Mural Puts Richmond Cannabis Dispensary on the Map

7 Stars Holistic Healing Center Installs 100 Foot Wide Mural Facing Freeway

For immediate release:
September 30, 2024

Contact:
Ben Grambergu: 916 799-2767 (mobile); ben@7starshhc.com

RICHMOND, CA — This September, 7 Stars Holistic Healing Center installed a 100 foot wide mural featuring nine foot tall lettering reading, “cannabis dispensary” in a sans serif font, with an icon symbolizing a place marker following the lettering. The dispensary hired Bay Area sign painter Patrick Piccolo to paint the mural, which faces the I-80 freeway and is most visible to eastbound drivers.

The mural is depicted in a Bebas Neue typeface in bold white, and challenges the viewer to question the stigma surrounding legal cannabis dispensaries in the state of California. By satirizing a typical map interface that many drivers on the I-80 freeway use on their daily commute, the piece juxtaposes the cannabis dispensary alongside other business categories we typically also see on our navigation apps, such as liquor stores, restaurants, and hair salons. By placing the pedestrian letters and symbols in a larger than life font, the piece probes the boundaries between free speech, graphic design, advertising, and the built environment—making a bold declarative statement. 

By using letters and symbols to satirical effect the piece simultaneously pokes fun at the absurdity of regulating a plant created by nature and embraces the need for consumer and environmental regulations on all industries—including but not limited to cannabis—that can be harmful to consumers and the environment if left unchecked. The mural further advances the philosophy behind the mission of 7 Stars clearly and succinctly—to challenge people to view cannabis as an ordinary plant like all other plants, and to question the stigma around misperceptions of its illicitness despite its legality in the California market.

“Celebrating this sacred plant has always been part of our mission,” says Zee Handoush, Executive Director. “This mural continues the legacy of advocacy and education that is central to the work we do.”

7 Stars Holistic Healing center’s mission is to provide patients and the general public cannabis products that holistically address their symptoms and to give back to our community. For more information, please visit www.7starshhc.com. 

#####