans and public-health advocates who asked the council either to authorize a program with local tax revenue or to continue the current prohibition.

Steven Wheeler, who identified himself as a retired cannabis manufacturing director, urged the council to "provide serious, proactive, and comprehensive consideration ensuring our city take all necessary steps to independent assessment of a path to approval of retail adult use cannabis sales within our city, including a 7% city tax on gross receipts." Wheeler criticized agenda language that referenced "resource constraints" and said residents had shown support: "This body discussed this issue during 2024...a city contracted voter survey indicating 61% of polled residents are in support."

Representing a prevention-focused nonprofit, Patrick Fulstrom, program manager for the Coalition for Drug Free Escondido at Education Compact, urged the council to keep the existing ban in place or, if the city moves forward, to tightly restrict licenses and products. Fulstrom cited recent research to the council: "A study...that followed more than a 106,000 adolescents...found a 26% increase in overall cannabis use, 43% increase in edible cannabis use, 34% increase in smoking, and a 28% increase in co-use of alcohol and cannabis." He asked the council to consider controls to keep dispensaries away from schools and residential neighborhoods and to cap the number of licenses.

Council discussion and next steps

City staff and the city manager described two related points: the council can place a question on the ballot that would allow the city to tax retail sales in the future, but drafting a ballot measure and pursuing community vetting is a significant staff workload. City Attorney/Legal staff and the city manager noted that the council can choose a simpler "ballot-authorize-tax" approach, or it can undertake a community-driven process to draft an ordinance with siting, licensing, and product rules, which requires more outreach and procedural work.

Mayor White and other council members said they preferred to "get ahead" of any citizen initiative and discussed the risk that a privately led initiative could limit the council's control. Council members expressed differing views: some opposed legalization on public-safety and neighborhood-protection grounds; others favored placing a question on the ballot so voters could decide and the city could shape the policy. The council discussed forming an ad hoc subcommittee to develop options; the mayor asked for volunteers and a few members expressed interest in serving.

Why it matters

Council staff noted the city's last survey testing a ballot question on cannabis showed majority support in the city for an authorization-and-tax question; council members emphasized the trade-offs between revenue potential and perceived public-health and neighborhood impacts. Several council members said a council-led process would give Escondido more control than a citizen initiative.

Attribution lock

Quotes used in this article are drawn directly from the workshop transcript and are attributed only to speakers who identified themselves during the meeting.