The window opens this week to apply for Oceanside’s first in-store retail cannabis licenses.

The Oceanside City Council approved a program Aug. 20 offering up to four store-front retail cannabis licenses. Licensees in the retail program are expected to begin commercial operations no sooner than 2027, city officials said.

Applications will be accepted Oct. 1 through Nov. 14. The city asked for prospective applicants to send an email to cannabis@oceansideca.org at least two days prior to electronically submitting their completed paperwork.

More information about all aspects of Oceanside’s cannabis program is on the city website at www.ci.oceanside.ca.us.

So far the city has approved 20 licenses for other types of cannabis businesses, from cultivation to off-site delivery, of which only five licenses are active.

Together the active licenses are held by just two businesses that manufacture or deliver cannabis products. Those two businesses will have priority for two of the available retail licenses under the city’s merit-based application program.

Mayor Esther Sanchez cast the only vote against store-front licenses, saying at the August meeting that the shops would make it easier for young people to obtain cannabis products.

“Access is especially an issue for me,” Sanchez said. “I have seen families destroyed because of marijuana.”

Cannabis shops will be allowed only in some commercial and industrial areas. They will be prohibited in areas west of Coast Highway and anywhere in the downtown district, the Mission San Luis Rey Commercial Village area and master planned communities.

The shops must be at least 1,000 feet from residential neighborhoods, public parks and playgrounds, youth centers and libraries, childcare facilities, churches, high schools and middle schools. They can be as close as 550 feet to other public or private schools.

Cannabis retailers will pay a 5% business tax on gross receipts in addition to other taxes and fees. City officials have said the businesses could generate more than $1 million annually in additional tax revenue.

Oceanside legalized medical marijuana in 2018 and since then has gradually expanded its licensing program. In 2020, the City Council approved delivery-only retail sales and agreed to allow recreational cannabis businesses.

Elsewhere in North County, Escondido, Carlsbad and San Marcos prohibit commercial marijuana activities.

Oceanside’s neighbor to the east, Vista, has 10 cannabis retailers. San Diego County and several other cities within the county, including Encinitas, allow limited commercial cannabis activities.