Santa Ana Holds Lottery to Decide Which Dispensaries Go live

oday, Feb. 5, Santa Ana will hold a meeting in the City
Council Chambers to select which dispensary applicants will qualify to open medicinal
cannabis access points. Of the 630 applicants, only 20 will be chosen during the
2PM meeting.

According to the OC
Register, Santa Ana city Spokeswoman Tanya Lyon reports that the city
received more than $1 million in revenue during the application process. Each
dispensary paid a fee of $1,690 to apply. 
From today’s meeting, the 20 chosen applicants will continue on to the regulatory
safety permit phase of the application process, which will cost $12,086 to
apply. The Santa Ana Police Department will then review the applications and investigate
the applicant’s background, deciding whether or not to grant the permit. The
Department has 60 days to conduct the background investigations.

Among other agreements designated during the Nov. 4, 2014
vote to legalize and tax medical cannabis shops, it was decided that
collectives will not be able to cultivate in Santa Ana. However, the forward movement
of cities voting to implement and legalize safe access points is always a step
in the right direction towards greener pastures. It is presumed that small
steps forward such as this will set a precedent for major decisions to come
during the 2016 elections.