Roseanne Barr Proves The Grass Is Greener In Santa Ana
Roseanne Barr has become the latest celebrity to join the ranks of the rich, the famous, and the baked. Jessica Kwong of The Orange County Register reports that Barr is lending her name and investing some of her own stash of the green stuff to a medical marijuana dispensary in Santa Ana, California. The store will be called “Roseanne’s Joint,” and will offer branded merchandise bearing the company’s trademarked name.
Patients, families, friends encouraged by early results from medical marijuana https://t.co/xfPLZ4L9Wc … #MME pic.twitter.com/iabiPl4y3C
— MME (@MME_CHARLOTTENC) February 3, 2016
Chris Francey, who is one of Barr’s two partners in this venture, already owns another marijuana shop in the southern California city. In an interview with the Register, he revealed the plans for the store were considerably bigger than your average dispensary. They are also setting themselves apart from most dispensaries by including a coffee shop on the premises.
No one has said whether they’ll welcome the random Girl Scout cookie vendor just outside, but your average Brownie might find themselves on the blunt end of serious competition for the stoner dollar. Roseanne’s newest joint plans to offer sweet treats laced with marijuana. This is not the first celebrity-branded edible cannabis treat. Last November, Snoop Dogg unveiled his line of marijuana candies, Leafs By Snoop. The rapper was quoted by UPI as touting the products as “handpicked by yours truly.” The Denver, Colorado-based company proved to be a hit in the Mile High state. Roseanne Barr’s confections promise to have a personal touch of a different sort. Among the items to be found on the shelves of Roseanne’s Joint will be marijuana-infused, chocolate-covered macadamia nuts made with mellow white-gold kernels from her farm in Hawaii.
#NEW – Gov. Jerry Brown Appoints California's First Medical Marijuana Chiefhttps://t.co/8kZJZoKa3p pic.twitter.com/seeXovsKOX
— High Times (@HIGH_TIMES_Mag) February 5, 2016
In her heyday as a comedian and sitcom star, Roseanne Barr was known for her sometimes outrageous acts and candor that bordered on career endangerment. The woman who once threw her hat in the ring as a candidate for two different parties seems to have made it her mission to bring marijuana out of the fringes of pop culture to a place where it is regarded as an acceptable component of American pharmacopeia. She has not yet granted interviews about her new venture, but did release a statement to The Orange County Register earlier today.
“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. Roseanne’s Joint will be a responsible, contributing member of, and addition to, the community.”
Aaron Herzberg, an attorney and partner involved with Roseanne’s Joint assured the Register that all the legal lines are being toed, from building permits to business licensure and every detail in between. Their vision is one that includes reliable, safe products at competitive prices.
Celebstoner, a website devoted to pot related celebrity news, reported that the activist/entertainer used marijuana to treat the effects of glaucoma and macular degeneration. During an earlier interview cited by the website, Barr disclosed positive physical responses to the drugs and added that she felt some of the mind-altering effects enhanced her experience.
The trio is aware of how funny the idea might seem to observers. Roseanne’s Joint tips their hand that marketing will be lighthearted. However, their sense of mission, one that insists on a high level of quality and responsibility, is no joke. Herzberg expressed his confidence that investing in this business with Roseanne Barr was the right move.
“She’s very spiritual, she’s very holistic, she’s extremely into natural remedies, and I can tell you that she believes very strongly that marijuana is medicine and she wants us to educate patients in a way that I don’t think many other dispensaries are doing and make it a safe and comfortable environment.”
Clinicians are still divided about the efficacy of marijuana, but there is a movement of people convinced it can cure what ails you. Maybe legality and recognition are key to respectability. Who knows? At some point in the future, your doctor might send you to the local pharmacy with a prescription for the therapeutic chocolatey goodness of a Roseanne Bar(r).
[Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images]
