Business

Drop it like it’s Hotbox: Snoop Dogg at Ontario pot shop’s grand opening? Fo’ shizzle.

Hotbox Farms LLC’s dispensary isn’t the first to open in Ontario, Oregon. That title belongs to Weedology. It’s not even the second, either, as that distinction belongs to Burnt River Farms.

But Hotbox co-owner Steven Meland is making the grand opening for the city’s third dispensary count.

Hotbox had its soft opening Friday, and on Saturday, the dispensary will hold a big block party (aptly named “High, How Are You?”) — and among the celebrity guests in attendance will be none other than Snoop Dogg, who will be holding a free concert.

Yes, that Snoop Dogg, the noted marijuana advocate.

“It’s a way to introduce ourselves to Ontario,” Meland told the Statesman in a phone interview. “We just really wanted to come into Ontario with a bang.”

Meland told the Statesman that he and fellow Hotbox co-owner Jeremy Breton are friends with Snoop Dogg’s promoter. Snoop’s appearance is somewhat of a favor, Meland said.

“Usually it requires that kind of thing, or else Snoop wouldn’t even pick up the phone,” Meland said with a laugh.

Recreational marijuana sales have been legal in Oregon since 2014, and last November, Ontario voters overturned a local ban. Ten sites throughout the city have been approved as dispensaries. With cannabis still illegal in Idaho, dispensaries in Ontario, right over the state line, provide the closest access. Previously, dispensaries in Huntington, Oregon, were the closest to the Treasure Valley. Hotbox has a dispensary there as well, and opened a CBD shop in Ontario earlier this year.

Snoop Dogg, the rap legend with three No. 1 hits and 11 top-10 hits on the Billboard charts, is a well-known cannabis user and longtime industry advocate. Per Rolling Stone, Snoop said he used to smoke 81 joints a day. He launched his own marijuana line, Leafs by Snoop, in 2015, according to Time.

He won’t be able to just light up on stage, however. Smoking marijuana in public in Oregon is illegal; you may consume at home or on private property.

Also in attendance Saturday will be comedian/actor Jim Belushi, who owns a cannabis farm in Oregon and is a provider of cannabis to Hotbox and DJ Klutch. There are also a few surprise guests in store, Meland said.

Hotbox’s dispensary will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. On Saturday, the celebrities will begin taking the stage at 4:20 p.m. — of course.

Snoop won’t perform until about 7 p.m., Meland said. The night will end with a fireworks show that will have twice the amount of Ontario’s Fourth of July celebration, according to Meland.

“It’s going to be fun,” he said.

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