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Pets and Marijuana

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I have a year-old pug named Yoda. He’s awesome. But a week ago, he was running everywhere, jumping off furniture as he chased my cat, and then something changed. He walked over to my front door and stood there on wobbling legs with his tail between his legs. He threw up on the floor. Of course, I freaked out and took him to the vet… three hundred dollars later, I was told that Yoda ate some marijuana.

I didn’t believe it at first. I have children in my home, so I follow the precautions: all my flower and edibles are locked up in a safe, so unless Yoda sprouted some thumbs and found my keys, there’s no way he could’ve gotten into my stash. So, I laughed off what the vet said, even though all Yoda wanted to do was lie around and drink water like a typical stoner. But a week later, when Yoda got high again, I started believing the vet, and I tried to figure out how my pug was getting into my stash by watching him like a spy.

The one weird thing I noticed was that Yoda would beg to go in my backyard even after I walked him. That’s when it hit me. I smoke on my back porch, and when my bowl is almost done, I blow it out into the snow. Usually, eating raw flower doesn’t get you high (even if you’re a toy-breed dog) because it hasn’t been decarboxylated, but since those cashed bowls were partially burnt, the THC had been activated, and Yoda loved it… I went out with him and caught Yoda trying to find pot by sniffing around like a truffle-hunting pig. Apparently, he loves the stuff, and now, I have to plan a puppy intervention.

To back up a little bit, pot is just as innocuous for pets as it is for humans, but the problem is that pets don’t understand what it means to get high—when we smoke pot, we expect a mental change, but pets don’t, so when it hits, they get scared (like Yoda with his tail between his legs). My vet said the same thing when I took in Yoda. She also said the high would pass for Yoda just like it does for humans, but that he’d need to be kept in a dark, quiet place until it did. The other problem for pets, she said, is that they’re so small; even the littlest amount of activated THC will get an animal crazy-baked.

So, my first point in this blog is to be extra careful with your cannabis if you have pets in your house. Actually, you should be careful with your cannabis even if you don’t have pets because if you throw a half-smoked joint out your window, there’s a good chance someone like Yoda will find it and then cost his owner $300. Let’s not do that.

My second point, and the reason I’m writing this post, is that someone calls in at least once a day asking if we sell CBD products for animals. The answer is “no,” and the reason is that even though we sell CBD products, none of them is completely THC free, so there’s still a chance you’ll get your pet high. For the record, it’s perfectly legal to buy CBD products for your pet in a dispensary, and plenty of people do, but I’d recommend going to a pet store instead because their CBD products are hemp-derived, and as such, they’re completely THC-free. So instead of coming to our Durango dispensary for your pet, try The Pet Haus or Creature Comforts. Both pet stores are close to us, so you can simply swing by after getting something here for yourself. And both shops carry a wide selection of CBD products that’ve been formulated for pets—if you tell them the breed and size of your pet, and the issue you’re trying to combat with CBD, they’ll help you with recommendations and serving sizes. Neat, right?

Lastly, I’d like to point out that even though it’s my job to get you in here, in this post, I’m telling you to spend your money elsewhere. That should tell you something about our company. You’re allowed to bring your dog into our dispensary while you shop for yourself, but I’d recommend shopping only for yourself, and not your furry friend. To us, your pet’s safety is more important than selling you something, because after all, we really are Your Best Buds!

Best Bud of the Month: Gracie Grace Gordon, Shop Dog

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If we’re being honest, our Durango dispensary is more “Durango” than the other shops in town: our owners are FLC grads, and if they’re not here, one is rafting/skiing/biking while the other is fishing, and just about everyone else who works here wears one of those puffy coats that marks a bona fide local. But more importantly, we all have dogs (which is a Durangotan prerequisite), and yes, we bring them to work; there’s a whole pack in the back on a good day. For real, there’s simply something about working alongside dogs that tempers even the worst Monday. But there’s one dog in particular who’s here often enough to earn the title of “shop dog,” and she’s so wonderful that this month, she’s Your Best Bud: Gracie Grace Gordon.

