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MANTECA — The first dispensary of three planned in the city of Manteca held its soft opening.
The dispensary Off the Charts, a Southern California-based company, now has nine stores throughout the state. Even though this shop has waited a long time for this, they now face new challenges with profits not growing like they used to.
After more than four years of permits and consideration, this is set to be one of Manteca’s three cannabis dispensaries opening in the city.
For Benjamin Sanchez, Jr., this new business is exactly what he needs. He is in remission from stage four cancer and uses marijuana in his recovery.
“This is the only thing that helped me with the pain,” he said. “The doctors want to give you all the opioids in the world, and it didn’t work. It made me survive.”
Melina Robles, the regional manager of Off the Charts said the biggest complaint from people “was that they had to drive 30 minutes” to the nearest dispensary.
Robles said the demand in Manteca alone is high enough to keep the doors open, despite weed industry profits burning out.
“There are some dispensaries closing down, revenue is dropping, but to be honest, it’s because they’re overpricing their product,” she said.
Security is another concern. The store has license plate readers in use at all times — a service they pay for that can relay information to the Manteca Police Department.
When you enter, you give the security guard your I.D., and they determine if it’s valid and you’re able to shop there.
“It provides a safer place because they know that they won’t get jumped or they won’t get attacked,” Robles said. “They know that everything is being monitored.”
As a partnership with the city, there’s a 1% community benefit tax on top of the already 8.5% sales tax that goes directly into the city’s general fund.
The other two dispensaries have yet to open.
Off the Charts will have its grand opening on Valentine’s Day.
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