Recreational Marijuana Blog | The Greenery

Posted on October 13, 2018 - 9:00 am

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The very first blog I wrote for The Greenery was about vape pens—that was seventy-five blogs ago, and I told you how old I felt on my first day working here, because in my day, all you could do was smoke pot, but now, you can vaporize distilled CO2 cannabis oil with a ceramic atomizer… If Luke Skywalker enjoys cannabis, this is probably how he does it. And even though I wrote that first blog only a year and a half ago, things have changed drastically, and it’s obvious that you care because 1,200 of you read that first post (I’m famous!). So, this week, I wanted to revisit cannabis vape pens and oils to let you know what’s new.

For one, we now sell Bluetooth-capable vape pens. Seriously. If you buy a PAX Era battery (we sell them for $33 out the door), you can download an app for your smartphone and do all sorts of cool things: you can lock the battery from your phone and then leave it on your coffee table without worrying about roommates smoking your oil, you can adjust the heat remotely from your phone, and you can even play a few vape-themed games on your phone, if you’re into that sort of thing. But you don’t need the app to use the PAX Era pen (I don’t have the app, and I use my PAX all the time), so don’t worry if technology isn’t your thing.

Now, as to the cartridges or “pods” the Pax uses, I’ll simply say that they’re awesome. We carry all the exotics, like pods filled with Live Resin or Budder or Distillate, and you need to try these things. The Live Resin pods are full of terps and they taste and feel just like traditional marijuana, the Budder pods pack a punch, and the distillate pods are filled with naturally-occurring terpenes for a wonderful taste and a clean high: right now, we have blueberry, orange creamsicle, and lime sherbet—giving these exotic vape products a candy-like flavor.

And then there’s Evolab; these people are straight-up scientists. They’re the only company out there who has managed to create a “cannabis-derived cutting agent,” or CDCA. You see, all oils need to be thinned with something to make them smokable, because most oils and distillates are nearly solid after processing, so something needs to be added to make them viscus. PAX pods use PG or MCT, some companies use terpenes, but Evolab can claim that 100% of the oil in their carts comes from the cannabis plant thanks to their CDCA. We sell 500mg distillate cartridges that’ll fit on any universal 510-threaded battery, and that’s a good thing because the Chroma carts are as clean and pure as they come. The Alchemy Balance carts deliver high percentages of both THC and CBD, and the Evolab disposable vape pens we sell contain 250mg pure CO2 oil.

Third, we carry the full gamut of pure CO2 oils from Sweet (which stands for “southwest expert extraction technology,” because this oil is produced right here in Durango). We sell their cartridges and disposable vape pens, but for those of you who like to dab oil or fill your own cartridges, we also sell one-gram syringes filled with Sweet’s potent oil; the value and convenience is unbeatable. And speaking of value, we also sell 500mg carts from V3 Oil, and you need to come check these things out because you wouldn’t believe the price if I put it in this blog.

And lastly, we need to talk about O.pen. We still sell this company’s standard and Reserve cartridges (the ones I talked about in that first blog), but now, we’re selling their terpene-rich distillate as well—this product is ludicrously good. The distillate is CO2 derived, but the problem with most distillates is that they don’t contain any terpenes, so the high is potent but it isn’t complex. So, O.pen started including up to 13% strain-specific terpenes in their Craft Distillate, which was already one of the best products on the market. Now, when you smoke the Craft carts we’re selling (which will soon be available in a one-gram version!), you get the familiar type of high and taste you’d get from flower.

There! Those are the all the new and exciting things you need to know about the world of vaporizable cannabis oils. So please, if you’re twenty-one or older with a valid I.D. that proves it, come see Your Best Buds at 208 Parker Avenue if you’re interested in vaping marijuana, because there’s no such thing as a Durango dispensary with a higher-quality selection than The Greenery!

CBD Oil in Durango

Posted on October 6, 2018 - 9:00 am

Without exaggeration, about thirty people come in every day and ask, “do you have any CBD oil?” Of course, when I get this question, I always say, “yes, we do; are you looking for smokable or edible oil?” This question is usually answered with a blank look because most people don’t know the difference, and if you think about it, it’s my fault. I’ve been writing about cannabis laws and history because it’s such a hot topic right now, but my choice to do so has left those of you looking for CBD oil in the lurch, so this week, I’m going to make up for it and tell you everything you need to know about the CBD oil we sell in our Durango dispensary.

