One Love Beach Club logo.

Longtime Long Beach dispensary One Love Beach Club has been purchased by the retailer chain MedMen for $13 million, it was announced recently.

MedMen has nearly two dozen retail locations across five U.S. states with more scheduled to open soon.

“We’re excited to welcome Long Beach to the MedMen family and continue our growth in the most important cannabis market in the world,” MedMen CEO Adam Bierman stated.

As part of the $13 million transaction, $10 million will be voting shares, $1 million in cash at closing and $2 million in deferred cash, according to a release. The deal is expected to close within 45 days.

Patrons of the dispensary can expect a slight name change by the end of July. Dispensary officials over the weekend described the new name “One Love powered by MedMen” as a merging of entities.

“It has been an honor serving the Long Beach community over the past ten years,” stated the Abrams Family, owners and operators of One Love. “We look forward to MedMen continuing to provide our community with high quality cannabis.”

The Belmont Heights dispensary, located at 2767 E. Broadway, was established in 2009 when the city first allowed the sale of medical marijuana.

It was one of the first local dispensaries to begin selling recreationally last August after voters approved adult-use cannabis statewide in 2016.

However, the legal world of cannabis has not been without hardships, including high taxation and strict regulatory laws.

In January, the local industry reported disappointing sales and struggles to compete with a booming illegal market.

Jeremy Abrams told the Long Beach Post at the time that business could be better if the city cracked down on illegal deliveries.

Ajay Kolluri, the city’s cannabis program manager, told the Long Beach Business Journal last week that the city is in the process of developing enforcement mechanisms to more efficiently go after delivery services.

Adam Hijazi, dispensary owner and president of the Long Beach Collective Association, said whoever holds One Love’s business license will still be able to be part of the nonprofit cannabis trade organization.

Hijazi said he wasn’t surprised by the purchase, noting that there are dozens of companies looking to get into the Long Beach market.

Currently there are 17 operating dispensaries within the city limits. A total of 32 dispensaries are allowed.

Whoever does end up setting up shop in the city, Hijazi has one message: “Be good community partners and engage with a lot of the work that has happened in Long Beach and help make it better.”

Stephanie Rivera is the community engagement editor. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @StephRivera88.