ONE LOVE ALTERNATIVES

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New dispensary shares love with patrons

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  • Madison Connell • The Madill Record
    Madison Connell • The Madill Record
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Business Spotlight:

A new Kingston dispensary pays homage to Bob Marley with its name, One Love Alternatives. Not only is the name a nod to the famous Jamaican musician, it also refers to how they say they treat their patients: with love.

Kimberly Jones, the manager at One Love Alternatives, admitted, “We do love Bob Marley. Not gonna lie, we’re huge fans. The name just appealed to us. Behind this, what we do for our patients is love. I promise you.”

Jones explained she went into the business because of her son who went through two IUDs in his tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. The second blast resulted in a traumatic brain injury and PTSD.

“When he first came back and he was being treated by the VA they were really medicating him,” said Jones. “I think he was on 10 medications and it didn’t make him feel well. Luckily he was in a legal state in Washington and worked with a cannabis physician in the know and he went the alternative route and that made us a believer in what we are doing today.”

The owners of One Love Alternatives come from a mostly medical background, from a neurologist to a nurse practitioner to a teacher. All of their marijuana is grown locally, with some as close as 15 miles away. They try to highlight locals through their accessories as well.

One Love Alternatives often plays Bob Marley in their cozy lobby, decorated with seating, home decor and signs outlining the way cannabis works and what it can benefit. They carry Bob Marley and other colorful accessories and a full line of CBD and THC products, including bath bombs, oils, flour, gummies and suckers. All products are lab tested by their on-site laboratory.

The Kingston dispensary provides medical marijuana as an alternative to prescription medication for a variety of health reasons, including cancer, seizures and rheumatoid arthritis. They especially work to equip women with the care they need, from menopause to sexual dysfunction to anxiety around women’s issues. Jones admitted medical marijuana is not for everyone, but for those it can, it has the possibility to be cheaper and more effective.

To view the THC products, patrons must show their medical marijuana license to go to the back room. The CBD products are available for any citizen in the front of their shop.

So far, One Love Alternatives has faced no backlash. To anyone that does have negative views of the industry, Jones encourages the community to stop by.

“A lot of people have come to look around and see how they feel and I think they are really surprised by the atmosphere in here,” said Jones. “We feel like anyone can come in and feel comfortable. We want people to know, if you’re curious, come in. Talk to us about it. Take a look around and we’ll get you through feeling weird or funny.”

One Love Alternatives is only the second cannabis dispensary to open in Marshall County on July 1. Oklahoma recently celebrated their “canniversary” of one full year of medical marijuana being legal in June of this year.

According to a July 1 tweet from the Medical Marijuana Authority, there have been a total of 146,381 patient, 958 caregiver and 1,605 dispensary licenses approved for medical marijuana. The combined patient and caregiver licenses equal out to about 3.7 percent of Oklahoma having a medical marijuana license.

To contact One Love Alternatives, call (580) 595-5000 or email onelovealternative@gmail.com. Their address is 2 South Main in Kingston, Madill.