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Questions To Ask Your Budtender On Your First Dispensary Trip

Questions To Ask Your Budtender On Your First Dispensary Trip

There’s a reason so many states are decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana: It helps people in a number of ways. New research on the drug has found it to offer psychological and physical benefits, leading to its prescription in treatment for an ever-expanding number of diseases, from anxiety and depression to glaucoma and arthritis. 

Yet, even as more people are receiving prescriptions for marijuana treatments, the stigma of venturing into a dispensary and buying bud seems to remain. If you are nervous about your first trip to the dispensary, never fear — you won’t be forced to navigate the wide world of weed on your own. Every dispensary is staffed with knowledgeable, passionate and sensitive budtenders, who are happy to answer your questions and guide you toward the right marijuana purchase for you. To prove your budtender’s worth, you might test them with the following questions — which you should definitely know the answers to before you buy and use marijuana.

About the Dispensary

What kind of dispensary license do you have?

If you live in a state that has legalized both medical and recreational use of marijuana, knowing the license type of your dispensary could be valuable. Both types of dispensaries are subject to laws about purchasing age and possession limits; however, medical dispensaries function more like pharmacies, where visitors are able to ask questions and seek medical advice from budtenders, while recreational dispensaries cannot. It isn’t uncommon for a large dispensary to have a dual license, which permits them to service both medicinal users and recreational users. Still, if you don’t have a marijuana prescription, you probably don’t want to waste your time at a medical dispensary.

How does your dispensary stay compliant?

Each state has rules and regulations governing how dispensaries can operate safely. For instance, a state might mandate that dispensaries maintain a certain level of cybersecurity to protect patients’ health information, or states might require budtenders to participate in regular trainings to understand marijuana law. The average budtender might not know about compliancy efforts, but managers certainly will, and having access to this information might give you the assurance that your weed shop prioritizes legality and quality.

Where does your dispensary source its products?

Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level and transporting marijuana over state lines is a federal offense. Thus, dispensaries cannot source their products from out-of-state growers or manufacturers. Some small dispensaries might maintain their own weed gardens in the back to maintain total control over the type and quality of their product. Other, larger dispensaries often source from marijuana farms located elsewhere in the state, but they probably won’t tell you exactly where the crop comes from — for fear that you’ll go there and pilfer bud instead of legally acquiring it from their store. Knowing where your weed comes from can be important if you value organic, fair-trade agriculture.

About Marijuana

Budtenders, regardless of whether they work in a medical dispensary or a recreational shop, can always answer basic questions about marijuana — but so can the internet. Because wait times in medical marijuana shops can drag on, not unlike pharmacies, it might be worthwhile to conduct some preliminary investigations online. A few questions worth researching ahead of time include:

  • What is the difference between THC and CBD?
  • Do you have to smoke marijuana to enjoy positive effects?
  • Are there health risks associated with cannabis products?
  • How long does marijuana stay in your system?
  • What are the legal limits for marijuana in your state?
Questions To Ask Your Budtender On Your First Dispensary Trip

Then, when you are in the dispensary, you will have some familiarity with your surroundings and be able to devote your time to pinpointing exactly which marijuana products are right for you. Counterintuitively, you might not want to ask your budtender questions for this — instead, you should allow them to interrogate you, so they can make the best suggestions possible. Some questions you might encounter include:

  • Do you have any experience with cannabis? Total novices need much more instruction from budtenders. If you know basically what you are doing — e.g. you toked back in your college days — you should let your budtender know. You can also fill them in on any research you gathered before your trip.
  • How do you want to consume marijuana? From your research, you should have a good idea of your options, but you can ask for more information about the marijuana products that interest you.
  • What kind of marijuana experience do you want? This will help your budtender refine what strain of marijuana to suggest. If you are seeking a medical treatment, let your budtender know.
  • What flavor profiles do you prefer? Believe it or not, marijuana comes in all sorts of flavors, from vanilla to citrus to herbal to gasoline. Choosing the right flavor will greatly enhance your experience.

Finally, once you become comfortable in your dispensary — after your first few trips, when you begin to know what to expect — you might start asking your budtenders the following questions:

  • Do you have anything fresh?
  • What’s the best value in the store?
  • Is there a newly stocked product worth trying?

You might benefit greatly by partaking in marijuana products — but only if you can relax and enjoy the entire experience of buying and using the good green herb. Budtenders are valuable assets that you should make full use of during your first few dispensary trips, and that means asking the right questions.

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