Santa Rosa has rolled out the welcome mat to the marijuana industry, and the first firm through the door is affiliated with none other than the godfather of ganja — Bob Marley.
Privateer Holdings, a Seattle investment firm aiming to build a global marijuana brand based on the image of the famed Jamaican reggae singer, has picked Santa Rosa to be the headquarters for its expansion into the lucrative California cannabis market.
City officials Tuesday approved a request by the company to set up a medical cannabis- processing, manufacturing and distribution center in a nondescript business park in southwest Santa Rosa.
“We really see an opportunity for the legal cannabis industry to make a meaningful contribution to the Santa Rosa economy and community,” said Zack Hutson, a Privateer Holdings spokesman. The private equity firm partnered with the estate of the iconic singer to create its Marley Natural cannabis brand. It is already sold in state dispensaries.
The zoning approval the firm secured Monday was the first the city has granted under recently passed interim rules aimed at making it legal for marijuana support services such as laboratories and oil extraction facilities to operate in the city.
“This is kind of historic,” said David Guhin, director of the Permit and Economic Development department.
