Marijuana Farmers’ Market Debuts in LA

From July 4-6, medical cannabis consumers will have the opportunity to purchase buds of their choice directly from growers at the California Heritage Market. Between 25 and 50 growers are expected to attend West Coast Collective’s medical marijuana farmers market in East Los Angeles. Growers from all over the state will be there with an abundance of fresh medicine straight from the farm that consumers can see and touch before they choose to buy — bypassing the dispensary experience altogether.

Paizley Bradbury, the executive administrator at the California Heritage Market, envisions the market as a way to revive the roots movement. In an interview with TIME, Bradbury said, “It’s going to be so much easier for patients to get their medicine at a more affordable rate, and something that they can trust. They can say ‘How did you grow this? Is it organic? What kind of nutrients did you use? What kind of strain is this?’ There’s just so much more behind it.”

Although the market is free, it is not open to the public. Shoppers will be required to provide adequate identification as well as their medical marijuana recommendations in order to enter the event. Once granted admission into the 15,000 square foot, open-air structure, buyers will have access to an abundance of marijuana strains not only from West Coast Collective, but from competing dispensaries as well. There will also be concentrate companies and edible bakers on-site with goods for sale.

West Coast Collective is a part of the 135 dispensaries that are allowed to operate and sell goods in LA given that they adhere to city laws regarding proximity to schools, churches and neighborhoods. Thanks to their pre-ICO license, the collective is essentially granted limited immunity from the interim control ordinance that banned dispensaries within the city in 2007. In LA Weekly, Dennis Romero points out that in the city of Los Angeles growers and edible bakers are not legally allowed to distribute products to more than three people unless they are part of a dispensary that is operating under a pre-ICO license.

That won’t deter the California Heritage Market from moving forward with their plans.

“With this industry, you just never really know how things are going to turn out until after you do it,” Bradbury says.

Bradbury reports that she has been working with an in-house lawyer in order to avoid any major bumps in the road and intends to keep the market open every weekend without any legal objections.

Would you shop at a marijuana farmers’ market? Tell us in the comments below.