Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Zero-tolerance Oceanside

Pot shop allegedly reopens under a different name

The day after the City of Oceanside closed the Nature’s Leaf marijuana dispensary on October 31, city attorney John Mullen drove by the shuttered business near the intersection of Interstate 5 and Hwy 78.

“I drove by Natures Leaf the first Saturday it closed and two kids were passing flyers telling people to go to San Diego Street for their ‘sister’ store,” Mullen says in an email. “The kids were stopping cars as they drove by.”

That may have not been a good idea for the “sister” store, Chronic Pain Releaf, located near Oceanside’s downtown. Mullen says that ownership connection means that the operators were in violation of a stipulated judgment agreement to not open or promote another retail pot shop in Oceanside. Mullen says the flyer led to Oceanside police criminally citing the individuals running Chronic Pain Releaf at 218 San Diego Street.

“This is our first criminal prosecution [involving marijuana dispensaries]. There is coordination going on between the Nature’s Leaf people and the San Diego Street dispensary…. [T]heir blatant disregard for the court’s order illustrates the need to pivot our strategy.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

It didn't stop there.

“The city separately filed a nuisance abatement action against the owners of the land as they are liable for violations of the zoning ordinance," says Mullen.

Oceanside, like most other North County cities, do not allow medical dispensaries. The City of Oceanside staff spent over a year to get Natures Leaf to go away. Mullen thinks his message got through.

“Those [property] owners served a three day notice to quit on the tenants [December 2] after receiving our letter telling them they are being sued.” Chronic Pain Releaf has been advertising on weedmaps.com since it opened October 24, in spite of published statements by Oceanside city councilmembers saying such businesses would not be allowed.

A call was made to the store on December 3 asking for comment. A female employee said she would have someone return the call. No one called back.

Oceanside police spokesman Lt. Leonard Cosby says he is aware that the city attorney is pursuing prosecution, but that he was not aware of any specific action planned by the OPD.

“All I know is one of our [plain-clothed] officers was in the area [of the San Diego Street dispensary] last week and one of their employees flagged him down trying to drum up business.”

Longtime locals recognize the Chronic Pain Relief building as one with a historic significance. From 1968 to 2000 it housed El Charrito, a much beloved, family-owned Mexican food restaurant that was a kind of cultural anchor for its “Eastside” or “Posole” Mexican-American neighborhood.

“It was Oceanside’s first good Mexican café,” says Ernie Gobbi, whose family ran El Charrito. “This was back before there were any other good Mexican restaurants…. Everyone from the city used to come there. The police station used to be right across the street, so all the cops and firemen came. Plus, all the mayors and councilmen and city hall people came in to eat. The Oceanside Historical Society even gave us a plaque.”

Records show that the building is owned by Alfredo and Blanca Garcia, who also own El Nopalito Market two blocks away. A call to Mr. Garcia about the dispensary was relayed to a Yolanda in San Diego, who said an attorney would call back to address how the affair was being handled. No return call .

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Bringing Order to the Christmas Chaos

There is a sense of grandeur in Messiah that period performance mavens miss.
Next Article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led

The day after the City of Oceanside closed the Nature’s Leaf marijuana dispensary on October 31, city attorney John Mullen drove by the shuttered business near the intersection of Interstate 5 and Hwy 78.

“I drove by Natures Leaf the first Saturday it closed and two kids were passing flyers telling people to go to San Diego Street for their ‘sister’ store,” Mullen says in an email. “The kids were stopping cars as they drove by.”

That may have not been a good idea for the “sister” store, Chronic Pain Releaf, located near Oceanside’s downtown. Mullen says that ownership connection means that the operators were in violation of a stipulated judgment agreement to not open or promote another retail pot shop in Oceanside. Mullen says the flyer led to Oceanside police criminally citing the individuals running Chronic Pain Releaf at 218 San Diego Street.

“This is our first criminal prosecution [involving marijuana dispensaries]. There is coordination going on between the Nature’s Leaf people and the San Diego Street dispensary…. [T]heir blatant disregard for the court’s order illustrates the need to pivot our strategy.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

It didn't stop there.

“The city separately filed a nuisance abatement action against the owners of the land as they are liable for violations of the zoning ordinance," says Mullen.

Oceanside, like most other North County cities, do not allow medical dispensaries. The City of Oceanside staff spent over a year to get Natures Leaf to go away. Mullen thinks his message got through.

“Those [property] owners served a three day notice to quit on the tenants [December 2] after receiving our letter telling them they are being sued.” Chronic Pain Releaf has been advertising on weedmaps.com since it opened October 24, in spite of published statements by Oceanside city councilmembers saying such businesses would not be allowed.

A call was made to the store on December 3 asking for comment. A female employee said she would have someone return the call. No one called back.

Oceanside police spokesman Lt. Leonard Cosby says he is aware that the city attorney is pursuing prosecution, but that he was not aware of any specific action planned by the OPD.

“All I know is one of our [plain-clothed] officers was in the area [of the San Diego Street dispensary] last week and one of their employees flagged him down trying to drum up business.”

Longtime locals recognize the Chronic Pain Relief building as one with a historic significance. From 1968 to 2000 it housed El Charrito, a much beloved, family-owned Mexican food restaurant that was a kind of cultural anchor for its “Eastside” or “Posole” Mexican-American neighborhood.

“It was Oceanside’s first good Mexican café,” says Ernie Gobbi, whose family ran El Charrito. “This was back before there were any other good Mexican restaurants…. Everyone from the city used to come there. The police station used to be right across the street, so all the cops and firemen came. Plus, all the mayors and councilmen and city hall people came in to eat. The Oceanside Historical Society even gave us a plaque.”

Records show that the building is owned by Alfredo and Blanca Garcia, who also own El Nopalito Market two blocks away. A call to Mr. Garcia about the dispensary was relayed to a Yolanda in San Diego, who said an attorney would call back to address how the affair was being handled. No return call .

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Too $hort & DJ Symphony, Peppermint Beach Club, Holidays at the Zoo

Events December 19-December 21, 2024
Next Article

Houston ex-mayor donates to Toni Atkins governor fund

LGBT fights in common
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader