Laura Mendez stood in the lobby of her newest business venture, Woodland Cannabis Dispensary, hugging her husband and daughter tight as the emotion of the moment hit her, tears forming as she clung to her loved ones.

For over seven years, Mendez and her business partner Kimberly Cargile have been working toward opening a cannabis dispensary in Woodland, and on Friday, Jan. 31, their work came to fruition as they became the first to open a dispensary for business within city limits.

Hundreds of folks started lining up at the 163 Court St. location an hour before the ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon on Friday hoping to be among the first in Woodland to purchase cannabis in a legal dispensary.

“I got a quick peek at my cameras in my office, and when I saw the line, this feeling came over me,” Mendez shared with The Daily Democrat in an exclusive interview. “It’s been almost four years we’ve had this building and its emptiness, and just to see all these people lined up on our property is so gratifying … it feels like we made it.”

Mendez came into a passion for cannabis when she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in her 20s. In an effort to try to alleviate the symptoms of her condition and side effects from the pharmaceutical treatments she was prescribed, Mendez turned to a more natural form of self-medication.

Cannabis provided her with the one thing doctors had tried and failed to: relief.

“Using cannabis, it started to help with my appetite, helped with my pain and my inflammation … I started to feel relief, and I hadn’t felt that in a long time,” Mendez explained.

Mendez’s first job in cannabis was at Capitol Wellness in Sacramento, where she met her future business partner, Cargile. From there, they started opening dispensaries across the Central Valley, and in 2017, the two began working to build one in Woodland.

Their advocacy led to the city adopting regulations for zoning of commercial cannabis land uses and commercial cannabis businesses, allowing the city to consider up to six conditional use permits for manufacturing, distribution and testing in certain zones.

In June 2022, the city then adopted an update to the commercial cannabis ordinance to allow for the consideration of an additional four conditional use permits specifically for retail cannabis land use within specified zones.

In February 2023, the city issued a request for applications inviting prospective operators to submit proposals for consideration in the selection process. The selection process considered business, employment, and labor plans, security plans, qualifications of owners, neighborhood compatibility, community engagement and equity plan and proposed site utilization.

The request brought interest from various cannabis organizations, yielding 12 applicants, four of which were selected.

The three businesses granted conditional use permits during an October 2024 Woodland City Council meeting were Perfect Union, to be located at 1810 E. Main St., Ste. 101, Sundial Collective, to be located down the street at 3 Court St. and Woodland Cannabis Dispensary.

The road to approval meant Mendez needed to get involved in the surrounding community. She did so by joining the Rotary Club, volunteering for different events, charities, among other services.

“I basically wanted to involve myself in the community as much as possible — that’s really important to me,” Mendez explained. “That way I can spread the word and educate on who we are and let people know that we’re not coming here as ‘the drug dealers,’ we’re coming here to help people. That’s our number one goal.”

Friday’s grand opening offered specials and deals on various cannabis products, as well as the first 200 customers receiving a gift bag filled with complimentary goodies. The crowd was just as diverse as the town the dispensary operates in, with folks of all ages from different walks of life supporting the newest business in Woodland.

“We’re like a community here, so the support from everybody has meant a lot to us,” Mendez said. “We really just want to have a place that everyone can come to and feel like they belong and they can get what they need from us.”

The Woodland Cannabis Dispensary is open from noon to 7 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday through Thursday.