However, before we get started, I need to include two caveats: I’m not a doctor, and neither is anyone who works at The Greenery. We aren’t qualified to give medical advice, and all I can do is share my personal experience with the products I’m about to discuss, or the experience many of our customers have had. It’s always advisable to consult your physician before using CBD (or THC, for that matter) to treat a medical issue, so please keep that in mind. And for the second disclaimer, even though we’re talking about CBD products, everything we sell in this dispensary contains a small amount of THC, so even though many of these products might not get you “high,” they can show up on a drug test. Now, let’s get started:

There are two forms of CBD oil: smokable, and edible. It’s easy to decide which form will work best for you depending on the effects you wish to feel. For example, if you’re looking for a product that can bring with it quick effect, try smoking your CBD Oil. The effects of smokable products kick in almost immediately, as where an edible can take up to two hours to take effect. However, if you’re looking for lasting effects, try an edible. Like I said, edibles take a while to kick in, but once they do, they can last for between four and six hours.

Now that we have that covered, let’s get into the four different ways you can get your CBD here at The Greenery (the last two will be the “oils” I get asked about daily).

1.) Flower. That’s right, you can buy actual marijuana that’s high in CBD. We usually have two strains available (CBD Mango Haze for the Sativa lovers, and Raspberry Glue for those of you who prefer Indica-dominant strains). And we sell Toast as well, which is a brand that produces pre-rolls that look like cigarettes—each “slice” contains a little more than a half-gram of high CBD flower, and quite a few people love these things. Flower is the purest way to get your CBD because the bud is unprocessed, but there will always be a slight high because this type of flower contains THC as well, and smoking bud isn’t as discrete as the other CBD options.

2.) Edibles. We have peach gummies that deliver 20mg CBD and 2mg THC per serving, and this is a perfect option for those of you who want to take regular servings of CBD with a lasting effect. And we have dark cherry chocolate bars that’ll deliver 25mg CBD and 2.5mg THC for you chocolate-lovers out there. We also sell Ripple Relief, which is a tasteless, odorless, instantly-dissolvable powder you can add to any drink which will give you 10mg CBD and 0.5mg THC per serving—this product is simple, consistent, and as discrete as they come. For a low serving of CBD, we offer Stillwater CBD Gummies in a Honey Lavender flavor with 5mg CBD and 0.25mg of THC per serving and a Green Tea Mango flavor with 2.5mg of each CBD and THC per serving.

3.) Tinctures. This is the “edible oil” most people are looking for, but the term is somewhat misleading because this product isn’t an oil—it’s a tincture that’s infused with oil that you put under your tongue. And the longer you hold it under your tongue before swallowing, the sooner a tincture might take effect (that’s because it’s absorbed intravenously while it’s under your tongue). We have a wide assortment of tinctures, but this week, I’m going to tell you only about the Lucky Turtle Restore Tincture. Each bottle has over 600mg CBD and only 9mg THC, so each serving (dropper-full) will deliver roughly 17mg CBD and 0.25mg THC, so you get all the goodness of CBD without the buzz of THC. We sell this tincture in either Lemon or Watermelon, and there isn’t a better cannabis tincture on the market in my opinion.

4.) Vape Oil. And this is the “smokable oil” I promised to tell you about, the kind you’ll want to try if you’re looking for an immediate effect. Granted, we have about twenty different forms of vaporizable oil from five different producers, but I’m going to focus on two since this is a post about CBD: the CBD oil from Sweet, and the CBD Distillate from Evolab. Both products come in low per the THC percentage (between 8% and 16%), so there’s still a slight high, but both products come in very high per the CBD (between 55% and 65%). If you do the math, that’s well over 500mg of CBD per gram, and numbers like that are going to be hard to beat. We sell this stuff in one-gram syringes or pre-loaded vape cartridges, so we have it all covered.

And that’s that! For further reading, you can learn about CBD and the entourage effect HERE, and you can learn about the endocannabinoid system HERE if you’re interested in how all of this works. But if you’re not into reading, please call us and ask questions. Anyone who answers the phone here has been educated in CBD and the products that contain it, and there’s nothing wrong with giving us a shout before you come in at (970) 403-3710. Of course, talking to someone in person is always better than calling or reading because we’ll let you see and hold all the CBD products we sell at our Durango dispensary if you’re the visual-learner type. So, come see us at 208 Parker Avenue right here in Bodo Park if you’re over twenty-one with a valid I.D., and we’ll answer all your questions face-to-face, because We’re Your Best Buds!

