Iconic record store wants to turn classical section into marijuana dispensary

The room dedicated to classical and jazz records at Amoeba Records' iconic Berkeley, California store could soon house a pot dispensary instead.

The store's owners have applied to open a medical marijuana dispensary, saying they'd make room for the new product line by moving classical and jazz records out of the room currently dedicated to that music, into the main store.

"Weed can help save music," co-owner David Prinz told East Bay Express, noting that times are tough for music retailers. "We need supplemental income," he said, arguing that the new pot business would be a boon to the neighborhood. "That street could really frickin' use this."

The Berkeley store, which opened in 1990, is the flagship of a chain that also includes retail locations in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Though vinyl record sales have been rapidly rising across the country in recent years, that boom hasn't been nearly enough to offset the rapid decline in CD sales, meaning that record stores have been scrambling to reinvent themselves.

The pot dispensary in Berkeley isn't yet a done deal: there are five other applicants competing for the same permit that Amoeba seeks. If grass replaces Glass, though, Prinz promises, the community will embrace the change.

"The whole neighborhood," he says, "would like the street to be more civilized."

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