Day in the Life: Delivering hope through medical marijuana

 
Rehab Delivery driver Dennis DeBolt, 26, fills an order for a customer. The medical marijuana delivery business makes 15 to 50 deliveries a day to customers in and around the High Desert. James Quigg, Daily Press
• By Rene Ray De La Cruz

  
  

  APPLE VALLEY — Serving some 3,500 active customers, businesswoman Kasha Herrington said she opened her medical marijuana delivery business, Rehab Delivery, to deliver wellness and wholeness to those suffering throughout the High Desert and beyond.

  “We’re trying to change the face of marijuana in the High Desert,” said Herrington, 51, who lives in Apple Valley. “We’re working with our local cities to show them that there are credible businesses out here serving hurting people with medical marijuana.”

  Herrington’s office was a hub of activity on Thursday as Customer Service Manager Brittany Magee, 22, answered calls from new, returning and regular customers, and Rehab Delivery driver Dennis DeBolt, 26, prepared to log another couple hundred miles on the road.

  “I usually drive anywhere from 400 to 800 miles in a week and I’m always changing the oil in my car,” said DeBolt, as he prepared a free gram of medical cannabis for a customer. “It’s Thursday, so they get a free gram or pre-roll with every $40 order.”

  As DeBolt sorted through several jars of cannabis types on a nearby shelf, Magee continued to field calls, verifying the patient’s ID through a state website, information on the medical marijuana card and the background of the physician who made the recommendation.

  “We use our computer system to verify our patient’s information and what they’ve ordered in the past,” Magee said. “We fill all of our orders about 0.1 (of an ounce) over, so we do give them a little bit extra. We also give our patients an estimated wait time, and our drivers are to their location by an hour to an hour and a half.”

  Coming from an “ultra-conservative, gun-toting, Jesus-loving-Jewish, Bush-supporting” family where even traditional cigarettes were considered “evil,” Herrington said she opened Rehab Delivery about two years ago when she turned to cannabis after a “pile of prescription drugs,” including Ambien, Vicodin and Xanax, began affecting her liver and driving her into severe depression.

  “I had scoliosis as a kid and I had a metal rod placed in my back at age 17,” said Herrington, who spent much of her career in the insurance industry. “Then, I was hit by a drunk driver when I was 43 and I was put on a bunch of meds to fix the pain, which just made my life worse.”

  Herrington said her conservative 86-year-old father finally tried CBD (cannabidiol) and a concentration of cannabinoids (Rick Simpson Oil) when he was diagnosed in 2013 with liver cancer and given “zero chance of surviving.”

  “My dad is still alive and the cancer is all gone,” said Herrington, as tears welled up in her eyes. “Cannabis saved my dad and brought me back to my kids. This is why my passion to save others is so strong.”

  Herrington, who has offices in San Bernardino, Redlands and Beaumont, said Rehab Delivery is a “professional business” where the employees strive for excellent customer service and tight quality control, verifying that product received from various sites is organically grown.

  “We just don’t drop off product and leave — we care about our clients so we sit down with them and walk them through the product and how each blend works,” Herrington said. “We also guarantee all of our cannabis.”

  Rehab Delivery carries Indica, Sativa, hybrid and extract blends, as well as edibles, topicals, gear and accessories, Herrington said. “We have a wide arrangement of edibles like cookies, gummies, coffee, tea and soda.”

  Herrington said CBD oil is one of the most requested products from Rehab Delivery because of its positive results on autistic children and those suffering from seizures.

  Herrington said she’s a member of the High Desert Cannabis Association, which was formed by seven medical marijuana collective owners in the High Desert with the purpose of “changing the face” of cannabis in the local communities through sponsoring regulation at the state and local level.

  “There are some collectives that don’t play by the rules and they give us reputable business owners a bad name,” Herrington said. “We do it because we care about people, not to get rich off of them.”

  Driving south on Cottonwood Avenue in Hesperia, DeBolt told the Daily Press that out of more than 80 medical marijuana delivery services in the High Desert, Rehab Delivery has gotten quite the reputation on Weedmaps.com.

  “I was going to school to become a mechanic, but it didn’t pan out with the school,” said DeBolt, who was dressed in work slacks and company shirt. “I’ve been with the Rehab Delivery from the beginning and I plan on staying on. I think medical marijuana is going to be huge in California and we’re in a great place.”

  Pulling up to a manicured yard in a quiet neighborhood in Hesperia, DeBolt spoke with new client Ashley Mitchell, 29, who has used medical marijuana for about five years.

  “This is the first time ordering from a delivery service,” said Mitchell, who takes cannabis for severe back pain and spasms. “I don’t even want to mess with prescription drugs and I heard Rehab Delivery has a good reputation.”

  DeBolt said his clients range from “18 to 80s” and are from all walks of life, including “movers and shakers” in Southern California. He added that with all the backgrounds checks and security safeguards, his job is relatively safe.

  “Most of our financial transactions are handled over the phone, so the only thing I carry is the product to be delivered and my iPhone,” said DeBolt, as his GPS gave him vocal directions and his radio played Christian music. “We also don’t deliver to certain known problem areas so that also keeps us out of harm’s way.”

  The newly married DeBolt, who’s been with his wife for nine years, said he started using medical marijuana after several esophageal ulcers had him vomiting blood and dropping 80 pounds. He said he’ll continue to use it to get through an upcoming medical procedure.

  “The cartilage in my knees are all torn up and I’m going to need surgery,” DeBolt said. “I used to ride BMX at Apple Valley Horsemen’s Park and at the BMX park in Hesperia, and that’s where most of the damage was done."

  Sitting in her motorized wheelchair, Clara Cotton, 67, reviewed her recent purchase from another medical marijuana delivery service before storing it away in a cookie jar for future use.

  Cotton said a group of her senior friends have banded together to explore the local medical marijuana world where they hope to get some physical relief. She added that her friend, Mary, 68, has ordered from Rehab Delivery in the past.

  “After my accident, the prescription medication wasn’t even touching my pain so I had to turn to something else,” said Cotton, who lives in Apple Valley. “Never in a thousand years would I have ever guessed that I would buy marijuana, especially something called Pappy's STAR KILLER.”

  Being raised to “believe in Jesus” and that “only druggies use marijuana,” Cotton turned to cannabis about five years ago after she was involved in a multi-vehicle collision while living in Iowa.

  Cotton said she first discovered the world of medical marijuana through her daughter, Katie, who used weedmaps.com to find a local distributor for Cotton and her friends.

  “If it wasn’t for a delivery service, I don’t know where I’d get my marijuana,” Cotton said. “Having a delivery service has been a lifesaver.”

  Herrington said she hopes the cities and towns of the High Desert work to craft ordinances that will benefit home delivery services and their customers. She added that as a permitted business that pays taxes and files payroll, "we're doing all we can to play by the rules."

  “I hope money doesn’t destroy the passion and compassion for helping people through the cannabis businesses,” Herrington said. “We’re here for people that are hurting, not for ourselves.”