Blunts Upon a Time in Kern County

The year is 2008, medicinal marijuana dispensaries are in the midst of becoming the “norm” in Bakersfield, California. A pedestrian couldn’t walk more than two blocks without passing by a cannabis collective operating in full compliance of county regulations. In order to become a legal card holding cannabis patient, you’d merely have to find a “420 doctor”, fill out a few forms, and pay a minuscule fee of $40. Once the process is complete, you’re now welcomed into a pothead’s paradise, the land of smoke and dreams.

Bakersfield is a city of Kern County, located in the San Joaquin Valley in Southern California. During the early 1930’s, families migrated west towards California due to the repercussions of the Dust Bowl, some of which settled in the newly bustling city of Bakersfield. Since then, Bakersfield has grown into a city with a population of nearly 400,000. Unlike the majority of California, Kern County is widely known for being predominantly Republican. Therefore, Bakersfield ends up being a little late to the party when it comes to the legalization of medicinal marijuana. Although, recreational marijuana is legal.

As of 2018, Kern County allowed approximately 30 legal marijuana dispensaries to continue business under certain rules and regulations until May 24th of 2019. This was due in part to citizens voting in favor of the ban on medicinal marijuana. As you can imagine, times have fallen tough on the every day cannabis patient. The establishment of a dispensary itself gave the patient a safe haven, such as a private place where he or she could pick up their meds, furthermore the ban forces patients to either grow their own cannabis, buy from someone the old fashioned way, or drive approximately 2 hours to a legal county to purchase product. I’ve personally been lucky enough to have been on both sides of the spectrum, I was once a teenager selling marijuana on the blackmarket, as I was also the man who later ran a well known, high classed dispensary. As you could imagine, when purchasing from a street dealer, your variety of product, potency, and availability diminishes substantially, compared to being able to walk into a dispensary, in which you could purchase everything from regular marijuana to beef jerky infused with THC. As a manager of a once legal dispensary, I frequently saw the reoccurring patients who lived harmoniously because of marijuana’s benefits. Cannabis allowed these people to continue living a productive life. I’ll receive phone calls from anonymous caller ID's, many times on the other end of the line it’s a previous patient of mine, searching for someone to help obtain their marijuana needs. With that being said, Kern County is in a marijuana draught.

Next year has promise for change. A new measure will be added to the 2020 ballot, which raises hope for those who are without their medicine. Kern County has yet another opportunity to create more tax revenue, jobs, and a brighter tomorrow for those in need - only time will tell.