Gracie has some Lab in her, but she’s too skinny and short-haired to be a purebred. She’s all the better for it though because she’s smarter and calmer than your average Lab, and she spends her hours here walking from employee to employee with her toenails clicking on the concrete as she asks for treats (it’s perfectly acceptable to offer her a bite of your sandwich, but you have to say “easy” in a serious voice while you feed her or she’ll “accidentally” eat your hand). Gracie is a sweet, old girl who just wants love or to play with her “ladybug,” but she’s always in the back, so you’ve probably never met the dog who brightens our days. This week, we’re going to fix that; here’s Gracie’s interview:

Q. Who’s a good girl?

Gracie. “Me.”

Q. When did you start working for The Greenery?

Gracie. “About twenty years ago (in dog years).”

Q. What’s your favorite way to enjoy marijuana?

Gracie. “I like eating grass. Does that count?”

Q. What’s your favorite outdoor activity?

Gracie. “You know, running, peeing, smelling; pretty much the same things you like to do.”

Q. Tell us about your pet.

Gracie. “Karen Gordon is my human. She’s The Greenery’s Chief Financial Officer, which has something to do with sitting all the time, but she’s super good at throwing things.”

Q. Which station do you stream while you’re working at The Greenery?

Gracie. “What?”

Q. What do you like most about working at The Greenery?

Gracie. “I like all the humans who work with me, because they have thumbs, so it’s easy for them to open the refrigerator.”

See what I mean? Gracie is awesome. She’s a loving pooch who has this uncanny ability to snap you out of a funk with a well-timed lick on your arm while you’re trying to type, and she’s a big part of why all the budtenders you meet have a smile on their faces when you come in. But more importantly, Gracie’s inclusion in our team says something about our company: we love dogs, and our company culture, one that was breed right here in Durango, makes room for our four-legged friends, and there’s nothing more “Durango” than that.

Actually, we love dogs so much that if they’re on a leash and well-behaved, you’re always welcome to bring yours into our dispensary while you shop. I promise your dog will appreciate the smells in here almost as much as you do, and it beats barking from your car in the parking lot any day. So, if you’re twenty-one or older with a valid I.D. proving it, come see us at 208 Parker Avenue and bring along your dog (he or she doesn’t need an I.D.). We’ll give you the best cannabis service and experience in town even if you bring your dogs, because we’re their Best Buds, too!

Changes in our Durango Dispensary

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Change really is the only constant here at The Greenery, even though saying so sounds like a platitude. But change is a good thing because it means we’re listening to you, our customers. And you’ve been asking for all sorts of things, from flavored exotic vape cartridges to more affordable dabs to fast-acting edibles, so this week, I wanted to check in and tell you about all the new stuff that’s popping off here in our Durango dispensary.

First, let’s talk about people: Jen and Porter are the two newest additions to our team. Jen is the calm, professionally-dressed woman who seems to be catching onto the whole “budtender” thing more quickly than humanly possible, and Porter is the young gentleman with an excited smile who’s probably sold to you more than once if you’re a regular. And I wanted to start off by talking about these two because they’re both wonderful additions to our team, and they’ve made it their personal goals to give you the kind of experience that keeps people coming back to our Durango dispensary.

But if I’m being honest, I know you come here for cannabis, and the good service is just a bonus, so let’s talk about what’s new per the products we’re selling. For one, we’ve added House Wax and Shatter to our shelves. These products are exclusive to The Greenery because they’re made from our boutique flower, and the price is phenomenal—the House Wax sells for $30 per gram after tax, and you can walk out our door with a gram of House Shatter for only $35. Seriously, you won’t find a better dab for a better price in Durango.

Secondly, many of you have been asking for one-gram cartridges, and we listened. We’re selling 1000mg carts filled with terpene-rich distillate for $85, and even though that might sound like a large investment, it’s a wonderful value. Most 500mg carts are priced in the $60 range, so these 1000mg carts save you money if you look at it like you’re buying in bulk, and the distillate inside these large carts is as potent and tasty as it comes. You’ve also been asking for flavored cartridges as well, so once again, we listened, and were now selling distillate PAX Pods that come in an assortment of flavors like Creamsicle and Lime Sherbet (pot has never tasted so good).

