Undefined Destiny

When California voters approved Prop. 64 in November 2016, there began to be much speculation and concern about how the new law would impact current medical cannabis patients and providers, as well as the expected influx of recreational cannabis consumers from both California and out of state. CULTURE recently spoke to Rezwan Khan, Co-Owner of Southwest Patient Group, to shed light on what it is like to operate a medical cannabis dispensary, and what we can expect in the year to come as Prop. 64 is fully rolled out. With 20 years in the cannabis industry, a law degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and an unrivaled passion for all things cannabis, Khan’s knowledge is surpassed only by his earnest dedication to spreading the word of the benefits of cannabis to all.

“We’re now going to be providing products to a much larger demographic of people, without the constraint of having to paint ourselves into a corner so to speak when it comes to marketing and advertising, and onboarding of potential customers, instead of patients.”

How will the passage of Prop. 64 impact you as a dispensary owner?

The passage will impact our shop in a variety of ways. The ability to provide cannabis to adults 21 and up is a complete shift in mindset, in terms of how we do business, compliance standards and marketing. We’re now going to be providing products to a much larger demographic of people, without the constraint of having to paint ourselves into a corner so to speak when it comes to marketing and advertising, and onboarding of potential customers, instead of patients. Even the vernacular changes. I don’t have to refer to people as patients any longer, I don’t have to refer to things as donations any longer. Fundamentally, that’s going to be the biggest shift. More specifically for us, we’re fortunate enough to have an ideal location, and we anticipate an incredible influx of tourism money. Once we have the ability to provide that in San Diego, which is a much more prime tourist destination—the weather is better, we have a lot of attractions—we’ll really be able to sink our teeth into that market.

How will you balance caring for patients in need of counseling on the use of cannabis for medical reasons with the expected influx of recreational smokers?

We value our patients and will continue to do so even after this new movement. We’ve actually gone ahead and taken the first steps to ensure that we provide information and education on the subject. We’re not just a dispensary. Southwest Patient Group is a first of its kind science center in San Diego. We have a full on museum with interactive models that allow the patients to have a full understanding of the medicine and how it impacts their own health conditions and a holistic overall understanding of all of the products and the processes that go into creating them.

Are there any local politicians you recommend that cannabis advocates support?

We’ve definitely got friends. When I say local, I’m actually taking this federally because that’s where my focus has been. Duncan Hunter and Dana Rohrabacher are two, believe it or not, conservative republican congressmen who have really come to bat for us. They’re the rainmakers that can really get the City Council and County Board of Supervisors to shake in their boots, especially since the opposition is coming from the conservative members of those councils, not from the liberals. So how do we change those ‘nay’ votes? We go above their paygrade.

Jeff Sessions was recently confirmed as Attorney General. Given his past statements on cannabis, how do you expect his appointment to affect Prop. 215 patients, as well as Prop. 64 recreational consumers?

I don’t. It goes back to two things—state’s rights and how conservative republicans are all for that. The second part is that Prop. 64 passed. If we had not passed Prop. 64, we would have been f*cked, because California was one of the states that was operating in a grey area, in terms of lack of regulatory framework. Now we have something on the table that says you (the federal government) can’t mess with us because of state’s rights. California, the eighth largest economy in the world, and the largest commercial cannabis market in the world, is going to stand strong.