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Photo by Michael Rosati

San Jose’s First Generation Budtender

"I always like to play practical jokes on people, like putting stickers under their mouse."

Lucy is part of the first generation from her Vietnamese family born and raised in San Jose. Most of her days consist of tending to her garden and spending time with her girlfriend, cats, and dog, who are her world outside of weed. She also enjoys spending time in nature, hiking, and sight-seeing while enjoying Cannabis.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Right now, I’m really passionate about cultivation and the extraction process, and very interested in learning how to do rosin and hash. I know I want to be in the industry long term, but still exploring – trying to find the best place for me, honestly.  

Do you feel like budtending is a great introduction?

I do, because I mainly wanted to share my knowledge to educate people. Budtending is important because the older crowd is often shy about Cannabis and it’s really nice that we have a great environment that caters to them.

It appears to me that Elemental Wellness Center puts an extreme focus on education. Do you feel that’s accurate?

Yes, indeed. I’m the consulting supervisor here and we’re not like other dispensaries where the culture is about grabbing something quickly before heading out. We take pride in delivering valuable face time with our customers because it’s important to take time with people who want to explore the Cannabis world. All our consultants are really good about educating people, so they feel good about the products they leave with and know how to use them. Especially with edibles. 

What are some improvements that the state can make to the Cannabis industry, in your opinion?

The taxes. Being in Silicon Valley, we have some of the highest taxes in the country and most of the members who come in are surprised about how high they are. It would be nice if we could figure a way to make it more fair for everyone. 

What are some of your favorite things to do outside of Elemental Wellness?

I love growing my own Cannabis plants. I started growing in my closet, but have since fallen in love with the aspect of growing and learning about it – I am working on perfecting my outdoor abilities.

Do you watch television?

Yes. I watch a lot of reality TV (laughs).

What reality show would you fit into?

There should be a show called The Dispensary. It would be cool if there was one that played off work life and how much fun it is. 

What would your persona be on the show?

The joker. I always like to play practical jokes on people, like putting stickers under their mouse. 

Photos by @rosatiphotos

About Mike Ricker

The first time Ricker smoked weed was at a Santana concert at the age of 12. He then followed in his footsteps as an award-winning radio personality who became notorious for offering a stage for bong toking listeners in 9 different markets over 20 years. In 2016, the Cannabis industry came calling and the rest is history.

This article was originally published in the November 2020 issue of California Leaf.

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