Industry First: Dispensary Owner Named Mayor

Help shape our annual “Diversity in Cannabis” special report by filling out our business survey here!


The medical marijuana industry has its first mayor.

On Tuesday, city council members in Sebastopol, California, unanimously selected as mayor Robert Jacob, the founder and executive director of two medical marijuana dispensaries in the region.

The development is a huge victory for the cannabis industry.

Jacob is the first MMJ business owner to be voted into the top elected position in an American city. His election shows that members of the marijuana community can reach high levels of local government by engaging in communities through established channels of business and government.

Jacob has been a rising star in Northern California’s business and political community for several years, and his resume includes a lengthy list of achievements in business and government. He is a veteran of the non-profit world as well as youth development and helped found a charter school and a local chain of salons.

He was named to the North Bay Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list, and he served as chair of Sebastopol’s planning commission in 2011. In 2012, he was elected to the Sebastopol City Council.

As a marijuana advocate, Jacob has worked to establish a statewide regulatory system for dispensaries. He also helped officials establish regulatory ordinances in Sacramento, San Jose, Stockton and Napa (the last of which unfortunately voted on Tuesday to ban dispensaries outright).

Jacob’s Peace in Medicine dispensaries are located in Sebastopol and nearby Santa Rosa.