How to Smoke Marijuana

Posted on September 29, 2018 - 2:54 pm

There’s nothing wrong with not knowing how to smoke pot. I just read a news story that said one out of seven Americans smoked pot in 2017, so if you think about it, that means six out of every seven people you see on the streets haven’t smoked the stuff recently (granted, this statistic probably isn’t accurate here in Colorado). And at least once a day, one of these six people comes into our Durango dispensary and asks quietly, “so… how do you smoke marijuana?” If you’re one of these people, I hereby swear that we’ll never judge you for your inexperience because we were all there at one point.

Melissa is the best at answering these questions. I’ll admit that the average budtender might react to the “how do you smoke pot?” question with an “are you serious?” expression, but it never phases Melissa. She’ll pull out a pipe and a grinder and a lighter and go through the process for first-timers with a parent’s patience. And this week, I’ve decided to emulate Melissa and write something comprehensive for all you first-timers out there who’ve decided to try smoking cannabis; here we go.

Step 1: Buy pot.

It’s an easy thing to do now that cannabis is legal here in Colorado, but not all marijuana is created equally. To see the good stuff, check out our menu HERE. We have the relaxing Indica strains and the energetic Sativa strains and everything in-between—to learn about the differences so you can make the right selection, click HERE.

Step 2: Grind the pot.

For the record, I’ve smoked pot for more years than I haven’t, and I’ve never used one of those fancy grinders: I simply break the pot apart with my fingers and shove it into my pipe like a caveman. But if you want to grind your pot properly, you’ll need a grinder. This is important because if you simply stuff a bud into your pipe without grinding it, it won’t burn evenly. Grinding the cannabis allows the fire to get into all the nooks and crannies, and it’ll allow the bowl to form a “cherry,” which is a little burning ember that’ll make it so you only have to use the lighter once or twice.

Step 3: Load the pot.

You’ll need to put the ground pot into the bowl of your pipe, but don’t pack it too tightly because that’ll clog your pipe, and that’s never a good thing. Simply fill up the bowl of your pipe and press the flower down lightly with your thumb so it doesn’t fall out, and you’re ready to smoke. If you want to step things up a bit for that true Colorado experience, you can sprinkle a little old-school hash on top of your flower after loading it. This will add potency and flavor to your bowl, and it’ll make it last longer. In fact, we have our very own Hash Factory, and we make and sell the best old-school hash in Colorado.

Step 4: Burn the pot.

A simple lighter works best, and instead of torching the whole top of the bowl while you inhale, try burning just the side of it. This will make it so you can burn a little “green” with each hit so each puff tastes fresh. Some people call this method the “hippy hit” because it’s friendly: if you don’t torch all the green in the first hit, everybody in your smoking circle can taste a bit of the freshness instead of the first person getting all of it. Secondly, on the side of most pipes, there will be a little hole called the “carburetor.” You’ll need to cover this hole with your finger while you’re burning the pot and inhaling; take your finger off the hole at the end of your hit to clear all the smoke out of the pipe. Or, if you’re a pro, you can cover the hole partially while inhaling to let a little fresh air mix with the smoke for a lighter hit.

Boom! That’s how you smoke pot. Granted, you can always roll joints, but I’d recommend buying one pre-rolled (we sell one-gram joints for $12 all day long) because rolling a joint isn’t something I can teach you how to do in a blog. And then there’re bongs and glass blunts and all sorts of fancy ways to light pot on fire, but a pipe is always best for novices. So, if you’re a first-timer, come in and see Your Best Buds here at 208 Parker Avenue: we’ll take our time to answer all your questions with respect, because that’s what we do!

The History of Cannabis

Posted on September 22, 2018 - 9:00 am

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I lied to you.

