Vista residents urge restrictions on youth exposure as retailers warn against new licenses

Peggy Walker, a public health educator and youth mentor, told the Vista City Council that research shows wider visible commercialization of marijuana increases youth use and related health harms. “When marijuana becomes more visible and accessible, youth use increases,” she said, citing a University of California study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health that reviewed nearly 400,000 California high school students and linked commercialization to higher youth ER admissions and hospitalizations.

Walker said communities that ban retail sales and deliveries consistently see lower youth use and fewer marijuana‑related health issues, and she urged the council to “adopt retail bans” and restrict cannabis marketing to reduce normalization and prevent youth addiction tied to high‑potency THC products.

Speaking later in the public comment period, Paula Brunel, who identified herself as overseeing licensing and compliance for Tradecraft Farms — “one of Vista’s licensed cannabis retailers” — opposed the city’s planned eleventh retail license round. Brunel told the council the scheduled February application period for a new retail license would not increase overall tax revenue but would instead spread the same tax base across more operators. She urged the city to focus resources on enforcing against unlicensed storefronts and delivery services, which she said present “the largest existential threat to legal operators” and siphon tax revenues.

The comments were delivered during the oral communications portion of the meeting; no council motion or vote on a new license round occurred during this session. Staff and council did not take immediate action in response to the specific requests but the public comments put both public health and business perspectives on the record.