And yes, the “fast-acting edibles” I mentioned in that first paragraph do in fact exist. I’ll tell you more about those next week, but we’re now selling gummies and powdered drink additives that are made with a water-soluble THC distillate, which means that these edibles can take effect in as few as thirty minutes. If you’re a fan of edibles, I don’t have to tell you that this is a gamechanger.

Now, if you’ve shopped here before, you know that we have a loyalty card program wherein you can get deep discounts the more you shop (for instance, your tenth pre-roll in our shop will cost you a dollar out the door). But many of you have been telling us you’d like more freedom with your rewards, so once again, we listened, and we rolled out an electronic rewards program. Aren’t we fancy?! I’ll write a dedicated blog about it when the time is right, but basically, we’re using an electronic system that tracks your purchases (so you don’t have to keep a punch card in your wallet), and you’ll be able to use your discounts on just about anything, which wasn’t the case before. Trust me, it’ll be much better.

Okay… that covers all the new stuff, but some things will never change, just like Tupac said—we still have the best cannabis in town, our budtenders are still about fifteen times more knowledgeable than the other guys, and your experience in our store matters to us just as much as the product we sell. And most importantly, we still listen to our customers and make the changes you request. So, if you’re over twenty-one with a valid I.D. proving as much and you’d like to see these changes for yourself, come see us at 208 Parker Avenue, because We’re Your Best Buds!

Seniors and Cannabis

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Let me tell you a story…

We have to check everyone’s I.D. when they walk into our Durango dispensary—it doesn’t matter if we know them of if they’re obviously old enough to be our grandparents, because rules are rules. But I always feel a bit odd when I ask someone from the Greatest Generation for their driver’s license, and they always look at me like I’m a bit odd for asking. And the other day, a gentleman walked in, I asked to see his I.D., he looked at me like I was daft before he fished it out, and then my mind exploded when I saw his birthday: he was born in 1927.

I’m sure you already did the math, but that gentleman was 91 years old. It was easy to see that he was still all there mentally speaking: he had a quick wit, his eyes were bright, he walked around as easily as the rest of us, and he just wanted to get high.

Does that seem strange to you? Is it easier to picture an old man cupping a glass of whiskey than it is to imagine an old man smoking a joint? If we’re being honest, the answer is “yes” because the collective paradigm per marijuana was quite a bit different a few decades ago, and growing up around all the misinformation usually makes it so the elderly think about cannabis in a negative light. Think about it: that ninety-one-years-old man was nine-years-old when “Reefer Madness” made its horrific debut in theaters. If you’re not familiar with the movie, it was a piece of glorified propaganda. It depicted young men and women smoking the reefer and then going into crazed states of sexual abandon and going on crime sprees (you know, kinda like what alcohol does in reality). Believe it or not, the original title of the movie was going to be “Tell Your Children,” and the film was backed by a few people who waned to keep marijuana illegal for monetary reasons (you can read about that HERE).

Anyway, I talked for a while with that old man about his views on cannabis, and he told me that he was too old to care what other people thought. He told me that he used to be against marijuana because “that’s just the way it was” back in his day, and he told me that he wanted to see for himself what all the hubbub was about. So, I sold him a joint, shook his hand, and then checked his I.D. two days later when he came back for more. Isn’t that great?

And that man isn’t alone. One of our regular customers is a sweet lady who always wears floral dresses, and her I.D. shows a birthday from the thirties; she comes in once every week for cannabis salve. I’ve sold pot to wheelchair-bound men in their eighties, I’ve sold it to whole knitting circles of elderly women who want to make their book clubs more fun, and if I’m being honest, I sell to seniors just as often as I sell to millennials—believe it or not, our average customer is in their forties.

Do you know why? Well, it’s because The Greenery is the local shop for grownups. Customer service is just as important to us as the products we sell, so all our budtenders are trained thoroughly. You won’t find the archetypical stoned budtender in our shop, and none of us is the dazed and confused burnout you might’ve encountered in the tourist traps downtown. We care about your experience, not just your high, and if you’re looking for respect as well as the best marijuana in Durango, this is the place for you.