I promised that this week, I’d write something light after that post about the history of cannabis prohibition which was followed by that piece about the endocannabinoid system, and yet here I sit, about to write something about the history of cannabis. So, I apologize. However, in my never-ending fight to normalize legal marijuana and smash the unfortunate stigma that comes along with it, I figured that this week, I should prove to you that people have been smoking pot throughout recorded history, and there’s not a damn thing wrong with it. But I promise to keep this brief, so let’s get started…

We’ve all thought about it, but seriously, who was the first guy to eat an oyster? Was he simply hungry when he did it, driven to do something disgusting because of starvation? Don’t get me wrong, I love oysters, but only because I know they’re safe—if I’d never seen an oyster before, I’d imagine it’d come across as a weird rock full of slimy meat. That’s probably what the first guy thought right before slurping it down, but I’m glad he took the risk because we’ve all benefited from it. And pot is the same way: who was the first guy to light it on fire and breathe in the smoke?

Don’t know. But the first guy to write about the stuff was Emperor Fu Hsi from China. This guy was the East’s version of Leonardo da Vinci: Fu Hsi lived almost five thousand yeas ago, but he pretty much invented martial arts, he domesticated animals, he standardized Chinese writing, and he wrote about cannabis as a medicine. He probably didn’t smoke it—it was most likely mixed into a tea, just like ginseng—but he wrote about “Ma” (the Chinese word for cannabis) all the time, and he believed it to be a powerful medicine (just like last week, if you’d like to read more of the information I used to write this, click HERE).

The first bona fide stoners were the Scythians; a nomadic tribe credited with bringing marijuana to Europe about two-thousand years ago. And these guys didn’t mess around. They’d fill a bowl full of pot, light it on fire, bring it into a tent, close the flap, and breathe deeply until the fire burned out; the Scythians invented the hotbox long before you did it in college.

As to the Americas, the Jonestown settlers brought hemp to the New World in the early sixteen-hundreds. George Washington grew it on Mount Vernon, everybody used it to make rope and textiles, and as to cannabis, it was smoked recreationally and considered to be a medicine all the way up until the early nineteen-forties when the false propaganda I told you about two weeks ago started to spread.

And that brings us to where we’re at today: living and playing happily in Colorado where weed is legal once again, just as it should be, just as it was for Fu Hsi, the Scythians, and the founders of this country. Wonderful, right? But if you’d rather smoke pot that read a history lesson about it, come into our Durango dispensary that’s located at 208 Parker Avenue right here in Bodo Park, and we’ll sell you some without a lecture like the one you just read, because We’re Your Best Buds!

September’s Best Bud of the Month

Posted on September 15, 2018 - 9:00 am

Cameron Mask
Budtender, Paraphernalia Purchaser, Insanely Fast Joint Roller

About your Best Bud:

Cameron’s birthday is on the 29^th of this month, but that’s not the reason we’re featuring him this week—Cameron is a young professional and Army vet who’s truly passionate about this industry. He’s two years away from earning his business degree, and as soon as he has it, Cameron has aspirations of opening his own concentrate production company (he plans to call it “Tree House Club Concentrates,” and the hidden THC acronym is awesome). But for now, Cameron is cutting his teeth as a Budtender and the guy who orders all our non-marijuana products. He’s soaking up knowledge and learning the ins and outs of legal marijuana with the best team in Durango. And since he’s part of the reason we’re the best, we figured you should meet him this week:

Q. When did you start working for The Greenery?
Cameron. “March sixth of this year.”

Q. What’s your favorite way to enjoy marijuana?
Cameron. “Dabbing. I really enjoy dabbing, and I love the taste of Live Resin.”

Q. What’s your favorite outdoor activity?
Cameron. “Running.”

Q. Tell us about your pet.
Cameron. “I have two. I have a Border Collie named Panda, and a Blue Nose named Kya.”

Q. Which station do you stream while you’re working at The Greenery?
Cameron. “I let other people pick. I’m flexible, as long as it sounds good.”

Q. What do you like most about working at The Greenery?
Cameron. “I love the professionalism, and the education we impart to our customers. But as to the industry, I love educating tourists so they can go back home and push for marijuana legalization in places that don’t yet have it.”

Cameron really is an expert connoisseur when it comes to concentrates. He makes them in his home, he smokes them, and he knows more about them than just about anyone who works at The Greenery; he’s our resident aficionado. We all like working with him behind the counter because there’s no such thing as a question about hash Cameron cannot answer, and there’s no such thing as a customer who deals with Cameron and leaves our store without a smile and a little more knowledge about this industry, just like he said in his last response.

