Vanessa Gregoriadis

So our story today takes place over 20 years ago. My husband and I were New Yorkers, but we'd just moved to Los Angeles, home to many tall palm trees and a spaghetti mess of freeways. We were newlyweds, Obama was president, and Kim Kardashian, she was just a girl with a sex tape. And L.A. was on the brink of a new gold rush. But this time, the nuggets weren't gold. They were green.

So our story today takes place over 20 years ago. My husband and I were New Yorkers, but we'd just moved to Los Angeles, home to many tall palm trees and a spaghetti mess of freeways. We were newlyweds, Obama was president, and Kim Kardashian, she was just a girl with a sex tape. And L.A. was on the brink of a new gold rush. But this time, the nuggets weren't gold. They were green.

This was the dawn of the great market for semi-legal marijuana, what was then called medical marijuana. Now, if you live on the West Coast, you probably haven't heard that term for years. But back then, California was ushering it in.

This was the dawn of the great market for semi-legal marijuana, what was then called medical marijuana. Now, if you live on the West Coast, you probably haven't heard that term for years. But back then, California was ushering it in.

And all anyone could talk about was how this new form of medicine was going to help depressed people in therapy finally feel happy or save cancer patients from their nausea. Suddenly, the media wasn't talking about high school burners wasting their lives getting high. They were interviewing patients about using pot as medicine.

And all anyone could talk about was how this new form of medicine was going to help depressed people in therapy finally feel happy or save cancer patients from their nausea. Suddenly, the media wasn't talking about high school burners wasting their lives getting high. They were interviewing patients about using pot as medicine.

New medical marijuana laws in California were meant to help these patients. They were meant to just allow them to grow some weed and share it with each other. That's really what was being legalized. Lawmakers never meant for this to become a massive business. But medical marijuana was a great way to make money. Or, as the joke went at the time, turns out money does really grow on trees.

New medical marijuana laws in California were meant to help these patients. They were meant to just allow them to grow some weed and share it with each other. That's really what was being legalized. Lawmakers never meant for this to become a massive business. But medical marijuana was a great way to make money. Or, as the joke went at the time, turns out money does really grow on trees.

In this case, it was plants. So just like whiskey after Prohibition, or OnlyFans after Craigslist Personals shut down, people couldn't get into the business fast enough.

In this case, it was plants. So just like whiskey after Prohibition, or OnlyFans after Craigslist Personals shut down, people couldn't get into the business fast enough.

Kevin Booth was there when this green rush started, and he chronicled it in a documentary named How Weed Won the West. He got to know a lot of the early marijuana entrepreneurs.

Kevin Booth was there when this green rush started, and he chronicled it in a documentary named How Weed Won the West. He got to know a lot of the early marijuana entrepreneurs.

Now, Kevin was friends with Joe Rogan and lots of other anti-government folks who were like, yes, man, this medical thing is exactly the kind of revolution we've been waiting for. So Kevin got access to one of the very first dispensaries, which is basically the legalese-ish name for a weed store. Dispensaries were the most visible changes in LA in the late 2000s.

Now, Kevin was friends with Joe Rogan and lots of other anti-government folks who were like, yes, man, this medical thing is exactly the kind of revolution we've been waiting for. So Kevin got access to one of the very first dispensaries, which is basically the legalese-ish name for a weed store. Dispensaries were the most visible changes in LA in the late 2000s.

Suddenly, there were all these stores with green crosses that you see now over a lot of American downtowns. But back then, no one had ever been in one.

Suddenly, there were all these stores with green crosses that you see now over a lot of American downtowns. But back then, no one had ever been in one.

Now, I live near Silver Lake on the east side of L.A., but I had a car. To be super L.A. about it, I had leased a Beamer. It was a Beamer coupe, and it was also seafoam green. And now I was in my coupe driving down Sunset Boulevard to go to a weed store in West Hollywood, which was the gooey green center of this white-hot wave.

Now, I live near Silver Lake on the east side of L.A., but I had a car. To be super L.A. about it, I had leased a Beamer. It was a Beamer coupe, and it was also seafoam green. And now I was in my coupe driving down Sunset Boulevard to go to a weed store in West Hollywood, which was the gooey green center of this white-hot wave.

I pulled up to a weed store, dispensary, right near the Viper Room, which is where River Phoenix died and 90 Stars hung out, and out walked the proprietor. This was still a time of mom-and-pop pot shops. You could meet the owner when you came in. I'm going to call him Eddie. This is audio from my recorder back then, so it is pretty rough.

I pulled up to a weed store, dispensary, right near the Viper Room, which is where River Phoenix died and 90 Stars hung out, and out walked the proprietor. This was still a time of mom-and-pop pot shops. You could meet the owner when you came in. I'm going to call him Eddie. This is audio from my recorder back then, so it is pretty rough.