Photo via Cheech Marin

California’s impending recreational cannabis market is less than three short weeks from finally opening its doors to new cannabusinesses and adult-use consumers alike, but if the Golden State is going to succeed in stamping out prohibition’s past and stacking millions in tax revenue, California officials will first need to persuade the world’s largest cannabis community to change their tried and true ways and get on board with legalization and the myriad of regulations it brings.

That’s where Secretary of State Alex Padilla comes in. To run a legal cannabusiness in California, you’ll have to go through his office first — registering as a legit business with the state before you can grow, sell, or distribute the newly legal cash crop.

“The first stop for any business hoping to start up in California is the Secretary of State’s office,” Padilla told The Cannifornian. “With the commercial cannabis businesses, that’s certainly no exception.”

To entice as many cannabis-minded Californians as possible to seek out the proper protocol and start the first step in bringing the state’s vast network of underground ganjapreneurs out of the shadows, Padilla and his office have set up an online licensing portal — CannaBizFile.com — and enlisted legendary stoner comedian and one-half of Cheech & Chong, Cheech Marin, to star in an online ad promoting the bureaucratic shortcut.

In the short clip, Cheech plays his best unassuming state employee while Padilla explains the necessary steps to register a cannabusiness in the Golden State.

Apparently taking his civic engagement role to heart, Cheech announced that he will be joining his longtime partner Tommy Chong as a ganjapreneur in his own right. According to a press release sent to MERRY JANE, Marin will debut commercially sold pre-rolls under the brand name Cheech’s Private Stash at 20 Nevada cannabis dispensaries this week, with plans to release pre-packaged grams and eighths next month.

Teaming with Redwood Cultivation, the parent brand behind Willie Nelson’s line “Willie’s Reserve,” Cheech’s Private Stash will launch with four strains — Nitro Cookies, Sour Diesel, Cactido, and Dolato — all of which have been given Marin’s personal seal of approval.

For the time being, Cheech’s Private Stash will be distributed exclusively in Nevada, but if he ever does want to bring his business into California, he knows where to start.