Who will take the ‘Sonoma’s Got Cannabis’ crown?

The contestants are set for Sonoma’s Got Cannabis, a competition to see who will become the first business to legally sell cannabis within city limits. Ten applicants will vie for two grand prizes: one permit to sell retail, another for delivery only.

To enter the sweepstakes, each of these entities submitted a business plan and a $11,000 (non-refundable) application fee:

Coastal Sonoma (Coastal Retail Sonoma LLC)

Element 7 Sonoma (EZ Sonoma, LLC)

Harvest of Sonoma (Harvest of Sonoma LLC)

Herb N’ Joy (California Erudite Ventures)

Jane (Jane Sonoma Retail Co.)

Justice Grown (Matanzas Alliance LLC)

Lighthouse Sonoma (The Lighthouse Sonoma LLC)

Mercy Wellness Sonoma (R&B Dispensary, Inc.)

Pacific Puffs (NS Thompson Enterprises, Ind.)

SPARC (Joseph Erich Pearson, SPARC LLC)

The pressure builds as each applicant will be interviewed by the city’s Proposal Review Committee later this month — likely via Zoom. The field will then be narrowed to five. (Will the losers at least get the home-version board game, or a set of steak knives?). Sorry, text voting not allowed.

Next up, the pageant’s swimsuit competition: live interviews of the remaining contestants at a public City Council meeting. The winners should be crowned sometime in August.