More weed shops pack into Redwood City 

“It took about three years to get open so we’re really invested in the project and opportunity,” Marc Matulich, CEO and founder of Airfield Supply Company, said. “It just seemed like a great opportunity to bring our products and services to the Peninsula.”

Matulich and Sarah Dale, a spokesperson for MMD Redwood City, said public reception during the grand openings was warm. Neighbors of Airfield Supply thanked the company for cleaning up an area previously covered in graffiti while passersby shared appreciation for the new security system at MMD. 

The look and safety of cannabis businesses in Redwood City were top concerns for residents who made their voices heard during a two-year, city-led process to regulate how walk-in cannabis stores would be allowed to open in the city. 

Dale and Matulich noted both shops have had high-tech security systems installed with about 100 cameras placed throughout the stores. Each shop will also have live security on-site at all times. As for security in the shop, Matulich noted Airfield Supply uses an identification card scanning system at the same grade as those used by the Transportation Security Administration while Dale said staff need a special level of clearance to enter different areas of the store where merchandise is kept. 

“We want to be an anchor business,” Dale said. “We all want this to succeed, to go well, and we felt that level of support [from staff and city officials].”

Beyond improved security — and a $10,000 fee for cannabis drug education for children — each shop has also partnered with local nonprofits including the Redwood City Education Foundation, Casa Circulo Cultural and the Redwood City Police Advisory League, to provide additional community benefits. 

The organizations will help determine how to spend 2% of MMD’s gross profits and 1% of Airfield Supply’s profits each year. Both businesses will also pay employees for up to 40 hours of volunteer work a week. Dale argued cannabis stores are also a benefit for those who have historically looked to the medical effects of it for relief.

“We’re really proud of how deep our commitment goes,” Dale said, noting MMD also hosts a variety of community events. “If we do it right in California, in Redwood City, it helps other municipalities and other states look at the good example, the fact that this is benefiting the community and not just our customers. This helps the entire community whether they are a customer or not and this is a model to hopefully spread safe and equitable cannabis use.” 

The two shops increase the count of cannabis stores in the city to four. Embarc Redwood City at 1870 Broadway was the first legal dispensary to open its doors on the Peninsula in February of 2023 followed by Juva Cannabis Dispensary 2301 Broadway this summer. 

All four storefronts were the first to be permitted within city limits following a yearslong review process. The city issued two more retail cannabis permits to Flor Peninsula LLC, located at 620 El Camino Real, and Element 7 Redwood City LLC, located at 615 Woodside Road, Suite 1, in 2022. 

No more than six cannabis storefronts will be allowed to open in the city, a cap councilmembers landed on when developing a city ordinance governing the shops. The ordinance also calls for shops to pay a 4% cannabis excise tax, estimated to generate almost $1 million in revenue for the city.