So, this week, we’d like to thank Cameron for his service, for his dedication and passion, and for being a part of our team. Congratulations, Cameron, you’re September’s Best Bud of the Month!

The Endocannabinoid System (ECS)

Posted on September 8, 2018 - 8:06 pm

I’m so, so sorry for throwing two blogs like this one at you back-to-back. Last week’s post was a little dry because we talked about the history of cannabis prohibition, and I’m afraid this week’s post about the ECS isn’t going to be much better. I promise that next week, we’ll go back to talking about getting baked, or maybe I’ll do something else fun like a new product review, but this week, I’d like to try to teach you something; it’s fitting given that it’s back-to-school time.

However, maybe you’re the type of person who enjoys this sort of post, because I know I am. I love learning how things work because knowledge demystifies the weirdness associated with something like getting high. And it’s pretty complex, too. Alcohol is a simple thing: you drink it, it gets into your blood stream, and then it pickles your brain and makes you do stupid things. But a cannabis high is on an entirely different echelon because the cannabinoids found in marijuana mimic similar compounds that occur naturally in the human body. That’s why it feels so good. Let me explain…

Allyn Howlett was a super-smart woman, and she’s a stoner’s hero because in 1988, she discovered the receptors in the brain to which THC binds to get you high; this was the first discovery of the endocannabinoid system (in my humble opinion, Howlett should’ve been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize). And a little while later, Howlett’s team discovered that these receptors aren’t limited only to the brain: they’re everywhere in the human body, which is why edibles can give you such an intense “body high.” See? We’re learning things. By the way, this is a blog for a pot shop, so I’m totally allowed to cite Wikipedia as a source; you can read a much more in-depth explanation about the ECS HERE. Anyway, moving on…

Raphael Mechoulam was the first to discover and isolate THC and CBD a few years earlier in 1964 (he’s still alive and well in Jerusalem), and not to be outdone Howlett, Mechoulam was the first to discover “endogenous cannabinoids” back in 1992. Endogenous cannabinoids are naturally-occurring, THC-like molecules produced in the body—we’ve always had them, which is why they’re “endogenous,” and if you combine the words “endogenous” and “cannabinoid,” you get the “endocannabinoid” in “endocannabinoid system.” Boom! Super educational.

However, the Endocannabinoid System isn’t just for getting high—the ECS is responsible for maintaining homeostasis in the body. It’s this system that helps keep us steady (regardless of what the world might be doing around us) regarding body temperature, metabolism, and mood. Granted, there are all sorts of other internal systems like the thyroid and hypothalamus that regulate changes as well, but the ECS helps out synergistically.

Let’s go deeper: there are three components to the ECS: the receptors themselves, the naturally-occurring endocannabinoids in our systems, and the metabolic enzymes that break down the cannabinoids after they’re used by the body.

Are you still awake? Please hang in there because this is cool stuff…

There are two main types of receptors in the ECS: CB1 and CB2 receptors. We’re not gunna get too deep into the differences because I’m probably pushing the bounds of your interest, but the CB1 type soaks up the stuff that gets you high (these receptors are in the nervous system), and the CB2 type soaks up the medicinal stuff (these receptors are in the immune system).

We’re not going to get into the endocannabinoids themselves either because that’s some uber-boring stuff (the two main ones are AEA and 2-AG), but the enzymes are pretty cool. The enzymes break down the naturally occurring endocannabinoids in our systems almost immediately after they’re absorbed via the receptors. This is a good thing, because without those enzymes, we’d walk around high all the time thanks to the cannabinoids that our bodies are constantly making. Actually, if you’re the type of person who likes to be high all the time, maybe you’d argue that these enzymes are bad things because if they didn’t exist, you’d never have to pay for pot. But whatever; it is what it is.

Do you get how it works now? When you smoke pot, the cannabinoids in it are absorbed into your system via the receptors in your ECS, but there aren’t enough extra enzymes to break down the THC, so it becomes psychoactive and gets you high. See? Weirdness demystified! And that’s what we do here at The Greenery: we answer questions and do our best to provide an education with each transaction, because We’re Your best Buds, and that’s how we work!

Why is Marijuana Illegal?

