Inside the KFC Turned Dispensary (It's Depressing)
Wednesday, Sep 2, 2009 | Updated 2:45 PM PDT
Remember how funny that photo was of the Kentucky Fried Chicken turned marijuana dispensary near National Boulevard? Now realize how depressing the place is inside. Some stickers, and the old KFC glass case have been kept, but it looks the purveyors of Kind for Cures, located at 3516 Hughes Avenue, have added a slab of wood--painted blue-- to block off the former kitchen space, which now is only accessible via a locked entry system (same as Starbucks uses). Likely the weed is stored back there. There are holes cut out of the wood that make the place feel slightly sinister. And like any doctor's waiting room, there are magazines, including LA's Medical Marijuana Magazine. And a 2002 Stuff magazine.
Also realize that the city wants to shut down this dispensary. In May, the owners of the property filed an application to operate, claiming the hardship exemption, that loophole that lets dispensaries open (there's a ban on new dispensaries). In a letter to the City Council dated July 9th, City Councilman Herb Wesson recommends denial of the application. Among other things, his letter notes the dispensary's proximity to an elementary school, an alcoholic recovery center, and two churches. Download Wesson's letter here. As the city holds extra sessions to go through all these applications, it seems doubtful this one, like most that opened via the hardship exemption, will survive.
Like some Internet-born stories, this one was funnier when we knew less.
