By Shane Harms

North Seattle medical cannabis patients have a new safe access point: Herbs House, Ballard’s new cannabis collective on NW 65th St, opened last September.

Owner Sharon Jacobson, is new to the industry, but was inspired by what she wasn’t seeing at most cannabis collectives.

“I think that a lot of shops are very masculine with the dark leather sofas and six-foot glass shelves for the product. … Some of them are shady, so I wanted to provide an environment where someone can come and enjoy a space that is friendly and inviting and have a cup of coffee or smoothie, while also a patient can come upstairs and get their medicine,” said Jacobson.

Jacobson leased the space that was once Emerald City Orchids, redesigning the space to be what she calls “a boutique style collective.”

“I think how this place looks and the general feel of it has opened the eyes for some people that thought a business like this was going to be something else. But people come in and check it out and then they come back,” said Jacobson

With many friends and associates in the industry, many of whom belong to the support and networking group, Women of Weed, Jacobson stresses she has some of the best medical grade cannabis available.

“We work with producers that grow very high quality product that have patients well being in mind and use organic methods. All of our other products like oils or bubble hash are made with the best cannabis available. Quality assurance is a top priority,” said Jacobson.

Budtender, Golda Hall using chop stix to avoid touching the cannabis for quality assurance./Photo by Shane Harms

With I-502 licensing looming, Jacobson is planning to apply for a recreational retail license. With a location already under lease she has a better chance of getting that license than applicants with no lease. However, Jacobson is concerned with the quality of the recreational cannabis.

“I’m a little nervous for the start in terms of the quality that the state will be providing, because it could go down from being mass produced. … Right now we oversee everything we have and that might not be as easy in the future,” said Jacobson.

Operating under a recreational license or as a medical establishment, Jacobson plans to stay as long as possible in her current location.

“We love the neighborhood. Everyone has been so welcoming. People drop to check it out and stay for a coffee or juice. … We definitely feel welcome,” said Jacobson.

The synergy of a café, juice bar, and cannabis all under one location is a relatively new approach in the beverage service and cannabis arena. Holly Déjà, manager at Herbs House, said they are offering customers and patients a whole new experience.

“I think we have a different kind of business model that’s less common. Here you can order a juice of coffee and customers that aren’t patients can feel comfortable waiting while a patient goes upstairs. A lot of collectives have a sterile feel, and so to me this place feels just like a neighborhood café and juice bar, it just so happens patients can also have access to medicine,” said Déjà.

Golda Hall, a bud tender at Herbs House, has been a serving patient since they first opened in early September.

“I used to bartend and the biggest difference is I get to see that I’m really helping patient’s with pain relief which makes me really happy. It’s usually the opposite with serving alcohol,” said Hall.

While offering organic coffee, milk, juices, and smoothies, Herbs House plans to offer lighter foods for lunch.

“We are adding some soups and salads to the menu … maybe panini sandwiches or maybe not, we don’t want to steal the Dray’s thunder (laughs). We want our neighbors to like us,” said Jacobson.

For more information visit http://www.herbshouse.org/ or stop by at 716 NW 65th St

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