Posted on September 1, 2018 - 9:00 am

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Well, it isn’t in Colorado, but we’re much smarter than those federal people who can’t seem to figure out that pot is just a plant. However, it’s not really their fault when you think about it because ignorance is an insidious thing when it gets intrenched, and that’s what Washington has been dealing with for decades. But truth is the best remedy for ignorance, so that’s what I’m gunna give you in this week’s post.

For the record, I made it all the way through my writing program in college without writing a single paper on the absurdity of criminalized cannabis because that’s the type of paper every student writes at least once, and I wanted to avoid the cliché. But as it turns out, this choice was an ironic one because now that I have my writing degree, I spend my days writing only about marijuana… whatever, I’m going to embrace it. So, this week, I figured I’d write for you the paper I avoided for all those years, because after all, there are some things about cannabis prohibition that everyone needs to know. Here we go:

A Brief History of Cannabis Prohibition

In the beginning, it was the snake oil salesmen who ruined it for everybody. They’d travel through towns and make all sorts of nonsensical claims, like “cannabis cures erectile disfunction!” So, in 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act was passed which made it illegal to make medicinal claims about any substance without proof, and it limited the sale of narcotics and cannabis to pharmacies. This was the first time cannabis was mentioned in any sort of legislation.

As an aside, it’s infuriating when people refer to legalized cannabis as a “social experiment” because when you think about it, weed has only been illegal for about 100 years. Throughout the rest of our history, cannabis was legal, so criminalizing a plant was the real social experiment, and it didn’t work. Anyway, moving on…

Then came the first of three butt-heads you need to meet: William Randolph Hearst. This guy was your archetypical fat-cat—he owned the world’s largest newspaper chain and a bunch of forests that he used to feed his paper mills. And do you know what’s a threat to people who make their living making paper out of trees? Hemp. It grows faster and makes better paper, so Hurst hated it. And it didn’t help that Pancho Villa invaded one of Hurst’s forests because Pancho was from Mexico which is where all the pot came from back then. So, Mr. Hurst used his newspapers and political clout to spread all sorts of misinformation about “evil marijuana.”

The second butt-head we need to talk about is Harry Anslinger. This guy rose to prominence as the head of the Treasury Department during the alcohol prohibition years, but when alcohol was legalized (because making drugs illegal doesn’t do anything), Anslinger found himself twiddling his thumbs. He was about to be unemployed, just like all the jerks under his command who used to make their livings busting alcohol smugglers, so he used his influence to spread false propaganda about pot. People believed him because people are dumb, and then Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937.

1935 Anti-marijuana poster

You see, nothing in the constitution allowed the federal government to ban a plant like cannabis, so they decided to “tax” marijuana, but then they intentionally forgot to create the system to generate licenses or collect the taxes. Ergo, since nobody could get a license or pay tax, it became illegal to grow or sell cannabis.

Everyone has heard of the third and final butt-head: Richard Nixon. He championed the Controlled Substance Act of 1970. Under this act, marijuana was classified as a Schedule 1 drug (right alongside others like crack) because it was a “harmful substance with no medical benefits.”

This brings us to where we’re at today. A handful of states have pulled their heads out of their butts and legalized pot because it sure as hell isn’t a harmful substance with no medical benefits, but most places still believe all the “reefer madness” lies and propaganda that got us into this mess, even though papers like this one are written every year by college students who are smart enough to look in the history books. And lobbyists from privatized prison systems and big pharmaceutical companies spend millions each year to keep pot illegal because there’s a ton of money to be made by locking up pot smokers and making pills that don’t work nearly as well as a plant.

There… that’s why marijuana is illegal in most places. Isn’t it irritating? But hey, Colorado isn’t one of “those places,” so if you’re like us and you prefer fact over propaganda, come into our Durango dispensary at 208 Parker Avenue and we’ll set things straight with some of the highest-quality cannabis on earth. We’re Your Best Buds!

Dealing with your Friendly Neighborhood Dispensary Budtender

Posted on August 25, 2018 - 9:00 am

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I have strict rules for tipping: at the bar, it’s a dollar per drink, at the restaurant, it’s twenty-percent for awesome service, and a passive-aggressive fifteen-percent for anything less. But the first time I purchased legal weed, I had no idea what to do—there was a tip jar by the register, so when I bought my first joint, I stuffed two dollars in that jar for the budtender and then looked at her to see if she thought it was acceptable. She didn’t notice, so I went on my way hoping it was okay.

