Flower Power
With locations in Palm Desert and Cathedral City, Libra is dedicated to community consciousness. Their “budristas” train at Colorado’s Trichome Institute (named for the glittering hairs on cannabis plants), and the company uses its platform to draw attention to Black- and Latinx-owned local businesses.
librashop.com
Root to Toot
CannaBus Express Tours literally rolls through the valley’s industry on a three-hour journey, showcasing the plant’s process from seed to sale. Suited for connoisseurs and the cannabis-curious over age 21, the tour includes stops at a grow house, processing lab, dispensary, and lounge, where visitors can sample the goods. cannabusexpresstours.com
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY CANNABUS EXPRESS TOURS
Best Medicine
Providing cannabis to Coachella Valley residents since 2010, Desert Organic Solutions is the oldest licensed dispensary in the area. Located in Palm Springs, the shop has offered recreational products since 2016, but they remain true to their medicinal roots by giving discounts to cancer and HIV patients, as well as veterans. desertorganicsolutions.com
High Standards
Lighthouse educates new and experienced consumers about the science behind the plant and its products. Book one of their experts to speak to your group or schedule a private informational session at their Palm Springs and Coachella locations. They’ll even send a shuttle to pick you up. lighthousedispensary.com
Light Fantastic
You want your budtender to be a pro. That’s why West Coast Cannabis Club spends weeks training their Cathedral City and Palm Desert staffs about the smokables, edibles, tinctures, topicals, and other offerings on the menu. WCCC delivers throughout the Coachella Valley. westcoastcannabis.club
PHOTOGRAPH BY JAIME KOWAL
West Coast Cannabis Club.
ask a local
Jocelyn Kane
Vice President, Coachella Valley Cannabis Alliance Network
After serving on San Francisco’s Cannabis Legalization Task Force, Kane is now one of the leaders at the chamber of commerce-like organization for legal cannabis in the Coachella Valley, working to unite and raise the profile of the local cannabis industry.
Jocelyn Kane
What is special about the cannabis industry here?
“The Coachella Valley was an early adopter in this industry, and we have the retail and supply chain behind it. We also have, which is very unique, social-consumption spaces called lounges. There are a bunch more in the pipeline that we’re hoping to see open in the next few months — in Palm Springs, in particular. The lounges are neat because, typically, you have places to buy [cannabis] but you don’t have a place to socially consume it.”
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