There’s a new type of farmers market in San Francisco, but instead of buying fruits and vegetables, customers get to buy a famous California crop that is best enjoyed smoked.
This market is dedicated entirely to cannabis.
The new monthly event takes place at one of two downtown San Francisco dispensaries: Moe Greens on Market Street and Barbary Coast on Mission Street. The showcases allow customers to learn about dozens of different cannabis strains directly from the farmers who grow them.
Last month, I visited the farmers market at Moe Greens for the second time. I’d been once before and was so impressed by the experience that I wanted to go again to confirm it wasn’t a fluke. It’s definitely the real deal: During both of my visits, I discovered mind-blowing pot, from weed that smelled so sweet and citrusy that I thought I was smelling fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice to a strain that was as rich as strawberries and cream.
I would have never found these strains without visiting the market. Both were grown by family-owned, boutique farms that struggle to get customers to notice their pot in California’s $5 billion legal cannabis market. Looking for this type of weed in most pot shops is like trying to find locally grown radicchio at a corner store.
The farmers market is the brainchild of Susan Tibbon, who teamed up with the owners of Barbary Coast and Moe Greens to create the “meet the farmers” series. Tibbon owns a cannabis topical brand called Lovingly & Legally with her partner Paul Hasbury. Their business and their farming partners were thriving in California’s medical market, Tibbon told me, but since California legalized recreational cannabis in 2016, they’ve noticed how the ensuing regulations make it almost impossible to support small-scale pot farming. (Full Story)