Jon Campbell 5 March 2010 News 7,349 views No Comment Print This Post  Email This Post

 Agape Collective’s front door is unmarked and bright red. The wooden paneling is out of synch with the rest of the block on Garnet Avenue, in the heart of San Diego’s beach community. Passersby don’t know exactly what’s behind the mysterious red door, but this place catches the eye.

Past the entrance is a shady, lushly landscaped open air waiting area, with a vivid graffiti-style mural and a few chairs to relax on. A steel gate guards the entrance to the bud room itself, where the lighting is low and the selection is large. Several dozen strains and everything from brownies to kief crowd the shelves.

Director Walden Keyes said he relies on his members to provide unique and varied strains and enjoys dealing with small-scale growers who tend to pay better attention to their finished product. While the approach makes for a constantly changing lineup of varieties, embracing the small scale care providers can pay off, he says.

“You get these people who have their little closet setups or their garages who aren’t growing on a major scale… and the stuff’s phenomenal,” says Keyes.  

Along with the finished product, Agape has a selection of “mother plants” vegetating under grow lights, and customers can come and clip their own clones for a discount. Keyes said the collective caters somewhat to growers, and he tries to keep a supply of healthy clones on hand. The cost for dried flowers ranges from $10 to $20 per gram, in line with prices in the area.

Only in business for a few months, Keyes said law enforcement raids in San Diego last Fall delayed their opening.

“We were in construction, and then those raids happened, and we said ‘Whoa, whoa,” Keyes says.

He and his partners studied the law and made sure they had their non-profit status in order before opening their doors. The collective has about 200 members so far, and Keyes said he has had no problems from law enforcement.

The atmosphere in Agape is relaxed once you get past the gated door, with couches to lounge on and music in the background. Keyes said they get about 20 customers a day, and many seem to be on a first-name basis. Every patient gets something free every time. One patient, who declined to give her name, said the mellow atmosphere is what keeps her coming back.

Because Agape is located in one of the city’s busiest tourist areas, lined with bars and surf shops, the foot traffic sometimes brings in curious visitors from out of town, Keyes says. While they can’t come in, such visits provide an opportunity to educate the public about how collectives operate.