Today was supposed to be the day that the much publicized ban on Los Angeles marijuana dispensaries was supposed to go into effect. However, city officials announced that they will not enforce the ban, though they maintain that the dispensaries are still illegal. The ban was suspended until officials can verify roughly 50,000 signatures in support of overturning the decision to shut down medical marijuana shops, which they estimate will take anywhere between 15-45 days.

From my perspective, it appears that city officials have hit a wall as far as how to proceed with the medical marijuana debate, as they aren’t even able to enforce their own legislation. Yes, there are too many dispensaries currently in operation, and yes, there are plenty that operate outside of the state guidelines, but the potential loss of income via taxes would be a substantial hit to an already reeling budget.

I’d like to see the creation of some type of task force, made up of proponents on both sides of the debate, to evaluate dispensaries as to whether or not they should be allowed to remain open. Criteria like number of patients, quality of medicine, and relationships with the community could help to cut down on the number of dispensaries in the city, while ensuring that those that remain open are holding true to their mission of compassionate caregiving.

First layer is a miniature kief puck made by compressing a few weeks worth of kief between two pens. The pressure of the pens packed the kief together tightly and into an easy to smoke disc.

The kief was then covered with God’s Gift, on top of which were a few sticky globs of “Platinum Cookies” wax from the Bay. It had me stoned like I hadn’t been in a while, completely at ease in every way, except for my thoughts, which were running Usain Bolt-esque laps around my head. Definitely took me back to my earlier smoking days in terms of intensity and euphoric feelings.

The best part about my recent trip up north to San Francisco? I’m still enjoying my bounty of souvenirs a week later. This batch of dense, bright purple and mint-green “God’s Gift” is easily one of the dankest batches of the strain that I’ve come across.

The buds are covered in twisting orange hairs and an even sprinkling of frosty trichomes.The smell is extremely sweet with a hint of citrus, and a strong Kush flavor once smoked. This GrandDaddy Purple and OG Kush offspring has a powerful, long-lasting high with the potential to knock you on your ass.

Los Angeles will always be my home, but having just spent the past week in San Francisco I’ve had to confront how truly awesome this city is. The close proximity of everything, ease of public transportation, fantastic food culture, and REAL weather showed me that the Los Angeles I always seem to hold in such high regard has some catching up to do in certain aspects. Oh, and let’s not forget the trees. I’ve maintained for some time that Los Angeles and San Francisco boast equal claim to the title of having the best weed, but after visiting a couple of dispensaries in the Bay I must admit that I’d give the slight edge to SF. More on that to come, but for now enjoy this teaser of some authentic Purple.