Thousands of people filled a dirt lot in rural Northern Oregon this weekend to celebrate the opening of the state’s newest legal cannabis dispensary, featuring a free mini-festival with a performance from none other than Snoop Dogg.
According to a number of local news reports from Oregon and Idaho, the event was the brainchild of Hotbox Farms dispensary owner Steve Meland. He told press that he wanted to open his new Ontario, Oregon pot shop with a big enough bang to celebrate the local community, as well as bring crowds of people to the state’s sparsely populated Northern territory.
“Here at Hotbox we really are a community-based business,” Meland told Idaho News. “Everything we do here is for the community. We don’t exist without this community. For one, they had to vote for us to be here.”
The free event brought out as many as 5,000 people, with Snoop joined by another special guest, actor-turned ganjapreneur Jim Belushi. But before Snoop could even get a mic in his hand, the event risked cancellation thanks to an incomplete set of permits. Meland had submitted paperwork to set off fireworks, serve food, and host a beer garden — with no mention of a concert featuring one of hip-hop’s biggest stars.
Thankfully, the cops in Ontario, Oregon were chill about the ordeal, and organized an emergency protocol to make sure that the show could go on safely.
And go on it did, with Snoop taking his customary place behind a microphone and a blunt, giving fans five of his biggest hits and a DJ set before retiring to his car to freestyle, smoke some more, and watch the fireworks. Now that’s what we call a celebration.
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