Now that I stand on the other side of the counter, I know that a two-buck tip for a joint is perfectly acceptable, if not overkill. You see, dispensary budtenders are nothing like bartenders or servers even though the jobs are similar: we receive a regular wage, so tips are an added bonus, not the cornerstone to our living like they are for a waitress. Throwing a buck or two into our jar is simply a way to say “thank you” if we’ve answered all your questions and provided the type of customer service you expect, but it isn’t necessary; we’ll never judge you behind your back if you go on your way without leaving a tip.

But if you really loved your experience in our Durango dispensary, there’s an even better way to show us: leave us a Google review. After all, this is the modern age, and Google makes the world go ‘round (and it’s probably how you found this blog). If you leave us a review, it lets us know how we’re doing and how we can improve; we need your input because we want to be the best.

For example, if you Google “The Greenery,” click “rate and review” over to the right, select the number of stars, type something like, “Jesse writes the best pot blogs on earth,” and then click “publish,” I get all sorts of kudus. Fun, right? But if there’s something we need to do better (like if you found a typo in this blog), please tell us that too; we want to hear it.

We also need to talk about your I.D. I’ve told you this before and I’m sure you already know it, but you must have a valid government-issued form of identification proving that you’re twenty-one or older to purchase anything in our dispensary. That being said, I know how annoying it can be to take out your driver’s license and show it to a budtender, but we don’t have a choice—if my grandmother were still alive (and if she got over that whole “devil’s lettuce” thing when it comes to pot), I’d have to card her if she came in here just to make sure her I.D. wasn’t expired. It’s either that, or a hefty fine and the loss of my ridiculously fun job.

And what makes this rule especially irksome is that if you show your I.D. to a budtender when you come in, but someone different rings you up, you’ll have to show your I.D. again even though you’re still the same person. We don’t have a choice. So please, even though it’s annoying to pull that I.D. out of your wallet or purse, bear with us. Budtenders don’t make the rules, but we have to follow them.

Other than that, the only thing you need to know is that we’re here for you; it’s our job to provide you with an educational experience when you come in to The Greenery. It’s what we do. I don’t care if there’s a line out the door: if I’m helping you at the counter, I’ll take my time to answer every question you have each and every time, so don’t be afraid to ask. That’s what makes The Greenery different than all the other dispensaries in town, so please don’t feel as if you’re in a rush while you’re here, because to us, your experience is more important than anything else. And that’s how it’ll always be when you’re dealing with our budtenders, because We’re Your Best Buds!

August’s Best Bud of the Month

Posted on August 21, 2018 - 2:56 pm

Kevin Grady
Budtender, Product Research Team Member

About your Best Bud:

Kevin is everybody’s friend. Seriously. Everyone who comes in here gives him a warm hello or a wave as if he’s Norm from Cheers; Kevin is the only budtender I know who has groupies. And that makes sense because he’s the salty bartender type who’s quick with a joke or an anecdote to turn frowns upside-down. But he has a serious, knowledgeable side as well, and he knows his stuff when it comes to cannabis, which is why he earned a spot on our Product Research Team. When Kevin isn’t selling cannabis, he’s researching it, spending his time reading about every product on the market to make sure The Greenery sells the best of the best. That’s why this week, you get to meet him (unless, of course, you’re like everyone else who already knows Kevin):

Q. When did you start working for The Greenery?
Kevin. “March 27^th of this year, I believe.”

Q. What’s your favorite way to enjoy marijuana?
Kevin. “A bubbler or a bong; a little water action. I like Green Crack and Golden Goat, or any sativa from The Greenery Grow, and I like very strong indica dabs.”

Q. What’s your favorite outdoor activity?
Kevin. “Outdoor? Hiking and biking, but mostly because I haven’t owned a car for five years. In the wintertime, I like hockey and snowboarding.”

Q. Tell us about your pet.
Kevin. “I’m the only person in Durango without a pet.”

Q. Which station do you stream while you’re working at The Greenery?
Kevin. “My favorite is Gogol Bordello, but I’m always into Ska and Punk depending on the time of day and customers.”

Q. What do you like most about working at The Greenery?
Kevin. “I like helping customers because I truly believe in cannabis.”

Due to this dedication to research and customer care (and thanks to his groupies), Kevin Grady is your Best Bud of the Month for August. Thank you so much, and congratulations, Kevin!

