L.A. Medical Marijuana Edibles: More Than Just Your Big Brother’s Pot Brownie

January 30, 2010 – Never mistake the homemade pot brownie found at a frat party for the marijuana dispensary’s pot brownie. So much more goes into the making of the medical-use treat — higher grade trimmings and quality butter, for starters. Plus a brownie like Big Sexy’s Sinful Sweets Peanut Butter Confession, available in most L.A. dispensaries, has just the right dosage and the correct strain of cannabis to give a patient suffering from depression an uplifting, energizing feeling. A patient looking for a muscle-relaxing edible, say, would probably want to go with the cannabis-laced ice cream instead.
Picture 11
​
Because such things have to be carefully considered, patients with doctor’s recommendations need the guidance of caregivers at marijuana dispensaries. It wouldn’t be wise to walk into a store and randomly choose from the variety of edibles available: from oral sprays, pills and tinctures, to ice cream, pastries and granola bars, to peanut butter, tea and honey. Each is made with a different strain of cannabis — sativa, indica and hybrid — which produce different effects and are beneficial to specific illnesses.

For those who don’t have a doctor’s recommendation and have never been in a pot shop before, here’s a peek at some of the edibles available in medical marijuana dispensaries. The following were purchased at Zen Healing in West Hollywood by a medical marijuana patient with a doctor’s recommendation. Also included are his “tasting notes.”
​
​​
Our volunteer patient had a sweet tooth but for those more interested in savory edibles there are frozen personal-size pizzas (for around $25 at the Venice Beach Care Center) and bagel bites available as well as olive oil (usually one tablespoon a dose).

It’s not recommended to cook with the olive oil, however, since THC starts to break down at 315-320 degrees Fahrenheit. But if you ever do get a hankering for a vegetable LaGanja (lasagna) or Ganja Ganoush, you can always fly to Denver and visit the first pot restaurant in America, Ganja Gourmet.