Newsweed in California: summary of our trip

Since the November 8 vote, California is shaping up to be the next Eldorado for weed. So you can imagine our excitement at the prospect of setting foot in this mythical state for many weed afficionados. Our schedule is simple: Los Angeles, San Francisco, then the Emerald Cup.

Our visit begins with a tour of the Weedmaps, known in the States as a kind of weed Yellow Pages, which lists all the dispensaries in the USA and their menus. From the outside, it's impossible to tell that one of the biggest cannabis companies resides in these premises, which are adjoined by «normal» boxes. But once in the lobby, a mini-shop featuring Weedmaps-branded clothing immediately sets the mood, along with the green-and-white Christmas tree in the logo's colors.

Today, 250 people work for WM, 200 of them in this 2-storey building. This compares with 60 a year earlier. The only notable difference with more conventional companies, apart from the strong growth, is the break rooms. Next to the coffee machines are a few bangs and bubbler. A bell is also rung every day at 4:20 p.m. for the 420. It quickly becomes apparent that weed is smoked pure, in a pipe or bong, and that the concentrates are much more widespread than at home. These differences in consumption are no doubt linked to the fact that weed has been rooted in Californian culture for over 40 years.

Weedmaps has positioned itself as a strong ally for dispensaries. At a time when every gram of cannabis can still send you to prison in France, the difference is enormous. We often talks about the States in our articles, but then you really realize the scale of the market, and the opportunities for companies like this. And that's even before we've visited our first dispensaries.

We visited 3 dispensaries in Santa Ana (Peoples OC, Show Grow and The Joint), 2 in Los Angeles (Show Grow and Buddha Company) and 1 in San Francisco (Green Door). They are often located on the outskirts of cities, in artisanal/industrial zones, with no superfluous exterior signage. And so we understand the usefulness of an app like WM to find them 🙂

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The interior design is sophisticated. Wooden counters, jars of weed displayed behind glass. Some offer a glimpse of their adjoining plantation, either through windows or via an interposed camera. The choice of weed, concentrates’edibles and topicals is simply insane. We're not easily shocked, but we've never seen anything like it. in Amsterdam or in Barcelona. And for good reason. When a coffeeshop is limited to 500g of weed at the point of sale, it can hardly offer more than 10 weed and 10 hash. And concentrates are banned in the Netherlands, though more or less tolerated in Spain. California is a dab fair. What might frighten some people, in fact, reveals healthier non-smoking habits than back home.

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The marketing of each product / variety is pushed to the extreme. Visit designers strains are sold in small glass jars, with heads curated to the millimeter, and lemony, fruity scents worthy of the most perfumed Sephora boutiques. California terpenes are crazy, sometimes even too «chemical» to seem natural. The genetics of today's best varieties come from there. This undoubtedly goes some way to explaining why.

In San Francisco, the Green Door is the only dispensary where on-the-spot consumption is allowed. A high-end coffee shop in a way, somewhat similar to the Prix d'Ami. Customers of all ages smoke while watching TV or playing chess in a large, well-ventilated room with a juice bar. A little bonus: we took the freight elevator up, accompanied by the owner, who showed us around. A mini Berlin trip in an indus’ atmosphere.

If you're looking for a stylish SF eatery one night, we recommend CocksComb on 4th Street (reservations recommended). Good food (with some vegetables) cooked in front of you and served with local IPAs, a delight.

And finally the’Emerald Cup. For those who have already been to the Spannabis, It's just 3 times bigger, with an area restricted to medical patients, normally the only place where consumption is permitted. The main feature is that all the growers in the state present and sell their weed at this show, something we won't be seeing any time soon on our side of the Atlantic. The best part of the Emerald Cup will be our meeting with Frenchy Cannoli and a tasting of one of its famous hashes, sold in the form of temple ball by Aficionado Estates. A good buzz that gives you a taste of coming back. As for the rest, bigger-than-life joints, lots of extracts and endless brand names.

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What do we take away from our trip? Already that gap is immense. California has been growing cannabis for 1 century and legalized medical cannabis in 1996. after 25 years of activism, raids against medical dispensaries and compassionate associations for the sick and war on a drug that is now so widespread that it no longer frightens. At least in the United States, much less so than a cigarette or a glass of alcohol.

Also, despite the cannabis in 2016, Europe is only just beginning to see that the prohibition initiated by the United States is gradually falling. This fundamental trend needs to be carefully managed to avoid the pitfalls of unbridled legalization. The trio of «state regulation - self-cultivation - Cannabis Social Clubs», along the lines of Uruguay and California, seems today to be a good way of controlling this psychoactive substance, while leaving room for citizen action.

All that remains is for us to go to Colorado, Oregon and, very soon, Canada to compare the different cannabis regulation systems 🙂