First cannabis dispensary opens in the Valley

Imperial County’s first medical cannabis dispensary has officially opened in Imperial.

March and Ash were given the only permit in the city to sell medicinal cannabis.

The store opening has been in the works for over a year now, and customers said they’ve been waiting for a shop like this to open up in the valley.

“It helps with everything,” said Raenelle Fisher, Imperial resident.

Fisher said medicinal cannabis has been a game-changer for her.

“Cause I knew I needed it, I was very careful. I have bad back problems and arthritis.

I thought I was going to be in a wheelchair,” Fisher said.

“Our typical demographic is 40-60-year-olds. People are coming in because they want to stop taking pain pills. They want to experiment with some natural remedies that can help them,” said Andrews, March and Ash Outreach manager.

March and Ash is the only dispensary that was granted a permit to sell medical cannabis in Imperial.

It’s a move, neighboring cities like Calexico, are closely watching, as they also prepare to open up cannabis dispensaries.

“This community has been traditionally underserved when it comes to access to cannabis,” said Andrews.

“A lot of times they had to travel out maybe two or three hours out of their way just to purchase something and come back to their house,” said March and Ash employee Anthony Alvarez.

Alvarez was born and raised in the valley.

He’s one of the 20 people March and Ash has employed from the valley.

They hope to raise that number as business increases.

“To be in it and be surrounded by it, and see the happy customers. We’ve already had three or four customers come in and it’s surreal, definitely surreal,” said Alvarez.

“You get to walk around and interact with the products and our employees and ask questions. We’re happy to talk to you for thirty minutes in our store and you leaving with nothing but just a little more knowledge of cannabis,” said Andrews.