In 2001, I was diagnosed with a rare form of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Many of the drugs used to treat the malignancy left me depleted, lifeless, and unable to enjoy food. Enter Dr. Lemes who gave me my first medical marijuana prescription, and a script for Phenagan suppositories. Almost immediately, I discovered that smoking marijuana was more helpful for my condition than kiestering a suppository. I could eat like Homer Simpson again, and started to get a good night's sleep without taking Restoril. I am not going to say that it is a miracle drug, but it is for me. Your results may vary. I believe sincerely that anyone who wants a medical marijuana recommendation should be allowed to get one if that person's health is improved in any way. I personally believe that when a consenting adult or a teenager is arrested and forced to endure many hours of humiliating and useless drug counseling, jail or prison time, it negatively impacts their health. Hence, every recommendation is legitimate in my mind.
The City of the Angels started out with just a handful of dispensaries. Many of the early ones carried outstanding product. There were a couple located in West Hollywood, and one in Inglewood on Market Street. There were not too many people into this until about 2005. In 2006, it exploded. The cat had been let out of the bag, and over a hundred stores were soon operating. The next year, the number of storefront dispensaries in Los Angeles trebled. Armenian, Korean, and Russian organized criminals as well as members of long established street gangs both Black and Latino got into the act.
The criminals on the other side, law enforcement, also got into the act and started busting stores and intimidating others into closing. They came up with the landlord letter, threatening to seize the property of anyone who rented to a dispensary using some stupid Federal Code, though few such seizures ever took place. The Obama Administration failed to keep its promise of non-interference in our State's Medical Marijuana Laws, and continued with Gestapo tactics in their effort to stem the evil tide of Medical Marijuana. But it was too late, the cat was never going back into the bag.
Many places got into growing their own weed and selling it at their dispensary because that is the most profitable way to operate one of these places. But most of these people had no experience growing weed and are amateurs. Keep in mind, I have seen top shelf weed my entire life. I grew up in a very affluent area, and affluent people always had the best pot. There have been people growing great weed in California for decades. They know a thing or two about when to harvest, how to choose a strain, and how to cure the bud once it has been harvested. Do you think that these Armenian cats who lease a warehouse in Pomona and have no experience growing anything can produce a quality product? With few exceptions, the answer is most certainly not. If you want some harsh ass shit, go to a dispensary in Hollywood or Koreatown. These places occasionally may have something good, but it is worth your time and your money to find a place where the people buying the weed know what they are doing. It is going to cost you a little extra, but it is better than smoking some bud that was grown with harsh fertilizers and harvested at the wrong time.
Find a dispensary in West Hollywood, West Lost Angeles, but avoid shops where you sense an organized crime vibe, or where the prices seem too good to be true. Look at the bud under a magnifying glass. Know what you should be looking for (trichromes). Be happy!