Dispensary FAQs

Posted on August 11, 2018 - 9:00 am

As a budtender, I’ve heard them all: Is marijuana instantly addictive? Will this stuff make me see flying animals? Would you please mail some of that marijuana sex spray to me here in South Africa? For real, I’ve answered all these questions, and I tried my best to do so with a straight face. And somewhere along the line, it made me realize that I’m a professional question answerer—all day every day, I field questions from people who are trying to learn about this industry, so this week, I figured I’d answer a few of the most commonly asked questions preemptively. Here we go…

1.) What’s the difference between Indica and Sativa?

Well, I wrote an entire blog about it that you can read HERE, but basically, the Indica strains are famous for relaxation, and the Sativa strains are known for stimulation. The indicas evolved in India (thus the name), and the plants are short and bushy, as where the sativas (that originated in Africa) are tall with thin fronds. Just remember “indica, in-da-couch,” and “viva Sativa!”

2.) What’s your most potent edible?

On the recreational side of things in Colorado, edibles are capped at 100mg THC per package, and 10mg THC per serving, so they’re all equally potent. However, we do sell a few edibles that come in 5mg servings for people with a lower tolerance.

3.) How much am I allowed to buy?

Each adult can buy one ounce of flower, or 800mg worth of edibles, or 8g of concentrates. And yes, there is an equivalency chart to follow. Basically, you’re allowed to purchase eight eighths, and one eighth is equal to one gram of concentrate or a 100mg edible. So, hypothetically, you could buy four eighths, two grams of concentrate, and two 100mg edibles, and that would be your maximum.

4.) Do you sell any CBD-only products?

Nope. Those are available online, but they’re derived from hemp, and everything we sell is derived from cannabis (they’re completely different animals). However, we do sell a few products that are “mostly” CBD, such as our Lucky Turtle Tincture that contains 500mg CBD and only 10mg THC: each serving will give you roughly 14mg CBD and 0.25mg THC, which isn’t enough to get you “high.” Just so you know, the proverbial “they” have figured out that CBD can be more effective if it’s accompanied by a little THC thanks to the “entourage effect,” and I wrote an entire blog you can read HERE if you’d like to learn more.

5.) Do you have anything on sale?

Almost always! We have rotating deals throughout the week (for instance, I’m writing this on a Wednesday, and today, all our concentrates are 15% off). For a complete list of our daily deals, click HERE.

6.) I’m from out-of-state and I don’t have a medical card; can I still buy from you?

Yes. We’re a recreational-only dispensary (but we offer a 20% discount to customers who have a valid Colorado-issued medical card), and all you need to show us when you shop here is a valid, government-issued I.D. with a picture proving that you’re twenty-one or over.

7.) What’s the difference between a smokable and an edible high?

The stuff you smoke hits you almost instantly as where an edible can take up to two hours to hit you completely. The biggest mistake people make is eating more after twenty minutes or so because they aren’t feeling anything, and then boom, it all hits you. Please go slow and don’t do this: once you eat it, you cannot un-eat it, and an over-the-top edible experience is something you want to avoid. Trust me… Lastly, a smokable high lasts about an hour and a half, but an edible high can last for up to six hours, which is why caution is so important.

8.) Where can I smoke?

This is the tricky one. To consume any sort of marijuana, you must be on private property with the property owner’s permission. That’s what makes things tricky for tourists. However, plenty of the local hotels allow you to consume cannabis in designated areas—all you need to do is ask, and I promise they hear the question multiple times a day. And yes, I wrote an entire blog about this too, and you can read it HERE.

9.) Where are you located and what are your hours?

We’re at 208 Parker Avenue in Bodo Park right behind the GMC dealership. Simply call us if you need directions. We’re open from 9am to 9:30pm on weekdays, we’re open from 10am to 9:30pm on Saturdays, and from 10am to 7pm on Sundays. We’re closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day, and we have shortened hours on a few other holidays, but you can click HERE for a map and all sorts of other info.

10.) Is marijuana instantly addictive, will it make me see flying animals, and can you mail it to me here in Africa?

No…

That’s it! Of course, if I didn’t answer one of your questions, there’s nothing wrong with calling us to ask: (970) 403-3710. And there’s definitely nothing wrong with coming into our Durango dispensary to ask us in person because we’re all professional question-answerers, and We’re Your Best Buds!

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