So, if you’re over twenty-one (or ninety-one) with a valid I.D. that proves it, come see us at 208 Parker Avenue right here in Durango, or call us at (970) 403-3710 if you’d like to talk with us before coming in, because no matter how old you are, We’re Your Best Buds!

RSO in Durango

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There’s still no such thing as genuine RSO in Durango, so I stand by the first blog I wrote about it that you can read HERE. Rick Simpson still lives in Croatia, and he still spends his days sending nastygrams to people in Colorado who slap Rick’s name on their oil. That being said, there’s something new we’re carrying in our Durango dispensary you need to know about: oil capsules from Sweet.

Let me back up and explain a couple things. Like I said in that first blog, Rick Simpson made his oil in his backyard with alcohol, cannabis, a bucket, and a stick. People think Rick Simpson oil is the bee’s knees because it was the first oil to become famous, but let me tell you, nowadays, we’ve progressed quite a bit since the “stick and bucket” days. So please, please, please believe me when I tell you that modern oils are better than the old ones, even though we don’t use Rick Simpson’s famous name.

To make cannabis oil today, we use liquid CO2, a pressurized stainless-steel vessel, and a rotary evaporator. See what I mean about progression? But here’s the important part: when most CO2 oil is produced, it’s winterized with ethanol to take out all the lipids and impurities to make the oil vaporizable, but most people looking for an edible oil want these things because they’re searching for “whole-plant” oil. So, Sweet listened when they made their CO2 oil capsules, and they skipped the winterization process; doing so allowed them to keep all the lipids and secondary plant compounds in their oil for that whole-plant effect people are looking for when they search for RSO.

The only other ingredient in the Sweet capsule is coconut oil, so you won’t need to worry about additives you can’t pronounce. And we sell 10-packs of these capsules (available in either Indica or Sativa) for $24 after tax. Each capsule delivers 10mg THC (and sometimes, a couple milligrams of CBD) for a total of 100mg THC per package. And if you’re looking for RSO, I’d recommend that you come in and try these capsules even though you won’t find Rick’s name anywhere on the packaging, because they were made with science instead of a stick. Sounds legit, right?

So, if you’re one of the many RSO-hunters who calls in daily or reads blogs like this (and you’re 21 or over with a valid I.D.), come see Your Best Buds at our Durango dispensary on 208 Parker Avenue, and we’ll send you on your way with the modern-day version of RSO!

Marijuana Dispensary Words

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Did you know that “sinsemilla” simply refers to a feminized cannabis plant, and that every strain of flower sold in modern-day dispensaries is in fact sinsemilla? I only ask because someone from the Baby Boomer generation comes in at least once a week and asks, “do you have any sinsemilla?” because that’s what good pot used to be called, and I wanted to set the record straight this week.

It’s the same story with “Thai stick,” which simply refers to old-school cannabis from Thailand wherein pot was wrapped tightly in a “stick” so it could be smuggled into the States. Most Baby Boomers think of Thai stick as the pinnacle of pot, and they all claim to have smoked it, when really, not many people have. And there’s nothing special about it in the first place: most of the cannabis that was smuggled in a few decades ago topped out at 10% THC, and we’ve got some Pineapple Trainwreck on our menu as I write this that’s pushing 30% THC, which blows anything old-school out of the water.

And now that I think about it, I shouldn’t stop with sinsemilla or Thai stick because there’s a litany of esoteric terms used in the cannabis industry, and if you don’t know them, it might sound like your budtender is speaking a foreign language during his or her spiel. And vice-versa, if you’re a Baby Boomer and you use words from your generation in a dispensary, there’s a damn good chance the twenty-five-years-old budtender you meet won’t have a clue what you’re talking about. So, this week, I’m going to talk about all the weird words we use to talk about pot, both now and way-back-when, so we can all be on the same page.

Let’s start with the word “marijuana” itself. A lot of people don’t like that word because it has racist roots (the word was used intentionally way back when to tie cannabis to Mexican drug runners rhetorically to smear cannabis), but it is what it is. And most people think that “marijuana” is a Spanish word, but it’s not: its root can be found in the Spanish word for oregano (“mejorana”) and the English word for oregano (“marjoram”), but nobody’s really sure where the word comes from (if you don’t believe me, ask Wikipedia HERE).

