I had seen on the show Entourage that marijuana was legal in
California, but always thought it was exaggerated for Hollywood. Anywhere I've
ever lived, marijuana has been illegal and there has been no debate about it.
If you were caught with it, you were in trouble.
Turtle from Entourage rolling a joint
Last year I visited Venice Beach for the first time. My
friend’s brother lent me his care and I drove up from Orange County to explore different
parts of Los Angles. It was just about dusk and I parked on Abbot Kinney, a
more upscale street in Venice Beach with shops and restaurants. It seemed safe
to me, but I had a woman at one of the boutiques ask me what business I had
walking around Venice at night and it was unsafe. At that point I got a little nervous
and decided to grab a quick bite before heading back to the OC. I saw a well lit bakery across the street and
headed in. I was greeted at the door with a smile. There were large glass jars
lining the walls with what looked like sugar and spices. There were racks of t-shirts
for sale as well. A gentleman approached
me and asked how he could help and I looked in the glass case and didn’t see
any food so I asked “are you guys closing up already?” He said no with a
puzzled look. Then I asked what they had to eat? He smiled and asked me if I
knew where I was. After looking very confused for a few seconds he smiled and
said “you know you are in a dispensary miss”.
I started rapid fire with questions because I had no idea
what was going on. He explained that in California, marijuana is legal and you
can get a prescription to help you with all sorts of ailments from insomnia to
back pain. He was excited to give me a little lesson on how it is all grown
locally and different strands help different pains and problems. When I
returned to the OC I ran in and told my California native friends about this
pot store and asked them how come they never told me about this parallel universe!
They looked at me confused and said “Kristin you smoke? And why do you care, it’s
legal in NY too right?”
I've never been big into smoking, I’d much rather have a
beer. But this idea that something so illegal where I grew up is so accepted on
this side of the country blew my mind. I began asking everyone I met in
California how they felt about Marijuana. The consensus I got was many people
use it on the west coast just as people on the east coast take a Xanax to relax
or sleep.
Cookie and some normal Venice Beach store fronts
Since I moved to LA I've spent some time in Venice Beach and
noticed on the board walk they have these shops with people dressed in all
green, advertising to get your legal marijuana card. After several trips down
the boardwalk I had to see how legit this actually is. I walked up to a shop
that was painted all green and said GET LEGAL $30. There were posters that
enticed you like some medical commercial that read “Do you have insomnia? Loss of
appetite? Chronic pain?” A man dressed in green scrubs smiled at me and said “COME
GET LEGAL AND FLY OUT LIKE A SEAGULL!” I walked into a little green room where
you were still able to see the boardwalk and friends of the workers were
popping in to say hello. I filled out a form and went into another room with
people from all walks of life. I was one of the youngest of the crowd.
filling out my initial paper work with the Green Dr.'s
I waited for about 5 minutes until my name was called and I
was summoned to a door with no door knob. The Doctor greeted me and shook my hand.
His first question was where I was from. We had a chat about Long Island and
how he has friends in Nassau County. He finally asked me why I would need a prescription.
I told him I can’t sleep then he stamped a piece of paper and told me I qualify
for a year prescription and wished me luck in LA.
waiting to be called by the Doctor
I ran back to my friend in the waiting room with my new pot
certificate! Next step since to actually get the card to bring to the dispensary
we had to walk down the board walk to another location. We walked down with a British
man in the Green Dr.’s get up. He told us stories of living on the streets of
England and how the Olympics pushed him out of his home.
my official physicians statement and approval
The next stop was a crowded office with may more employees
dressed in the same green scrubs buzzing around. There were pot posters on the
walls with intelligent sounding research like you would find in a normal doctors
office about “the stomach works”. I had my picture taken and they gave me some
coupons for local dispensaries.
the last stop where I had my picture taken
And just like that I now have access to walk into any of the
8,000 + dispensaries in California and have a field day. I think the
legalization of marijuana here explains a lot about why California is more laid
back than New York. I think it’s a great thing to have access to that is all
natural and is regulated by the government. You don’t have to worry about how
many hands it changed hands with and what it was laced with before it gets to
you. So if you’re going to smoke pot for recreation or health purposes,
California is the way to go.
real California life, my new pot card and I
