The Latest
Posted on July 28, 2009
If you’ve been following the Jones for awhile, you know we’re in the midst of an exciting immersion project, one revolving around the world of medical marijuana. For the past 24 months, Dann has dug in layer-by-layer: beginning as a patient, then becoming a delivery driver, and now as director of a Hollywood-based delivery service. It’s been a lot of work—to the point where Dann must now write less and make more deliveries in order to survive. So in lieu of his colorful literary stylings, here’s a fast-paced Q&A with the latest news about Artists Collective, how it works, how it came into being, what’s available, and where it fits into the master plan that is Walkabout Jones.
WJ: You’re a drug dealer now.
Dann: That would be the impolitic way of putting it. Here’s the thing: The best way to learn about a world is to work it with your own hands. I spent many years as a traditional journalist and you’re painfully restricted in that format. Your bosses tell you what to write and often how to write it. You don’t have time to do deep research, so you’re at a disadvantage in interviews. People lie to you all of the time. They even have a word for it now: Spin. After much thought, I decided I could never do this story justice unless I was willing to live it. I was tired of depending on others. I wanted to learn it for myself.
WJ: So you make the deliveries for Artists Collective and then write about being a delivery driver for Walkabout Jones.
Dann: That’s the plan. I change the names, muddy up the locations, and work toward the greater factual and emotional truths of the story. I’ve seen some crazy shit. As a delivery driver, it can sometimes be very frightening, to the point you’re wondering if you’re going to make it back. I’ve been on Skid Row late at night—with an ounce of marijuana tucked in a bag. In moments like this, you’re at war with your instincts—because every part of your body is telling you to go. I’ve seen things I’d rather not see again, but at the same time, as a writer, it’s an incredible story. The traditional stigma toward marijuana casts such an interesting prism on the world. As a storyteller, marijuana instantly changes the context of places and events. It’s the difference between a retirement home and a retirement home where the old folks smoke reefer. The whole picture changes. So as a writer, it’s golden. And thank god I can feel positive about the creative process, because the marijuana world is an incredibly stressful, hard life. It isn’t anything like you’d expect. I’m looking forward to when I’ll have the time to write about it more consistently.
WJ: You must get a lot of calls from people asking how deliveries work. Want to explain?
Dann: The first thing we do is make sure the patient is under doctor’s care. Many of the doctors in Los Angeles now have 24 hour phone verification or online verification. Compared with the old days when you sometimes waited a day for a doctor to respond, patients can often be verified within fifteen minutes. Once they’re confirmed, we can answer all of their questions about how the delivery system works and the marijuana strains currently available. Patients can either make an appointment for a specific time or for a delivery route. The latter is more affordable, but appointments are better for busy patients who’d rather order more, schedule it into their daily planner, and see us less frequently. Once we get to their home, there’s paperwork and then we’re able to help them.
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