LOS ANGELES – Pain is the reason Anthony Emmons uses marijuana, and even though he has been using it for years, he says there is a general lack of information about the benefits of cannabis and the legality of it all.
“You have to get it online, you have to look for it it’s not just out there for everyone to see. That’s the problem, you have to be interested and look for it,” said Emmons.
That is where a small Playa Vista start-up called FlowerTown comes into play. It is a new public service website that is trying to tackle the lack of information and misinformation about cannabis.
“This is something that the government should be doing,” says Dean Waters, FlowerTown CEO. “We need to take the bull by the horns and start the educational process. The black market is thriving, certainly law enforcement is an issue, so consumers need to be driven back to safe legal retail and start stimulating those businesses that are legal and safe.”
To combat the more than 200 illegal marijuana dispensaries in LA, FlowerTown has created a map tool, to help consumers find legal dispensaries that are customer friendly, clean, and safe. The start-up also helps tackle misinformation and the stigma around cannabis by educating consumers through articles, videos from doctors, and other professionals.
They have even cleaned up the language around cannabis, according to Waters.
“We don’t use the word weed, we don’t use joint, we use pre-roll, we don’t say weed, we say cannabis,” said Waters.
FlowerTowns wants the website to be something you can share with your mother and daughter too.
“One of the biggest wins for FlowerTown is that we’re finding a lot of baby boomers and seniors citizens that are finding a lot of stories they can relate to” says Waters.
Baby boomers like Emmons, who are looking for more information on safe, legal ways to obtain and use cannabis.