TORONTO 鈥� Bob Kay feels a twinge of fear every day as he runs his business in Kelowna, but he charges forward knowing he鈥檚 helping people ease their pain.
For the past 10 years, Kay has been operating a medical marijuana dispensary 鈥渋n a legal limbo,鈥� running the risk of a police raid as the country prepares for the legalization of recreational pot this summer.
Be Kind is a 鈥渃ompassion club,鈥� he says, helping those with chronic pain and providing cannabis in various forms to those who are prescribed it through a health practitioner.
Viewers can go inside the operation as it鈥檚 featured in the new docu-series Bud Empire, premi猫ring tonight on History.
鈥淚 want to show the world that we are a culture that is responsible and that when people look at cannabis, that it鈥檚 not evil 鈥� it鈥檚 not the fearmongering reefer madness that we were grown up to believe it was,鈥� the married father of four said in a phone interview.
鈥淐annabis is going to do some amazing things and I want people to see that, I want them to have access.鈥�
Kay said he sources the cannabis he dispenses from those who have held the proper medical marijuana growing licences for no less than five years.
In the first episode, an elderly woman seeks relief for chronic pain in her foot. She isn鈥檛 looking for a strong high or anything obtrusive, so Kay gives her a topical cream and lollipop infused with cannabis.
The show also profiles Kay鈥檚 family and his employees.
鈥淧eople need to see what鈥檚 really going on behind the curtain, like the Wizard of Oz,鈥� Kay said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a boogeyman 鈥� it鈥檚 real people working in this industry who have lives, children, families.鈥�
Trish Dolman, the show鈥檚 producer and director, called Bud Empire 鈥済roundbreaking.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there is a TV series like this, a documentary series, certainly not in sa国际传媒,鈥� she said.
Calling himself a 鈥渃annaisseur,鈥� Kay said he looks for certain qualities in the cannabis he dispenses, including texture, density, consistency, colour and how it burns and tastes.
鈥淭he ash has to be a grey ash, it can鈥檛 be black. It has to be smooth, it can鈥檛 burn your throat,鈥� he said.
鈥淐ertain strains, like a Purple Kush, has a defining smell that you know the instant you smell it.鈥�
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