VALLEY ENTREPRENEUR PROVIDES SWEET RELIEF FOR PAIN SUFFERERS

Sam Anderson's cookie dough ice cream will give you a buzz.

Not just a sugar one.

Laced with marijuana and packaged under the name Heavenly Nice Ice
Cream, the ice-cold treat has just been made available to patients
with prescriptions at area medical marijuana dispensaries.

"It's great for pain and nausea," said Anderson, 21, of Indian Wells.

The entrepreneur recently launched the business Vertigo Edibles out
of his home.

Anderson is an epilepsy patient who has long suffered seizures.
Because his medications often cause serious stomach problems and
vomiting, he began experimenting with various cannabis-laden ice
cream recipes in search of a more soothing alternative.

"I've tested a lot of recipes," said Anderson, who has lived in the
valley nearly a decade.

He said he's created a winning, consistent blend that includes about
18 percent buttermilk fat and is made with controlled dosages.

"This has been a godsend, honestly," Anderson said of the relief he
has from pain to his knotted-up muscles. "It's totally different
from smoking marijuana."

Desert Organic Solutions, a north Palm Springs medical marijuana
dispensary, began stocking Anderson's ice cream this week, said
dispensary president Gary Cherlin.

"I've gotten some great feedback so far from patients," Cherlin
said. "They love the ice cream. It's actually one of our
best-selling edibles."

Patients can choose from traditional flavors such as a vanilla with
a caramel layer, chocolate, strawberry or custom-made desserts.

A package of "regular-strength" Heavenly Nice Ice Cream contains
half a gram of marijuana, while the more potent "extra-strength"
blend packs a full gram, Anderson said.

Cherlin's dispensary charges $12 for an 8-ounce container of the
regular-strength ice cream, and $24 for extra-strength.

Anderson said he obtained necessary California food-handler
certification and a business license to launch his business after
convincing himself that other patients could benefit.

In May and June, the Palm Springs City Council issued permits to two
other dispensaries to operate in the city. They are Organic
Solutions of the Desert and CannaHelp.

Both are interested in carrying the ice cream.

After receiving a doctor's prescription, patients suffering from
cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, shingles and many other
ailments register with dispensaries to gain access to medical
marijuana products. The marijuana can be smoked or eaten.

Desert Organic Solutions carries other edibles from other suppliers,
such as "Fran's brownie cheesecake, caramel cups, truffles,
biscotti, apricot muffins and cookies.

"A lot of cancer patients like the lollipops," Cherlin said. "The
brownies with cheesecake are tasty -- forget about the medication in them."

In many of the 14 states that have OK'd medical marijuana usage,
dispensaries offer an array of edible forms. Some offer caramel corn
made with marijuana-laced butter, chocolate-covered cherries and
frozen pizzas.

In the Coachella Valley, Anderson could eventually face some tough
competition from at least one major player.

Mile High Ice Cream, a subsidiary of Boulder-based Glacier Homemade
Ice Cream, is in talks to bring its more than 30 different flavors
of medicinal ice creams and gelato to California, said owner Mark Mallen.

Glacier Homemade already has a store in Manhattan Beach, so it's
considering producing medicinal ice creams in the Los Angeles area.

"Even before we started doing this, we had a lot of chemotherapy
patients come in for the regular ice cream," Mallen said. "It's one
of the few kinds of foods that people can stomach after chemotherapy."