Talk about a cure for the munchies.
Buddy's Cannabis Patient Collective, Mountain View's only medical marijuana dispensary, has launched a new line of gourmet "edibles" whipped up by a French chef in the South Bay.
Meanwhile, founder Matt Lucero is preparing to close the dispensary's doors Wednesday under a court order while trying to work out a deal to end his litigation with the city.
Lucero began selling the gourmet food — prepared in a commercial kitchen by an "award-winning" chef who does not wish to be named — on Wednesday and said he sold out the first day. A menu above the dispensary's counter Thursday listed some of the offerings: cheddar jalapeño muffins; Ghiradelli triple-chocolate lavender brownies; a "pissaliere" pizza-like dish with roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and braised onions; and roasted sun-dried tomato soup.
Lucero said he wants to offer something beyond traditional marijuana brownies, cookies and other pastries, which Buddy's still sells and sit shrink-wrapped on the counter along with displays of the new dishes.
"Why not feed (collective members) organic, nutritious, savory meals and get them their medication that way?" Lucero said.
The food is made with "cannabutter," Lucero said, which is created by cooking butter, water and ground-up marijuana. The fat re-hardens, creating cannabutter.
The marijuana dosage is carefully measured for each dish and the chef is part of the collective, Lucero said.
"He gets the flowers through us," Lucero said. "He does nothing with the flowers except get them back to us."
Mountain View City Attorney Jannie Quinn said she was not sure if Lucero would need additional permits — such as a license from the Santa Clara County Health Department — to distribute the food. How to regulate edibles will likely be an important topic as the city develops an ordinance on medical marijuana dispensaries, she said.
"We've been asked by the city council to come back for a further study session on a number of issues and I think edibles really need further study," she said.
Though Lucero will shut down Buddy's on Wednesday evening as ordered by a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge last month, he plans to open at an undisclosed South Bay site a few days later and will bring the gourmet food with him. Lucero said he also plans to keep the lease at the Mountain View warehouse on Bayshore Parkway, where he hopes to eventually reopen.
"We're far from going away," Lucero said.
Lucero and Quinn said they are working out an agreement between Buddy's and the city to drop their respective lawsuits.
Both sides would pay their own legal fees, they said. If Mountain View passes an ordinance allowing medical marijuana, Lucero likely would be allowed to apply for a permit to reopen, Quinn said.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: San Jose Mercury News
Author: Diana Samuels
Contact: San Jose Mercury News
Copyright: 2010 San Jose Mercury News
Website: Haute pot: Mountain View medical marijuana club offers line of gourmet food
Buddy's Cannabis Patient Collective, Mountain View's only medical marijuana dispensary, has launched a new line of gourmet "edibles" whipped up by a French chef in the South Bay.
Meanwhile, founder Matt Lucero is preparing to close the dispensary's doors Wednesday under a court order while trying to work out a deal to end his litigation with the city.
Lucero began selling the gourmet food — prepared in a commercial kitchen by an "award-winning" chef who does not wish to be named — on Wednesday and said he sold out the first day. A menu above the dispensary's counter Thursday listed some of the offerings: cheddar jalapeño muffins; Ghiradelli triple-chocolate lavender brownies; a "pissaliere" pizza-like dish with roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and braised onions; and roasted sun-dried tomato soup.
Lucero said he wants to offer something beyond traditional marijuana brownies, cookies and other pastries, which Buddy's still sells and sit shrink-wrapped on the counter along with displays of the new dishes.
"Why not feed (collective members) organic, nutritious, savory meals and get them their medication that way?" Lucero said.
The food is made with "cannabutter," Lucero said, which is created by cooking butter, water and ground-up marijuana. The fat re-hardens, creating cannabutter.
The marijuana dosage is carefully measured for each dish and the chef is part of the collective, Lucero said.
"He gets the flowers through us," Lucero said. "He does nothing with the flowers except get them back to us."
Mountain View City Attorney Jannie Quinn said she was not sure if Lucero would need additional permits — such as a license from the Santa Clara County Health Department — to distribute the food. How to regulate edibles will likely be an important topic as the city develops an ordinance on medical marijuana dispensaries, she said.
"We've been asked by the city council to come back for a further study session on a number of issues and I think edibles really need further study," she said.
Though Lucero will shut down Buddy's on Wednesday evening as ordered by a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge last month, he plans to open at an undisclosed South Bay site a few days later and will bring the gourmet food with him. Lucero said he also plans to keep the lease at the Mountain View warehouse on Bayshore Parkway, where he hopes to eventually reopen.
"We're far from going away," Lucero said.
Lucero and Quinn said they are working out an agreement between Buddy's and the city to drop their respective lawsuits.
Both sides would pay their own legal fees, they said. If Mountain View passes an ordinance allowing medical marijuana, Lucero likely would be allowed to apply for a permit to reopen, Quinn said.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: San Jose Mercury News
Author: Diana Samuels
Contact: San Jose Mercury News
Copyright: 2010 San Jose Mercury News
Website: Haute pot: Mountain View medical marijuana club offers line of gourmet food
