The city of Santa Ana held a high-stakes lottery in city council chambers earlier this month. The grand prize: permission to open medical marijuana dispensaries within the city limits.
City residents voted to legalize and tax medical marijuana shops last fall. A limited number of medical marijuana collectives are now allowed to operate in specific zones in the city.
Santa Ana will become the first city in Orange County to have legally operating medical marijuana dispensaries since most cities banned the operations in recent years.
Among the 20 big winners was former Cypress Hill rapper B-Real, whose band rapped about the virtues of pot in the 1990s.
The rapper took to Instagram and Twitter to share a photo with his fans and interested parties, showing the rapper receiving congratulations.
“Thank you Santa Ana! Retail location for Dr. Greenthumbs…” he wrote, referencing one of the band’s songs, which doubles as the name of his new retail pot outlet.
The city’s new law calls for 20 collective applicants to be selected in the lottery, but only permits them to open in two industrial zones, in the southern corners of town near I-405 and the 55. Cultivation will not be allowed.