San Diego officials are criticizing a local cannabis dispensary chain for allegedly marketing to children by naming its dispensaries “Cookies” and mimicking Sesame Street graphics to evoke the Cookie Monster character.
The Cookies chain, which operates dispensaries in Mission Valley and La Mesa, received final approval last week for a third dispensary in Sorrento Valley despite strong objections from community leaders.
The San Diego Planning Commission approved the Cookies dispensary in Sorrento Valley by a 5-1 vote.
Several commissioners who voted in favor criticized the name as disingenuous and misleading, but they stressed that their decisions must be based on zoning compatibility — not subjective opinions about the name of a business.
“I hate the name,” said Commissioner James Whalen, who voted to approve the new dispensary. “I think it’s disingenuous to say it’s not attractive to young people.”
Commissioner Kelly Moden said it was particularly troubling that young people will frequently travel past the new dispensary, because it is near several youth-oriented facilities.
“If they want to expand their business and go into other locations, they are probably going to continue to get this feedback from communities that have a lot of families,” said Moden, who also voted for approval.
Moden called the Cookies name “brilliant” from a marketing perspective, but she criticized it harshly from a community perspective.
“I think the name is really misleading,” she said. “It just doesn’t sit very well with me.”
Gina Austin, a local attorney representing the business, said Friday that the owners of Cookies have tried unsuccessfully to compromise with the city.
She said they suggested using a logo instead of the word Cookies, but San Diego’s cannabis laws prohibit logos.
Austin, the leading cannabis attorney in the region, noted that the state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control has not raised any objections to the name. She also said young people typically stare at their phones while riding in cars, instead of perusing the businesses they pass by.
During the Planning Commission hearing June 24, Austin said the owners take the complaints seriously. But no intention to change or adjust the name has been announced.
Dispensaries in San Diego are typically located off the beaten path because of strict city rules limiting them to light-industrial zones far away from most retail areas.
The Cookies dispensary is on Mission Center Court, a little-traveled cul-de-sac off Mission Center Road.
Commissioner Whalen said he was frustrated that the city gave final approval to that dispensary in 2017 under a different name. Austin said the name was later switched to Cookies.
The Planning Commission was voting on an appeal by the Torrey Pines Community Planning Group of a preliminary approval by a city hearing officer of the Sorrento Valley dispensary.
“The project name CookiesCo, and the designation “bakery” used on signage, are an attractive nuisance because they are a dishonest description of the product and especially attractive to youth,” the planning group said in a letter to the city.
Commissioner Doug Austin, who cast the lone “no” vote, praised the planning group for making the most persuasive case against a dispensary that he has seen in years.
In addition to complaining about the name and graphics, the group argued that the dispensary violated some zoning laws regarding free-standing retail uses in industrial areas.
Austin said the name was an example of “deliberate targeting of youth,” and said he believes the commission has the power to vote against names that are “adverse to the health, safety and welfare” of the community.
The newly approved dispensary is the 25th OK’d by the city, which began allowing legal dispensaries in 2014. It is part of a trio of new dispensaries getting final approvals this spring and summer.
A dispensary at 4337 Home Avenue received final approval last month. A dispensary at 2605 Camino del Rio South is scheduled in August for a Planning Commission vote on final approval in August.
