I didn't build this from a boardroom. I built it from behind the counter.

The founder

Michael Encinas was there on day one of a dispensary grand opening in Los Angeles. He's spent years on the floor since — talking to real customers every single day. First-timers, veterans, patients, people from all over the world, all walking in with the same look: they don't know what they want, and they're hoping someone behind the counter does.

Most of the time, that someone was him. And he learned fast that a great recommendation isn't just about knowing cannabis — it's about translating what a person actually needs into the right product. That takes time. That takes tools. Most dispensaries have neither.

Why this exists

Cannascenti was built because Michael lived this problem. Not from the outside — from behind the counter at Erba Sawtelle, one of LA's top dispensaries. Every part of this site exists because it was needed on the floor and didn't exist anywhere else.

So this is the curious person's guide to cannabis: a reference library, plain-language guides, and straight answers. The tool that should have always existed.

By the numbers

A decade in LA cannabis · 406 reference entries · Day 1 floor experience.