Solful plans Santa Rosa cannabis dispensary, its 2nd in Sonoma County

Cannabis dispensary Solful plans to open a 900-square-foot location on one of the busiest thoroughfares in Santa Rosa — Farmer’s Lane — expanding from its current Sebastopol store.

In placing a store along the extension connecting two sections of Highway 12. Solful will be positioning itself along a route that receives the highest traffic volume in the county seat, averaging 44,000 vehicles per day, according to a 2019 traffic report provided by the city.

The new Solful location will be situated across from the popular Montgomery Village shopping center, filled with retail shops and restaurants.

“We’re very excited to be going in on one of the highest traveled streets in all of Sonoma County. We’re especially excited to be so close to Oakmont. There hasn’t been retail on the far east side of Santa Rosa,” Solful cannabis CEO Eli Melrod said.

Oakmont, a sprawling development billed as active senior living with almost 5,000 residents, is home to 137 clubs. One of them is the Oakmont Cannabis Club.

“We think it will be great. A lot of people here have to use for medical purposes,” club President Heidi Klyn said, speaking on behalf of the 225 members who suffer from a range of ailments including sleep deprivation, arthritis, anxiety and pain they must manage.

Klyn expects the senior market to flourish, and a 2020 National Survey of Drug Use and Health study released last October reflects that assumption. Its results show the proportion of adults 65 or older who reported recent cannabis use jumped by 18%.

Solful sources its flower from small, craft cannabis farmers including Esensia, Moon Gazer Farms, Alpenglow Farms and Glentucky Family Farm in Glen Ellen.

The new dispensary will add more space for certain product lines experiencing massive growth such as beverages.

Also, unlike the small Sebastopol location, the Santa Rosa spot will have a consultation booth set aside for customers and prospects to learn more about the various product lines through the staffing of 20 personnel. That’s a doubling of the 20 employees now in Sebastopol, where Melrod has noted comes with a “vibe” he expects to carry over to Santa Rosa.

The opening, which is set at an undetermined date in April, comes at a time when the industry calls for an expansion of retail.

Industry stakeholders contend the market is facing a potential collapse from a glut of available product last year needing a place to be sold since Proposition 64 was passed statewide in 2016. Less than half of local jurisdictions throughout the state allows for cannabis sales venues, placing pressure overall on the wholesale price and the legal flow of goods among operations competing with the illicit market.

Sonoma Valley isn’t alone in the quest for more cannabis access.

To the southeast, Napa on Feb. 1 finalized an ordinance allowing for adult recreational cannabis sales. Due to go into effect in 30 days, it allows the handful of medicinal dispensaries to file for the necessary permits to expand access of their products.

Meanwhile upvalley, cannabis enthusiasts are collecting signatures for a St. Helena ballot initiative to allow for cannabis retail.

Susan Wood covers law, cannabis, production, tech, energy, transportation, agriculture as well as banking and finance. For 27 years, Susan has worked for a variety of publications including the North County Times, Tahoe Daily Tribune and Lake Tahoe News. Reach her at 530-545-8662 or susan.wood@busjrnl.com.

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