L.A's first cannabis farmer's market to open Friday

L.A’s first cannabis farmer’s market to open Friday

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Paizley Bradbury, 22, executive director of Progressive Horizon Inc., holds a marijuana bud of strain called OG Kush in a large shed where the company is going to host the California Heritage Market on July 4-6 in Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Paizley Bradbury, 22, executive director of Progressive Horizon Inc., holds a bud of marijuana called OG Kush. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A sample of cannabis candy called Cheeba Chews that will be on sale next weekend in Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A sample of marijuana concentrate by Grow Scouts that will be sold at the California Heritage Market on July 4-6 in Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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A sample of a cannabis-infused chocolate bar that will be sold at a the California Heritage Market next weekend. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Assorted cannabis strains by Grow Scouts that will be sold at the California Heritage Market on July 4-6 in Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

By Veronica Rocha

July 3, 2014 3:26 PM PT

Los Angeles’ first-ever cannabis farmer’s market will open for business Friday, where up to 50 pot vendors will sell their wares to card-carrying patients.

Organizers of the California Heritage Market plan to showcase high-quality cannabis vendors and growers from throughout the state. The market will be held at West Coast Collective, a marijuana dispensary in Boyle Heights.

So far, city and police officials have not publicly objected to the event.

“It is very clear what we are doing here and we are following the law as it written,” said Paizley Bradbury, 22, event organizer and the collective’s executive director.

For organizers, the concept is simple -- give marijuana card-carrying patients direct access to medicinal products without steep dispensary costs.

Eric Leslie sees the value in opening a cannabis-focused market for patients because it allows the public “to look at things differently.”

“You really don’t see stuff like this happening,” he said. “I think it’s unique and inventive.”

He and his partners opened Cheeba Chews, a cannabis-oil chocolate taffy, in Colorado in 2009 and expanded a year ago to California.

“Things like this give an opportunity for the general public to look at it in a new light,” Leslie said.

The market will be held in a warehouse-like structure to the rear of the collective. But not just any marijuana-enthusiast will have access.

Only patients with marijuana cards will be allowed to enter the market, and organizers will closely examine their IDs and card information, Bradbury said.

At least 30 patients have already pre-registered for the market, even though organizers never announced they were doing so.

“It’s so exciting,” she said.

Ahead of Friday’s opening, Bradbury said organizers were working quickly to set up vendor booths and carnival games. If the event is successful, organizers may open the market every weekend, she said.

“There is a need for this in Los Angeles,” she said. “There is just not enough access.”

California Heritage Market runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. July 4-6 at West Coast Collective, 1500 Esperanza St. in Los Angeles.

For breaking news in Los Angeles and California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA. She can be reached at veronica.rocha@latimes.com.