Planet 13 Orange County opens in Santa Ana

SANTA ANA, California – Santa Ana Mayor Vicente Sarmiento stepped into Planet 13 Orange County, the city’s newest cannabis dispensary, and admired the eclectic design.

Since Santa Ana approved the sale of recreational adult cannabis in 2017, it has positioned itself as an industry leader in Orange County. And now, at Planet 13 Orange County’s VIP and media preview, Sarmiento sees this newest pharmacy as a tourist attraction that could create jobs and more revenue for the city.

What You Need To Know Planet 13 Orange County, the state’s largest cannabis dispensary, opens July 1st

The mayor of Santa Ana said the new cannabis superstore would provide the city with much-needed jobs and revenue

Since licensing cannabis retail in 2017, Santa Ana has received more than $ 30 million in sales tax and other fees from these companies

An Orange County grand jury examined Santa Ana cannabis retail stores and found that it did not increase crime in the city

“We know this will be a real asset to the community, create jobs and generate income for our city, which means we can develop more youth programs, libraries and parks,” Sarmiento told Spectrum News, standing next to a multi – colored surfer van ad.

Planet 13, a Nevada-based cannabis company, is opening its newest cannabis dispensary, Planet 13 Orange County, on July 1. The brand new 55,000 square foot retail pharmacy with 16,500 square feet of retail space is located along Warner Avenue in an industrial district of Santa Ana.

Planet 13 officials said this is California’s largest pharmacy and the second largest in the country, behind the company’s huge 112,000 square foot flagship cannabis store in Las Vegas.

Upon entering the cannabis dispensary, customers can dip their toes on a digital screen made of sand from an interactive beach display, take photos in front of a 25-meter high waterfall on a wall-sized digital screen, or step into a 1970s Volkswagen surfer van that creates fake Smoke.

Once in Planet 13 Orange County’s new retail space, customers are greeted by a five-meter-high octopus statue and can stroll under hundreds of brightly colored umbrellas suspended from the ceiling.

The new Planet 13 store is more like a groovy art space than a cannabis dispensary. But that’s exactly the kind of retail experience Planet 13 officials want to bring about.

“Everything we do is amazing,” said David Farris, vice president of sales and marketing for Planet 13. “It’s big. It is great. It’s a perfect design and suits our customers. “

The opening of the huge cannabis dispensary shows how Santa Ana is profiting from the emerging industry and has positioned itself as the only market leader in Orange County in this area of ​​business.

Santa Ana began licensing and regulating adult recreational cannabis in 2017, a year after California’s Prop. 64 was passed, which legalized recreational marijuana for people age 21 and older.

According to Santa Ana regulation, the city can have up to 30 retail cannabis pharmacies. Additionally, city medical marijuana shops are taxed at 6%, while recreational cannabis dispensaries are taxed at 8%.

Since companies were approved in 2017 to set up retail cannabis stores, the city has more than 27 adult cannabis dispensaries, including Planet 13.

The city has raised more than $ 30 million in the past three years.

The money from cannabis sales tax and other fees has gone to the city’s general fund to fund youth, park, and library programs. In addition, money was made available for enforcement to crack down on illegal cannabis operations.

Santa Ana police have closed 120 illegal pharmacies, according to a Santa Ana spokesman.

At a recent meeting of the Santa Ana City Council, the council directed staff to consider ways to divert more money from enforcement into youth programs and services as the police did a great job closing down illegal operations.

“There were no secondary effects,” Sarmiento told Spectrum News. “No negative impact on our community. In fact, they have only brought benefits and assets to our community.”

The Orange County Grand Jury examined the Santa Ana licensed cannabis retail stores and found none of the ill effects some believed would come with approval of this type of operation.

The grand jury, which released the report earlier this month, noted that the city has seen a surge in revenue and has allowed it to expand its youth welfare programs significantly.

They also noted a decline in the number of unlicensed cannabis dispensaries and “received no evidence of an increase in crime as a result of adult licensing of cannabis dispensaries for retail purposes”.

Sarmiento said the cannabis industry has grown and matured. He looks forward to working with more cannabis companies when they start in town, he said.

“We have always been on the front-end of emerging industries and this is how we see cannabis,” said Sarmiento. “There’s a good way and a bad way of doing things, and here in Santa Ana we’ve seen mostly net benefits for the residents. It created job opportunities and additional income to improve our city. “