When orders to close all nonessential businesses first went into place, business owners across the state were forced to reckon with a new question: “Are my services essential?”
While places like banks and grocery stores clearly hold the “essential” status, many businesses are caught somewhere in the middle, including cannabis dispensaries. While some folks go into a dispensary looking to buy for recreational purposes, others walk in with a medical marijuana card, blurring the line between necessary and just-for-fun.
“At first, until it was confirmed that we were an essential business, it was a little chaotic,” Laura Bonet, owner of The Greenhouse Collective in Lompoc, told the Sun. “You’re talking about people who suffer from anxiety and depression, things they count on cannabis for, and now they were going to be home, secluded, not able to come out and get their medication.”
Soon after issuing statewide stay-at-home orders, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared dispensaries “essential,” likening bud rooms to pharmacies. For Bonet, a registered nurse, the medical benefits of cannabis hit close to home, and those benefits are the reason she first got into the industry.
“My brother is epileptic. He moved from Florida to California to start his own commercial grow and to see how it worked with his epilepsy,” Bonet said. “It worked, so years ago he decided he was going to get into the dispensary business and he purchased a dispensary.”
After helping her brother with the business end of his shop, Bonet started to notice a gap in the cannabis world.
“I would go and visit a bunch of different dispensaries and clubs, and I noticed there was a glitch for female products,” Bonet said. “If I walk into a club and I’m looking for a female product—whether it’s something for menopause or something for abdominal pain—I don’t want to go and talk to a 20-year-old kid and ask him, ‘What do you guys have for my menstrual cycle?’”
Bonet decided to fill the niche she found was missing. While searching for the perfect small town to open up shop, she stumbled upon Lompoc and “fell in love.” After finding an ideal storefront in 2018 and going through the year-long licensing process, The Greenhouse Collective opened in August 2019.
With a 90 percent female staff, Bonet’s dispensary caters to women’s needs, and puts an emphasis on individualized treatments.
“We have time slots for patients who come in and just want that one-on-one, if it’s their first time trying THC and the doctors refer them,” Bonet said. “I like those patients the most because I love the holistic side of it.”
After getting the go-ahead from the governor to remain open as an essential business, Bonet was quick to adapt to the new guidelines and keep her customers safe.
“I’ve been in health care for a long time, so to me it was very simple: [Stay] 6 feet apart, we have to wear gloves, masks, goggles,” she said. “We adapted very fast, and we have weekly meetings in the office to talk about how to stay healthy and sanitized. We clean the displays hourly and have protocols in place.”
The store designated parking spots for curbside pickup so that elderly or immunocompromised people can get their orders without going inside. Bonet’s shop also has a “no mask, no entry” policy, and provides a mask to anyone who needs one.
While COVID-19 has forced The Greenhouse Collective to get creative, Bonet emphasized that she’s always prioritized putting in that extra care for her patrons.
“From the moment the patient walks in, they are greeted,” Bonet said. “It’s all about that one-on-one experience.”
Highlights:
• The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District is working within social-distancing guidelines to make sure graduating seniors are still being celebrated. Righetti High School’s 503 graduates picked up their caps and gowns in a drive-through celebration on May 8. Righetti’s valedictorian, Ian Tosches, and salutatorian, Bridget Lee, received their certificates from Principal Karen Rotondi at their homes on May 4. Santa Maria High School held a drive-through ceremony celebrating seniors on May 1, and the school’s valedictorian and salutatorian—Cristian Ramirez Morales and Isaac Ochoa, respectively—received home visits and honorary diplomas from Principal Steve Campbell. The district’s four high schools combined are graduating around 2,000 seniors in the class of 2020 and will each hold virtual graduations in early June.
• The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce isn’t letting quarantine stop the local business community from networking. The business organization’s free monthly mixer is going virtual on May 21 from 5 to 7 p.m. The chamber encourages attendees to come ready to give a brief introduction, prepare a personal appetizer to enjoy from home, ask questions, and bring their A-game in business attire.
Staff Writer Malea Martin wrote this week’s spotlight. Send tips to spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 14-21, 2020.