Mary Jane to the rescue

It is an uneasy embrace that comes with frequenting a certain chain of coffee stores and thus supporting a huge corporate entity – but I admit I succumb to their lattes (which I happen to really like) and the free WiFi and the guaranteed social gathering I can be part of once I sit at my table at one of their many many manifestations. Those corporate coffee shops take blatant advantage of the weakness of the American inner city that has lost its ability to be a place for people to walk and hang out and interact in a public space - without the need to shop. An ability that European and Mexican cities still have, a tradition of a market square, a place where you can sit, inside or outside, watch people, chat, read, for hours on end. Or a Cafe where you know the guy behind the bar, where the afternoon turns into evening, where the same people hang out and you develop a feeling of connectedness by just seeing that “that guy” is there as well. Life in your ‘hood, your Kiez.
Traces of that can be felt during an afternoon at a, I dare say that name, Starbucks. People need to connect, feel part of the social fabric of their city. And yet it is just not like an afternoon at a Cafe in Berlin. Too many plastic cups and cops and deal makers with guaranteed money schemes in loud conversations. My afternoons at Starbucks are an eternal search for the feelings of ease I have in those coffee shops of Europe where I wouldn’t dare sit down with a laptop and write. Too pretentious in my German world.
But here’s something that made me reevaluate the dread of supporting a corporate profit scheme because of my need for social connectedness (and yes, there are privately owned coffee stores I go to as well). L.A. – city of surprises. Ta-ta!!! Starbucks isn't really all that ubiquitous. There are more marijuana dispensaries in this city than there are Starbucks coffee shops, a public TV show just revealed. Estimates say over 500. Triumph of pot. Not that I have any need for it. But those dispensaries are legal in California, because they are meant to be medical marijuana clinics. Yet their growing numbers in this city are quite impressive. Permits are free with little enforcement on how the business is run. It’s a funky little snafu that no one in the city government has yet the willpower to tackle. So it gives me the giggles albeit being sober. Step back Starbucks. Feels like living in Amsterdam. Sometimes the people just do it their way. And of course the new man in the White House is also at fault. This legalized distribution is still against federal law, but he made it known that he won’t prosecute the medical marijuana law in California at the moment, something Bush Light wanted to do (That's a name some one at a conference not too long ago came up with when referring to No.41, Bush Classic which makes in turn his son Bush Light). So Pasadena Patriots, get ready, here’s another dramatic fault in the system. Dress up as your favorite 60s Hippie and get cracking.