A Las Vegas cannabis dispensary plans to hire 250 people for a soon-to-be-completed supermarket in Santa Ana as the company expands in a gradually improving COVID-19 economy.
Planet 13 hopes to fill the Orange County positions by July. It will also add 40 cash registers and 80 additional employees to its Las Vegas store, adding 330 employees to its company-wide workforce.
The 45,000 square foot Santa Ana location at 3400 Warner Ave. will be called Planet 13 Orange County.
The company's vice president of sales and marketing says it is a prime location for the company's first foray beyond Nevada.
"It's about 10 minutes from Disneyland, five minutes from the South Coast Plaza Mall and close to the beach," said David Farris. "We know that a lot of the people who visit our Las Vegas location are from California."
Planet 13 touts its Las Vegas location as "the world's largest cannabis store" and said the Santa Ana pharmacy will be the second largest.
Larry Scheffler, co-CEO of the company, said business is picking up as COVID-19 numbers continue to fall and restrictions related to pandemics are eased.
"We're excited that Vegas is coming back to life and feeling like Vegas again, and we're excited to be able to hire various positions immediately when the tourists return," Scheffler said in a statement. "We'll also have hundreds more jobs available in our first supermarket in Santa Ana over the next few months."
Big business
Data from Flowhub, a cannabis advocacy group, shows the U.S. cannabis market is valued at $ 61 billion and national cannabis sales rose 67% in 2020.
The interior of Planet 13 Orange County will be impressive, with a floor digitally programmed to look like water that ripples when visitors walk over it, and umbrellas all over the ceiling.
The data also shows that 12% of Americans are active marijuana users, and support for legal marijuana is at an all-time high of 68%.
The Santa Ana Pharmacy is the result of the retrofitting of a building that once housed several businesses, including offices and a traffic school.
"We expect to complete the work soon and open the new location in July," said Farris. "But with COVID-19, that's always a moving target."
The majority of Planet 13's customers are recreational users, although the company also appeals to people who purchase marijuana for medical reasons.
Planet 13 has open positions in both California and Nevada for management, inventory, human resources, and packaging roles. Additional jobs are available for salespeople and deliverers.
Information on job postings can be found at www.planet13lasvegas.com/careers/.
A variety of mixes
Planet 13 sells a variety of hybrid marijuana blends, including Chunkberry, Grapefuit Mimosa, Ice Cream Cake, Orange 43, and Black Mamba. Depending on the strain, an ounce of marijuana can cost anywhere from $ 200 to $ 420.
The products are also available in much smaller quantities. For example, a gram of Dosi ice cream costs $ 25, while 7 grams of Motorbreath costs $ 72. Customers spend an average of $ 115 on cannabis and accessories, Farris said.
"We can deliver within 25 miles and there will also be a roadside pickup and an online store," he said.
A haunting experience
Farris said the company strives to deliver the most complete customer experience. The exterior of the Santa Ana store will feature a huge red fountain with the Planet 13 logo, and the interior of the pharmacy will feature a massive LED wall with a waterfall.
The store's floor is digitally programmed to look like water that ripples when visitors walk over it, Farris said, or it could look like they're walking on the moon.
"There will also be a giant squid holding an umbrella," he said. "There will be umbrellas all over the ceiling."
The store will also sell a variety of accessories, including t-shirts, hats, and bongs.
The laws
Adult cannabis use is legal in California under Proposition 64, which was approved by voters in 2016. The biggest concern for marijuana users, however, is where they can go high. The short answer? Marijuana is still banned in most areas.
There is no restriction on Californians or their guests smoking in their homes when they own the residence. However, landlords can prohibit the use of marijuana on their properties for renters or short-term guests.
California law allows residents 21 and older to own, privately use, and give away up to one ounce of cannabis, and cannot grow more than six plants for personal use in their community.
Weed for Warriors, a marijuana advocacy group for military veterans, launched an electoral initiative that could potentially reduce the high taxes, regulatory burdens, and illegal market competition that the California marijuana industry has faced since Prop 64 was passed is.
The move, which was supported by cannabis companies, unions, politicians and medical marijuana users, would remove local control over the granting of cannabis licenses, remove state taxes on marijuana cultivation, and raise the state excise tax rate on cannabis from 15% 5% lower.
It would also ban local marijuana taxes, but use 20% of state taxes for municipalities.