Pot cultivation wrong for Encinitas

By Jason Yarbrough

Marijuana cultivation and sales in your backyard pose profound risk to the community character, safety and property values and there are points that you need to know right now.

Let me start out by saying that I am not opposed to the benefits of medical marijuana or even to argue the pluses or minuses of marijuana use at all. I am however opposed to the profound risks upon our community to shift to a Pacific Beach or Pueblo, Colorado, town environment inviting drug culture, trafficking and safety issues to our city. Furthermore I am shocked that a decision of this magnitude has not been communicated to the Encinitas residents to this point.

I would like to pose a few questions to the Encinitas residents and ask: Did you know the following?

1. Allowing cultivation and sales of marijuana may change the entire makeup and character of our community just like it has in the city of Pueblo Colorado (see http://bit.ly/2h0P33C)

It outlines how pot dispensaries are available on every corner, welfare, homeless/vagrancy and underage use of marijuana are at all-time highs. Emergency room visits for overdose are at all-time high. Resources taxing police, jails and environmental water use are also off the charts. Is this what you want for the city of Encinitas?

2. Encinitas is having the final of several months of subcommittee meetings on Sept. 28 to decide on the cultivation and sale of cannabis in our city despite very little knowledge of this by most of the Encinitas residents.

3. City Council has been pounced upon by the cannabis industry representatives flooding the “public” subcommittee and council meetings. This profiteering biased influence is attempting to sway our council members away from the interests of protecting Encinitas residents and toward the profit making marijuana industry.

4. If approved, growth will be allowed in several greenhouses within Encinitas surrounded on all sides by residential communities, homes and children. California law requires growth of this product in greenhouses. We are not talking about this being far removed out in rural fields but right in our backyards.

5. Multi-million-dollar cash crop cannabis growth will inevitably invite drug trafficking gangs, gun wielding security guards, and danger to our children and community with no current regulations or even the existence of a police department to enforce these laws. This is serious and real risk to the safety of your community and a direct hit to the property values of your homes that border these greenhouses.

So whether you are for or against marijuana use for medical or social uses, please realize there is a pending decision coming very quickly that has risk of profoundly changing the safety,  property values and character of our community and may bring a litany of changes to our beach community making it like a Pacific Beach or a Pueblo, Colorado.

Please take action with two immediate steps:

1. Please show your support at the next City Council meetings at 6 p.m. at 505 S. Vulcan on Sept. 20 and Sept. 27 and in the subcommittee meeting on Sept. 28. This is the best way to show our council members that our community cares about preserving what we have.

2. Please sign the “Citizens against Pot” petition online immediately at: https://parentsagainstpot.nationbuilder.com/sign_a_petition

Please protect our children and our community.

Jason Yarbrough

Encinitas