Yo, peep this – the Los Angeles Times spilled the tea on how Costa Mesa PD and city workers straight up rolled over 100 pounds of that green goodness, along with oil cartridges, vapes, and some other gear, back to the homies at Se7enleaf. Michael Moussalli and Matteo Tabib, the OGs behind Se7enleaf, came to an agreement with the city of Costa Mesa, California, after they got caught up in some legal drama.
The city’s lawyers thought they were slick trying to come at Se7enleaf for running what they thought was an illegal operation. But nah, the real ones at Se7enleaf weren’t having it. Tabib straight up told the Los Angeles Times, “They didn’t like that they had to give our stuff back. They didn’t like being wrong, and they definitely didn’t like being embarrassed with no charges pressed. They didn’t care that me, Michael, and our crew are out here struggling.”
Now the city is rethinking their whole stance on that green life. They’re talking about changing up the laws around retail cannabis shops in Costa Mesa, looking to make it less of a hassle for businesses like Se7enleaf to operate. The council had a long meeting where they hashed out some possible changes to the local laws on cannabis stores.
As reported by the Voice of OC, they’re thinking about capping the number of shops at 35 and setting some distance rules between dispensaries and residential areas or youth centers. The Los Angeles Times added that the council is cool with a 250-foot buffer between new shops and homes, plus a 1,000-foot gap between stores and places where kids hang out.
But yo, even if these new rules pass, there’s still gonna be some spots that were already good to go before the changes. It’s like a loophole situation where existing stores inside the red zone are “legal nonconforming.” No one knows if that’s gonna mess with their future business plans.
Costa Mesa voters have been flexing their rights when it comes to the green game. They passed Measure X in 2016, allowing certain cannabis uses in an industrial area known as the “Green Zone.” Then in 2020, Measure Q went through, giving the thumbs up for retail cannabis spots in the city.
These votes played a big role in the clash between Costa Mesa and Moussalli and Tabib from High Seas Cannabis. The duo runs a boujee dispensary in Costa Mesa and has been trying to get their hands on a permit from the city. But things got held up ’cause of an inspection that found their products being sold somewhere else.
Moussalli says they were just testing out different markets before officially opening up shop. He’s been working with local groups and chambers of commerce to stay legit since 2016. But he feels like his crew is still getting treated like outsiders in Costa Mesa.
“We just want a fair shake like any other business,” Moussalli told the Los Angeles Times. “I’m worried they’re gonna lay down more rules without understanding what it means for us. We need to have real talks with them so we don’t end up in another mess like this.”
So yeah, that’s the deal with Costa Mesa getting all shook about weed shops popping up around town. Let’s hope Moussalli and Tabib can keep doing what they do without catching more heat from the city. Stay woke and stay lifted, y’all.
And that’s a wrap on this sitch, courtesy of your boy Dan servin’ up all the facts in street talk style. Peace out!
