Elemental Wellness Center

Collective Name: Elemental
Wellness Center

Address: 711 Charcot Ave,
San Jose, CA 95131

Phone number: (408) 433-3344

Website: elementalwellnesscenter.com

Interviewed: Neil (General Manager)

How and when did your collective
start up? 

Elemental Wellness started back in 2009, when two visionaries
came together in search of creating a cannabis utopia. Our founders wanted to
set Elemental apart from the rest . . . They wanted compassion, lab-testing for
ALL medicine and product quality and consistency, something that was lacking in
most other collectives that existed at the time.

What does your collective offer
patients that they can’t find anywhere else? 

Our collective offers a wide
assortment of holistic services and classes that are offered to our members at
no charge to them. We offer growing and cooking classes, as well as Yoga, Reiki
and even free massages for our members. Our goal is to be a full wellness
center, not just a cannabis dispensary.

How has the cannabis industry
changed since you have been in business? 

The biggest change in the industry
is social acceptance. People are getting used to the fact that cannabis is
medicine and it’s definitely showing with the demographics that we see on a
daily basis. Cannabis is no longer the underground counter-culture drug that it
was portrayed to be in the past. People are realizing that cannabis is safer
than many “big pharma” drugs.

What are the biggest challenges
you face in the industry as a collective? Biggest joys? 

The biggest
challenges we face in the industry is the ever changing laws and regulations
pertaining to cannabis. The city of San Jose just ruled to shut down most
collectives in the city, and all remaining must move to a specific zone in a
commercial area. This is a prime example of real threats we face daily, but
that doesn’t stop us from continuing forward and providing safe access to some
of the best medicine in the world.

What is the one thing you want
patients to know about your collective? 

That we lab-test EVERYTHING on our
shelves. We place a high level of importance on lab-testing and patient safety.
One thing that alarmed us when we first started, is that no other collectives
were lab-testing their medicine. We reject over 80 percent of the medicine that
comes through our doors because it does not meet lab standards. We also analyze
our medicine to identify all important medicinal compounds (cannabinoids and
terpenoids) to better assist all patients to find the most effective medicine
for them.