Vaporific
Cannabis club cares about compassion, carcinogens, community.

By Steve Robles

AFTER MONTHS AND months of wallowing in the dregs of a decimated economy, San Francisco is starting to come back to life. The service industries are almost healthy again. Restaurants and retail outlets are opening or expanding, and so are cannabis clubs.

The Vapor Room (609A Haight, S.F.) is a recently opened medical marijuana dispensary that sets itself apart from the pack. How so, you ask? By giving a shit, plain and simple.

Nestled in the gray area of commercial and residential spaces that runs along Haight Street at Steiner Street, the Vapor Room doesn't so much resemble a place of business as it does a slightly more elaborate version of the garage where the kids hang out in That '70s Show. And this is no accident – owners Nicole and Martin have obviously tried to create a place where patients can feel a sense of community and be comfortable sharing the medication process with others like them.

The interior is filled with comfy chairs, couches, magazine racks, and a poker table for patients to gather around, smoke, and chat. There are a couple of turntables set up in the corner, with some vinyl nearby in case someone feels the urge to spin a little wax. People can also opt to pick up a Tele-style electric guitar or check out the really cool tree frogs across the room.

"We want to have the kind of place where people can hang out and medicate and socialize if they don't feel like picking up their medicine and sitting at home by themselves," said Martin, a young entrepreneur who, like his co-owner, uses the word compassion a lot. What's impressive about them is they obviously mean it, and it shows in the Vapor Room's business practices.

While not the only cannabis club to offer some of its wares pro bono to needy patients, the Vapor Room offers freebies in a way that doesn't smack of retail promotion. Other clubs set aside one day a week to serve clients who can't afford to pay, but since Nicole and Martin are the only people behind the counter, they know every client and can help those who need it. Not only does this provide for more personal care, but it also averts the potential for abuse.

"I've worked at other clubs," Nicole said, "and what they'll do is have a 'compassion day' once a week, and everyone knows when this day is. And I'd walk outside to smoke a cigarette and see someone who I'd just given free medicine to selling it down the street. It kind of defeats the whole purpose of offering a service like that."

As the name implies, the folks at the Vapor Room highlight the health benefits of delivering cannabis's active component, THC, through vaporizers, which are starting to replace bongs as the medicinal method of choice for San Franciscans. Because the cannabis is heated just to the point of releasing THC and just short of carbonizing (burning) the material, the risk of inhaling carcinogens is significantly reduced.

"Obviously, the vaporizing method has a huge health benefit for sick patients," Martin said. "It's something that we're really behind, because it's so much better than, say, smoking a joint. Even bongs only filter out about half of the carcinogens found in pot smoke, and the expansion in your lungs from a bong hit is really bad for you. So for those who are sick, or those whose immune systems are at risk, using a vaporizer is really the best way, short of edibles."

The Vapor Room offers plenty of nonsmoking options in the form of goodies that range in potency. For those whose appetite may be suppressed, some edibles are made very potent, so patients doesn't have to try to keep down a brownie the size of their fist to get their medicine. For those who don't like to smoke or vaporize, but can't wait for the slow delivery of edibles, THC liquid drops are available.

Of course, the true measure of a cannabis club is the quality and value of the product offered. At many San Francisco clubs, the products are barely on par with what black market connections can get you. It's a bitter irony that someone who needs cannabis to survive has to pay more for less than what they'd get on the street.

I'm happy to say this isn't the case at the Vapor Room. I was really impressed by its selection of sativas and indicas, all very competitively priced. The value easily bests some other clubs – I saw a strain behind the counter that, at $30 an eighth, looked as good as or better than stuff from other clubs that charge a shameful $70 an eighth.

Everything about Nicole and Martin's cozy place radiates community and compassion, from the reasonable prices to their familiarity with patients. The pair are involved in outreach programs with a local hospital and a nearby AIDS hospice, and they feel that the heart of their business lies in providing a space for people to medicate in a healthy, safe, cool environment.

"One patient came up to me and said, 'Nicole, please don't be insulted, but this is such a mom-and-pop place,' " she said. "And I told her, 'That's not an insult, that's a compliment!' That's exactly the kind of place we want to be."

Steve Robles is a former Bay Guardian associate culture editor and freelance drug culture guru. His Web site is www.cosmicblatherings.org.