"It Might as Well be the Summer of Love Out Here"

So says Capt. Rick Bruce of the San Francisco police regarding the various Medical Marijuana Clubs doing business in the city...

And?

The best sellers at the Green Cross medical marijuana dispensary here are whipped up in the kitchen of Kevin Reed, the founder and president.

Fresh-baked marijuana cakes. Marijuana cookies with Ghirardelli chocolate chips. Marijuana peanut butter, lollipops, peanut brittle and espresso truffles...

The Incredible Edibles, as the confections are called, account for 40 percent of sales at the Green Cross, a thriving nonprofit organization in a neighborhood of hip bars, trendy restaurants and Victorian row houses. The 150 or so customers it serves each day can pay with Visa or MasterCard and need only a doctor's recommendation to gain entry...

Mr. Reed collects sales tax on purchases - $10,000 last month - provides health and other benefits to his 10 employees and has 16 security cameras at the dispensary. A bouncer is posted at the door, and an employee outside keeps the sidewalk free of loiterers.

"I am in this to help people and show people it can be done right," Mr. Reed said, "not to go to prison."

Mr. Reed sells his confections for $5 each, but if patients prefer to bake their own, or smoke the marijuana instead, they can choose from an assortment of dried marijuana buds. Prices for the 50 or so strains in stock are uniform: $300 an ounce.

The so-called budtenders who work behind large glass display cases provide assistance in selecting the best strain. All of them are medical marijuana users, and they typically are medicated while working.

"We have a great time here," said Mr. Reed, preparing marijuana buds to treat a back injury he sustained in a car accident 13 years ago. "And we make people smile."

Summer of Love? Sounds a lot less harmful than Operation-No-Need-to-Uparmor-the-Humvees-Since-We'll-be-Showered-With-Flowers-and-Kisses.