On one end of the cannabis dispensary spectrum are the kinds of places where you feel uneasy and unwelcome, their dark lighting and cramped quarters as unappealing as the scowling employees behind the counter. On the entirely opposite end of that spectrum ― and really in a class all by itself ― is Coastal, the city’s newest cannabis shop.
Walking into the sleek and airy Coastal space, located on Chapala Street right next to the downtown Ralph’s, feels like entering a high-end surf shop or health food store. In other words, very Santa Barbara. After passing through the security check-in, you’re greeted by a smiling budtender who offers to help you find what you’re looking for, whether it be flowers, edibles, cartridges, etc. The concentrates are housed in a chilled chocolatier case near a dealcoholized wine infused with THC.
The dispensary carries more than 30 brands and 400-plus cannabis-containing products, from multistate retailers to local, small-batch producers, with strain names as pleasant as Biscotti and as provocative as Alaskan Thunder F*ck. Coastal even has its own line divided into the three categories of Play, Chill, and Care, depending on your desired effect or medical need; most of it is grown in Carpinteria greenhouses.