Sal Palma got into the cannabis business at a time when the term dispensary still carried medical connotations and you needed a doctor’s recommendation to buy legal weed.
His company’s name, Higher Level of Care, spoke to its customer base at the time (with a marijuana pun to boot).
This was 2010; the same year California voters rejected Prop. 19 , which would have legalized recreational marijuana use. It would be six years before the passage of Prop. 64, and another five before Fresno awarded licenses to allow for retail shops within city limits.
In the years since, the market has shifted, says Palma, who now owns and operates four Higher Level dispensaries : three on the Central Coast and a new location in Fresno at Blackstone and Santa Ana avenues.
The store had a soft opening in late January and is hosting a grand opening celebration at 8 a.m. Friday. There will be product specials all day and Dab Tacos will be on-site with the restaurant’s new food truck from noon to 5 p.m. offering free food for those with qualifying purchases.