The first marijuana delivery service in Kern has popped up in Arvin.

For several years, Kern has been one of the few counties in California where it’s illegal to buy and sell weed. 

Now comes the county’s first legal retailer, 420 Kingdom. Though they can’t operate as a storefront, they will deliver products straight to your door.

The company’s home base is a 10,000-square-foot facility in Arvin.
 
“Just like UberEats, you’ll be able to track your order, you’ll see that we’re on our way, and guaranteed to be there within an hour,” said CEO, Jeffrey Thorn.

In 2018, voters in Arvin passed a measure to legalize and tax marijuana.

In the two years since, similar measures have failed in Bakersfield and Kern, so any other pot shops in the county are illegal.

“The funny part is I actually voted against the legalization of cannabis. I did not support it,” Thorn said.

But soon, his mind changed.
 
“My mother has a really, really bad back and debilitating arthritis in her hands, and the medical reasons led me to believe that there is a use for this,” he said. “These type of products are scientifically proven to help people with epilepsy, with autism, rheumatoid arthritis.”
 
Arvin’s measure puts a six percent tax on cannabis sales and up to $6 per square foot per year on cultivation.

The city estimated this tax would bring in up to $300,000 a year.
 
“I’m happy to pay that tax,” Thorn said. “We are going to provide jobs out here in Arvin, high-paying with benefits, and then bring revenue into the city of Arvin that with COVID is in dire straits.”

 420 kingdom made their first delivery last Friday, selling to both medicinal and recreational users.

In a matter of months, they’ll expand from delivering to growing, with 6,000 plants, to be exact.

“I’m born and raised here, I’ve lived here all my life, I’ve raised my family, I have other businesses in this town,” Thorn said. “We’re in this for the long-haul, we are part of this community, and we plan on being a part of this community for a very long time.”
 
They’re hoping bit by bit, bud by bud, public perception will change.