A Northern California pot clinic owner and known marijuana activist became the mayor of a Sonoma County town on Tuesday.
Robert Jacob, founder and executive director of Peace in Medicine was named mayor of Sebastopol this week, after the City Council voted him into office, according to the San Francisco Gate. Jacob, whose organization heads up two legal medical marijuana dispensaries, is thought to be the first pro-pot elected official of any United States city.
36-year-old Jacob started working on the Planning Commission in Sebastopol - a city of about 7,500 people - two years ago. The City Council then brought him into their office one year later, where he worked as vice mayor before receiving a promotion on Tuesday. During his time working in city politics, Jacob has pushed a set of rules to make medical marijuana dispensaries work safely and effectively in the state. He's worked with neighboring cities like Napa, Sacramento and San Jose to come up with regulations pf their own as wel;l.
"My life has been about service," Jacob wrote in a press release. "By addressing social problems such as homelessness, HIV/AIDS and access to medical cannabis, we can shape a better world for ourselves."
Jacob's election into office is being widely regarded as a historical moment in politics. Supporters of legal medical marijuana told the Gate that the 36-year-old's mayoral title will help bolster increased approval of legal pot.
"This historic, unprecedented vote in Sebastopol illustrates that the medical marijuana community has political strength and the influence to elect advocates to public office," Don Duncan, California director of Americans for Safe Access told the Gate.
