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MARIJUANA Medford attracts pot billboards City still bans dispensaries Comment By Damian Mann Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Jun. 9, 2015 at 4:43 PM Updated Jun 9, 2015 at 5:13 PM By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Jun. 9, 2015 at 4:43 PM Updated Jun 9, 2015 at 5:13 PM » Social News A Medford billboard offering medical marijuana at the low price of $4 a gram popped up last week and has been turning heads on busy Central Avenue. The newly opened Pharm to Table dispensary, at 3528 S. Pacific Highway, features “Super Silver Haze” at a price that works out to just over $100 an ounce, which is very cheap considering the average price in Oregon is $204, according to priceofweed.com . Oregon already has the lowest price of pot in the country, according to the website. Pharm to Table owner Jason Rott said he tried to keep the billboard as low-key as possible while trying to get a message across that attracts patients throughout the valley, particularly those who live on a budget. “We’re not putting a huge pot leaf up there,” Rott said. “We are trying to provide something that is affordable to everyone.” Rott and Breeze Botanicals, a medical marijuana dispensary in Gold Hill, both have placed billboards in Medford, which so far has banned such dispensaries in city limits. The sign for Breeze Botanicals calls even less attention to its medical marijuana business. Pharm to Table’s billboard stands across the street from the Sky High Smoke Shop and near the U.S. Bank. The distance from the billboard to the dispensary, which resembles an old farmhouse, is 2.5 miles. Rott said the Super Silver Haze is not a top-of-the-line strain and is a bit leafier and not as refined as other popular strains, such as Girl Scout Cookies, which sells for $8 a gram, or Caramel Candy Kush, which sells for $10. Strains of marijuana often have names that suggest how they taste or describe the type of high they produce. “People like to talk about the different strains, even the terroir,” Rott said. Southern Oregon’s terroir, which is a French word that describes how soil and climate influence a wine, is well-suited for marijuana cultivation, according to local police, state officials and growers. Passersby such as 29-year-old Shelli Taylor hadn’t noticed it while walking in the hot sunshine. After a quick glance, she understood what the billboard advertises and expressed her unhappiness with its message. “Medford is saying to children that it’s OK to get high,” Taylor said. “Everybody’s going to be high driving their kids around.” She said she is a recovering methamphetamine addict and is especially intolerant of anything that encourages the use of drugs. Kara Marshall, a 23-year-old who works at the bank, said she has friends who have cancer who benefit from medicinal marijuana. “I just don’t agree with it if it’s just legal altogether,” she said. Medford City Councilor Daniel Bunn said there is very little the city can do to restrict the content of billboards, and he’s not surprised that billboards are now advertising dispensaries. “That’s commerce,” he said. Bunn said he believes the council soon will come up with some reasonable rules to allow medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits. He said the city will put together a committee that will look at rules that could allow some dispensaries. “That’s the direction we’re going,” he said. Pharm to Table, located in Jackson County between Medford and Phoenix, originally looked at opening its store in Medford but found out it wasn’t possible. Rott said he would be interested in offering recreational marijuana along with medical marijuana depending on how the Legislature decides on that issue. “We’re waiting to see if we can do both,” he said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected] . Follow on Twitter at @reporterdm . By Damian Mann Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Jun. 9, 2015 at 4:43 PM Updated Jun 9, 2015 at 5:13 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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