Secondly, there’s a huge difference between hemp and cannabis even though they share a scientific name: hemp cannot get you high, but cannabis is famous for it. Hemp is a tall leafy plant, and the products made from it (textiles and CBD oils) are legal in almost all fifty states; cannabis is a small bushy plant that’s legal only in smart states like Colorado.

Alright… let’s get to some specific words. Do you know the difference between a “joint,” a “pre-roll,” and a “blunt”? Well, the first is something you roll at home, the second is something you buy already rolled from a dispensary, and the third is something rolled with a tobacco wrapper. Of course, tobacco is illegal to sell in a dispensary, so the blunts we sell use a hemp wrapper (they’re awesome).

But if you like loose pot as opposed to joints, you’ve probably heard us refer to it as “flower” instead of “weed” or “pot” because that’s the new fancy term for bud these days. And if you think about it, it’s accurate because the part of the plant you smoke is indeed the “flower.” As to the bud itself, we call it the “cola” officially, but if the buds are small, we call it “popcorn” because the little buds resemble popcorn. And instead of “shake” (which refers to all the trimmed leaves), we call it “trim” because it’s more accurate.

Now, on to descriptive words. As a disclaimer, stoners are notoriously lazy, so most of the words we use to describe cannabis are just abused words. For example, if the flower is leafy instead of dense, we call it “larfy,” which is what it’d sound like if you said “leafy” with a mouthful of peanut butter. And if the flower is grown indoors, we call it “indo,” which is also a term used to describe good cannabis, just like “dank” or “kind.” And if the cannabis is grown hydroponically as opposed to in a soil medium, we call it “hydro” which is also another adjective used to describe good pot (even though the stuff that’s not “hydro” is better). See? We’re learning.

Alright, here come a bunch of words all at once: “OG” stands for “ocean-grown” and most of these strains originated on the Left Coast in California; “kush” refers to a relaxing Indica as does “skunk,” even though the latter strains smell like skunks; “haze” is a moniker that’s usually associated with potent Sativa strains; “diesel” and “chem” are designations associated with strains that smell like fuel or chemicals; words like “mota” or “ganja” or “cheeba” are simply regional names for cannabis. Did you get all that? I hope so. And I’m not going to get into the difference between Indica and Sativa because I’ve harped on that during more than one blog, just like I have when it comes to terpenes or “terps,” which are the compounds that give weed its flavor, smell, and secondary effect. But if you hear someone refer to a specific strain as a “mid” or a “craft mid,” it means that it’s a middle-grade strain that’s just okay.

Boom! Now we all know the same words and we’ll speak the same language when you come into our Durango dispensary. Things like that are important. So please, come see us at 208 Parker Avenue regardless of which words you use, because We’re Your Best Buds, and now we’re on the same page!

Dealing with your Friendly Neighborhood Dispensary Budtender

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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

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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 27th 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!

Total THC

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Occasionally, I’ll write one of these blogs, Faith will post it, and then I’ll realize I forgot something important. It’s frustrating. And it happened a few weeks ago when I told you how to tell the good from the bad when it comes to flower (for a refresher, click HERE) because I didn’t say anything about THC percentages… sorry about that.

I used to be a THC snob. Whenever I shopped for flower, the numbers were the first thing I looked at; smell and appearance took a back seat to potency. But those were ignorant days and working in a dispensary has changed my outlook. About a year ago, Sloane suggested that I try some Deep Chunk and I scoffed at the suggestion because the flower barely broke the fifteen-percent mark per THC. Sloane looked at me like I was an idiot and said, “don’t be a THC snob,” so I took her advice, and it was the right thing to do. The high from that flower was complex and perfect, and it was difficult for me to trust THC percentages from that point forward.

The reason is simple: there are well over one-hundred cannabinoids in cannabis, and THC is just one of them. So, the higher the THC percentage climbs, the lower everything else falls. But that’s something I’ve written about before, and now, things have become even more complicated because the scientists have gotten involved.

