As one of the first licensed recreational operations in San Bernardino, Captain Jack’s dispensary has always been for the people and by the people. Indeed, the existence of their famed and unique consumption lounge is only thanks to the initiative and demand for safe, enjoyable, and educational consumption spaces by the good citizens of the Inland Empire. While the Lowell Cafe recently made news as the first location serving food with onsite cannabis consumption, Captain Jack’s was and remains the first legally operating consumption lounge – since day one of recreational legalization on January 5, 2018. Head of Operations Jake explains how their ability to serve as a social, medicinal, and recreational service to the community is because of the 2015 citizens’ initiative, ‘Measure O.’ “We’re currently still under Measure O, where the citizens actually voted in consumption. So it wasn’t that we applied for a consumption license. It was the people who voted for consumption to be legal.”
As one of the first licensed recreational operations in San Bernardino, Captain Jack’s dispensary has always been for the people and by the people. Indeed, the existence of their famed and unique consumption lounge is only thanks to the initiative and demand for safe, enjoyable, and educational consumption spaces by the good citizens of the Inland Empire. While the Lowell Cafe recently made news as the first location serving food with onsite cannabis consumption, Captain Jack’s was and remains the first legally operating consumption lounge – since day one of recreational legalization on January 5, 2018. Head of Operations Jake explains how their ability to serve as a social, medicinal, and recreational service to the community is because of the 2015 citizens’ initiative, ‘Measure O.’ “We’re currently still under Measure O, where the citizens actually voted in consumption. So it wasn’t that we applied for a consumption license. It was the people who voted for consumption to be legal.”
As a space that was established by and for the community, Captain Jack’s takes their responsibility to provide a safe, clean environment for customers to learn more about the vast array of options that Captain Jack’s extensive menu offers. “We’re immense advocates on making sure that those that walk through the door know entirely what they’re getting into. One thing that I always love telling people is, you know, regardless of whether you want to consume it medically or recreationally, you still get the medical benefits regardless.” While that applies to de-stressing and other daily therapeutic or medical uses, the lounge at Captain Jack’s is also a great – and healthier – alternative for unwinding and socializing. As Jake further expounds, “You have a long day at work, and you want to relax. For some people. It’s a glass of whiskey or a mixed drink or a beer, and for many at our lounge, it’s the exact same thing. It’s the consumption of cannabis to relax the nerves, or allow for a movie to be even better when watched under the influence of cannabis.”
Jake draws the parallels – and standards – of the bar industry from personal and professional experience. Before establishing Captain Jack’s, Jake worked in the bar industry and incorporated that experience to many elements of a similarly experiential consumption environment. “I come from a bar background, and cleanliness is so incredibly necessary. You are dealing with so many more people — to the point where we treat it as if it were a bar; the glass has to be constantly cleaned, we use Dr. Dabber switches, we use e-nails, we use Volcanoes and all of those machines, and you have to maintain them. If you don’t maintain them, they degrade exponentially.” He knows that with the volume of repetitive use, consumers need, and demand, the highest standards of cleanliness. “In this atmosphere, you need to be sure your mechanisms of consumption are properly clean.” He also mentions the professional assistance provided by Cannatech in employing their specialized teams to help Captain Jack’s build out a true grassroots Southern California workforce.
Another unique feature of Captain Jack’s consumption lounge is that they offer a variety of smaller ‘sample size’ extracts so that at the bar, consumers can purchase a smaller sample taste before they buy their preferred batch to take home. Jake described to NUGL how and why he curated this feature as another parallel to liquor store and tasting room experiences, “A big thing that we do is we do single-dose products. I’ve been working with a lot of extract companies and have been pushing this over the last few months is to get a single serving extract dose. Normally the product comes in at either a half gram or a full gram. We were the first place to offer a .10, a .07, and a .05… And what that allows the consumer to do is actually try the product before they buy a half gram or full gram. Let’s say someone’s never tried bourbon. Well, you can go to a bar and try various bourbons by buying a shot, and you can walk into a liquor store where you’ve got all these bottles to choose from. And if you don’t like it, you don’t have to buy it.” Because of the packaging restrictions and lack of consumption lounges in most of California and other legal states, most cannabis consumers don’t have that same range of options. “For California, and for any other recreational or medically legal state, you don’t have the opportunity to try the product before you purchase it.” Jake also sees parallels to the high-end wine tasting rooms that California has long been famous for; “Another thing with the alcohol industry is you’ve got wineries where you can go in and try a glass of wine and go, ‘Oh, yes, I really liked that, I’d like to buy a bottle of that.’ Well, there’s nothing like that in cannabis.” Or at least there hadn’t been until he and the Captain Jack’s team got on the case. “What we’ve done — and what I’ve been pushing for and have been successful with a couple of companies — is getting a small amount of product, like I said, a .10 – .05 that we sell at the bar. So you can consume a single hit at the bar and be done. You can also get in line and purchase that product or another. It’s that ability to try it before you buy it that’s unique to Captain Jack’s.”
The combination of regulated structure and permissiveness has blossomed, as Captain Jack’s continues to bring in, educate and supply community members, as Jake hopes the access to consumption spaces grows across the state and nation. “The beautiful thing is that the stigma goes away.” He reflects optimistically after nearly two full years of recreational activity, “As long as we act like adults, and consume responsibly, you can do the same thing with cannabis socially as with alcohol. You can consume cannabis responsibly, either for medical reasons or for recreational reasons. And our ability to showcase the evidence hopefully provides that much more acceptance within the country.” Captain Jack’s will continue to provide San Bernardino and the Inland Empire with the highest quality options, service, and experience, and hope for more consumption spaces to open throughout the state. As Jake says; “Long live cannabis and it’s community!”
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CAPTAIN JACK’S;
Instagram: @captainjacks_original
Twitter: @capt_jacks420
Facebook @captainjacks420
Active Menu and online orders (Leafly): Captain Jacks
Telephone: 909-381-3706
Address: 100 W Hospitality Lane, San Bernardino, CA, 92408
