Kind For Cures
Kind for Cures is a medicinal marijuana dispensary located in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles County. The dispensary inhabits a building that was previously occupied by a Kentucky Fried Chicken. The store opened in 2009 and the owners' decision to keep the same KFC acronym garnered national media attention, including being the inspiration for an episode of South Park in 2010.
History
Originally KFC kept the traditional red roof, as seen in South Park, until YUM Corporation threatened to file a lawsuit against the KFC owners, citing trademark infringement against the Colonel's famous red mansard roof. YUM agreed to paint the roof green for the owners in 2010. Scrap metal from the original Kentucky Fried Chicken oven ranges was used to create the interior designs inside the showroom. The original floor, counters and food refrigerators also remain to keep the originality and humor intact. LA Weekly called the owners' marketing a "genius" strategy and KFC won “The Best Re-Appropriation of a Fast Food Restaurant Award” in LA Weekly's “Best Of 2009” Publication. A northern California dispensary tried to copy the KFC marketing strategy in August 2010 by donning the same acronym and trying to lease a KFC in the state of Maine, but it was denied.
South Park Episode
The third episode of the 14th season of the animated show South Park parodies the real life circumstances surrounding the establishment of Kind For Cures. The episode is titled Medicinal Fried Chicken and in the plot Cartman gets involved in the Black Market selling of fried chicken when the South Park KFC is replaced with a marijuana dispensary. Kind For Cures has since incorporated the South Park publicity into its theme. A mural of the South Park pot shop is painted on the store front window of Kind For Cures. Also, there is cutouts of the South Park characters posted throughout the inside of the shop, in addition to the selling of South Park merchandise. The dispensary has even named a few marijuana strains after South Park characters, including Kenny's Cat Piss, Stan's Wet Dream and South Park Kush.
KFC in the Media
KFC has been written about in numerous media outlets, and appeared on the cover of many national magazines.
Los Angeles Times
LA Weekly
Washington Post
Culture Magazine
High Times Magazine
420 Times Magazine
The Consumerist
Maine Observer
Reason Magazine
Legal Compliance
Kind for Cures is in strict compliance with California Proposition 215 (Passed in 1996) and California Senate Bill 420 (Passed in 2004). Each dispensary member has to provide Kind for Cures a valid California identification card and a valid original recommendation from a licensed California Physician. Only under those guidelines can Kind For Cures offer a variety of medical marijuana strains in the form of Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid. In addition, the shop offers concentrates, edibles, tinctures, and drinks.
