Thousands Flock to LA's First Marijuana 'Farmers Market'

Thousands flocked to Boyle Heights last weekend and waited in hour-long lines in order to enter the California Heritage Market, which is being called Los Angeles' first farmers market dedicated solely to the sale of medical marijuana.

The 15,000-square-foot warehouse was packed with a variety of pot vendors selling directly to buyers, and thus bypassing the traditional dispensaries. 

According to the Hollywood Reporter, by cutting out the dispensaries, buyers can save tremendously and also interact directly with the pot growers, asking specific questions about cultivation techniques or potency. 

The inside of the warehouse actually did resemble one of the many farmers' markets that have become such a staple of Los Angeles, complete with booths displaying jars of various marijuana-based products and hand-made signs.

There was also a huge edible product section, including cooking oil, baked goods, soft pretzels and suckers and even sunscreen. 

The city is closely monitoring the Heritage Market, and a police car was visibly parked across the alley from the warehouse last weekend.

Additionally, a city building inspector made an appearance on Saturday, asking questions about whether the owners had the correct permit for conducting a retail operation of this scale.

According to Paizley Bradbury, the market's executive director, everything was in order though things appeared hectic outside the warehouse. 

"I would like it to feel more like a flower market, if anything, where people know they can go in and it's much more calm," said Bradbury. "It's calm inside the market but it's a lot [more hectic] outside."

She confessed the long lines and crowds was a lot to manage and "not ideal," however, she appeared confident they would figure it out the longer the market is open. "As long as we can work out the logistic kinks, we'll be all right." 

Though the Hollywood Reporter notes the market had a "stoner element to it" and that they may have doubted whether all of the patrons in attendence "really suffer from back pain," there were clearly people there in need of pain relief. And the vendors are sensitive to that.

Alan Tang of Green Gorilla understands that many of his customers use his products in conjunction with their prescribed pain medications.

"In this business you do meet patients that subsidize medical marijuana over numerous pills they take on a daily basis," said Tang. "It's a blessing to be able to provide that type of sustenance."