You see, flower has a very low level of active THC; most of the THC in bud is actually THCa (the acid form of the cannabinoid). When you burn flower, the THCa is decarboxylated by the heat and it turns into THC, which gets you high. Get it? THC needs to be activated by heat to make you feel good (that’s why it doesn’t do anything if you eat a handful of flower). And about a month ago, the scientists thought that THCa converted over evenly into THC. So, hypothetically, if a strain of flower had a 28% THCa percentage, it was thought to give you 28% THC after you smoked it, but that’s not the case.

durango, colorado, the greenery, dispensaries durango, durango dispensaries, durango dispensary, dispensary, dispensariesNow, only .877 of the THCa turns into THC once it’s decarboxylated. So now, when we have a strain of flower that tests at that hypothetical mark of 28% THCa, it’ll be labeled as containing “24.5% Total THC.” Isn’t that confusing? And the reason I’m writing this for you is that this new conversion formula doesn’t apply only to flower—it’s also used to determine the potency of concentrates, and as such, it’s something I get asked about every day as a budtender.

For instance, we’re selling some Zero Gravity shatter right now that contains 799mg of THCa, and a couple months ago, it would’ve been labeled as providing 79.9% THC. But now, after the new conversion, the label says “70.3% total THC.” See what I mean? The percentage for the flower example I gave you really didn’t change that much due to the new equation, but the percentage on the shatter dropped by nearly ten percent. And at least once a day, I encounter an irritated customer who wants to know why our “concentrates are so much weaker than they used to be.”

That’s the frustrating part. At least once a day because it really does look like our Durango dispensary has started selling less-potent concentrates, when really, all we’re doing is using a new mandated formula to figure out total THC.

But you don’t need to worry about that because you’re reading this. And you really don’t need to worry about that because you know We’re Your Best Buds, and if you bring your valid I.D. proving that you’re twenty-one or over into our dispensary at 208 Parker Avenue, one of our knowledgeable budtenders will show you the new labeling requirements and prove that our concentrates are just as potent as they used to be. That’s the type of service and information you get when you come to The Greenery (it’s what makes us different), and frankly, you shouldn’t expect anything less.

Blunts in Durango

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Blunts were special things when I was younger because they combined two things I wasn’t supposed to have: marijuana and tobacco. My friends and I would buy one of those nasty Swisher Sweets with a honey-dipped tip, break it open to scrape out all the brown stuff, and then we’d fill it with way too much pot. We’d light it and smoke it with exaggerated nonchalance, kind of like we were godfathers in an old-school gangster movie. The smoke was harsh and the high was too intense, but those were ridiculous days.

When I moved to Colorado, long before landing this dream job, I got in one of those nostalgic moods that make old people famous, and I started shopping around for dispensaries that sell blunts. I didn’t find any. As it turns out, it’s illegal to sell both tobacco and cannabis in the same place (even though you can sell alcohol and tobacco in one place, which makes no sense whatsoever). So, I gave up, because I was way too old to buy a Swisher Sweet and act like a godfather.

But then a few weeks ago, someone from District 8 called us to tell us about a promotion he was running to help the foodbank right here in Durango during the 416 Fire; he committed to donating one food item for every pack of blunts that we sold. That was super cool, but wait… how’d he manage to get around that nonsensical “tobacco and cannabis aren’t allowed to be sold in the same place” rule?

Hemp.

District 8 has figured out a way to cure hemp paper until it’s brown and musky, just like a tobacco wrap. They dip their hemp blunts in honey for that sweet tip blunt-lovers remember from the Swisher Sweet days, and District 8 nailed it. Each pack of blunts contains two half-gram hemp cones that’re filled with 100% pesticide-free flower. And District 8 always uses strain-specific bud, not trim. Their blunts are nicotine-free but you still get that tobacco taste, each one is the perfect size for one or two people, so nothing is wasted, and these things smell amazing, like a humidor filled with cannabis.

However, there’s an issue: Durango seems to love these things. As I’m writing this, we only have four packs left, but we’ll hopefully have more for you by the time you read this if everything goes well. So, if you’re a fan of blunts, or if you’ve never tried one and you’d like something a bit more robust than a traditional pre-roll, bring your valid I.D. proving that you’re twenty-one or over to Your Best Buds at 208 Parker Avenue and we’ll hook you up!