Meet Michael Weiss of Stash Studio City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Weiss.

Michael, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started early in the cannabis industry by creating a prescription business for a Doctor. After successfully launching and running the business for two years, I used the money I had saved from my Bar Mitzvah to open a dispensary in Mission Hills, CA. The store did well and operated as a medical outlet until the new regulations forced us to move in 2018. As one of the first legal dispensaries in the new recreational/medical market, we went through the pains of a brand new regulated industry.

We decided to focus on retail and stop cultivating and manufacturing products due to the new restrictions put on location in Los Angeles. The new location is on Ventura Blvd and Whitsett, with ample parking and handicap accessibility, we are able to help more and more people get the medicine they need without feeling the stigmas associated with it.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The cannabis industry has never been a smooth ride or a smooth road. There is a twist or turn around every corner. We had a robbery in 2010 that involved a large amount of product being stolen and shots fired at our location. One employee punched an armed robber and another jumped out 2nd story window to escape (Michael Carpenter our head of security). The threat of DEA raids and robberies haunted us from 2006-2011 until the city placed further protections on the businesses they had been accepting taxes from. We constantly were under the threat of being raided and having our patients and Budtenders placed in handcuffs at the store or interviewed by the DEA downtown and then released with no charges. I was constantly worried I’d be bailing out staff and patients. Some days I would get a call at 10am that they were raiding the stores on Ventura Blvd and seizing all the lbs of weed on site. It was the Wild West on many levels and I was risking my name and my safety to keep this company operating. Even after moving to a safer area, we continued to face robberies and break-ins and now we face the daily threat of disease and riots and looting. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been forced to change a lot of our operating procedures. Making payments to our local and state governments have shown to be even more problematic in 2020 with a complete lack of banking and closures of all public counters. There is never a dull moment in the legal cannabis industry.

Please tell us about Stash Studio City.
We have always been outspoken about our belief in the medical benefits of cannabis. We specialize in finding what people need for their loved ones or themselves in times of need or for general upkeep. Our company is very proud to be transparent about the current state of the industry and the issues it faces. We feel that we are now able to help keep our patients and recreational clients safe from pesticides and unnecessary additives in our products which is a huge improvement.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
As we continue to find the best brands in the industry and grow our own brand of flowers and edibles, the future holds great benefits for the consumer. We will be able to offer people the same types of the pricing they were accustomed to before the legalization of recreational sales in 2018. High-end flowers, edibles; concentrates and tinctures have always been products we have made in house and since 2018 had manufactured to our specifications. We definitely plan to expand our own brand and continue to curate the products that we know are effective.

Contact Info:

• Address: 12433 Ventura Blvd Studio City CA 91604
• Website: www.stashstudiocity.com
• Phone: 818-810-5353
• Email: [email protected]

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