Pubdate: Thu, 11 Feb 2016
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2016 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321
Author: Jessica Kwong

ROSEANNE INVESTS IN SANTA ANA POT SHOP

SANTA ANA - First, comedian Roseanne Barr blazed trails with her 
sitcom; more recently she joined the growing reality TV world as she 
farmed macadamia nuts in Hawaii.

Now the onetime presidential hopeful whose slogan was 'Yes, we 
Cannabis!' is entering the budding medical marijuana industry  in Santa Ana.

Barr will be an investor and have a licensing agreement with a 
dispensary that's one of 20 that won a city lottery last year 
allowing it to apply to operate in Santa Ana, the actress' spokesman 
and the dispensary's partners said this week.

The dispensary will be called Roseanne's Joint and will sell 
marijuana products bearing its name, said partner Aaron Herzberg, 46. 
It will feature Barr's unique pot strains and products such as 
pot-laced, chocolate-covered macadamia nuts grown on her farm, he said.

The actress also will make occasional appearances there, he said.

"I'm proud to be a cultural pioneer at the forefront of another wave 
of progress! And we're proud of the city of Santa Ana as we continue 
to move into the era of recognizing cannabis as the natural, 
therapeutic, herbal substance medical science has proven it to be," 
Barr said in a statement. "Roseanne's Joint will be a responsible, 
contributing member of, and addition to, the community."

Barr wasn't available for an interview this week, her spokesman James 
Moore said.

Barr joins a growing number of celebrities trying their hand at 
medical marijuana ventures, in Santa Ana and beyond. Cypress Hill 
rapper B-Real was the first celebrity to jump into the local pot 
scene when his dispensary was among those to win Santa Ana's 
dispensary license lottery.

Last week, actor Woody Harrelson applied for a marijuana dispensary 
license in Hawaii. Other celebrities already associated with 
marijuana reportedly are getting into the industry in one form or 
another including actor Tommy Chong, rapper Snoop Dogg and the family 
of singer Bob Marley.

It was a "natural, easy kind of conversation" bringing Barr on board, 
Herzberg said, because he was her attorney half a dozen years ago and 
they became friends. After Herz berg got involved in the weed 
industry a few years ago, Barr  who in 2012 pursued the presidential 
nominations of the Green Party and Peace and Freedom Party and was 
vocal about legalizing marijuana  was "excited" and decided to get 
involved, he said.

Last year, Barr, 63, revealed she is consuming medical marijuana to 
fight glaucoma and macular degeneration that are causing her to 
gradually lose her eyesight.

"We think it will bring credibility and a good name and frankly, good 
values," Herzberg said. "But we also hope that it will create within 
the community a sense that marijuana is here to stay in California, 
that it's getting legitimized and that serious names are coming to the table."

The oldest child in a working-class, Jewish Salt Lake City family, 
Barr began her career as a stand-up comedian before rising to fame 
for her role in the sitcom "Roseanne," a hit from 1988 to 1997 that 
earned her an Emmy and a Golden Globe for best actress.

She has "been involved in the design process personally," Herzberg 
said, and has asked that the dispensary offer customers "a very 
high-end, premium experience with very rustic wood floors and a very 
open environment."

An incomplete application for a regulatory safety permit, which gives 
approval to open, is on file with the Santa Ana Police Department for 
the Rose anne's Joint address, 1327 E. St. Gertrude Place, said 
police Commander Chris Revere. A similar application has been filed 
for B-Real's dispensary, Dr. Greenthumb, which is a reference to one 
of his songs.

Of the 20 dispensaries selected in the lottery, 10 have been issued 
regulatory safety permits, six have applied for a permit and are in 
the background process or have submitted incomplete applications, and 
four have not submitted any application, according to Revere.

Herzberg said construction for Roseanne's Joint could be completed by 
late April, a necessary element to receive the regulatory safety 
permit, and the dispensary could open shortly afterward.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom