Not every day in the dispensary business was raids, court dates, asset seizures, and DEA paranoia.
Some days were just strange. Funny, even.
In the middle of all that chaos, humor became a survival tool. Our shops were part medical dispensary, part courtroom waiting room, part stoner noir sitcom. Patients came in for relief. Growers came in swearing they had “the best shit you’ve ever seen, bro.” Staff members tested samples like it was quality control at Willy Wonka’s factory.
And through it all, Jake handled most of the vendor purchases. I just got to hear the stories.
That meant all the growers came through him. Some were professionals. Some were basement scientists. Some treated their plants like children and their grow rooms like classified military sites. But one grower would take cash for his product and also a percentage of payment in our Kind Baked edibles — professionally packaged, branded, and, for that era, way ahead of their time.
He had a cousin who worked as an athletic trainer for the Cincinnati Reds.
That is where the story gets good.
According to the story that made its way back to us, our infused treats started making their way into the Reds clubhouse. Not long after, half the team was reportedly riding the high before games.
Now, I am not saying Kind Baked powered a Major League Baseball playoff run.
I am just saying that during that same stretch, the Reds made it to the National League Division Series two out of three seasons.
Coincidence?
