marijuana dispensary Archives | Page 11 of 16

Posted on September 8, 2018 - 8:06 pm

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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!

Dispensary FAQs

Posted on August 11, 2018 - 9:00 am

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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!

Blunts in Durango

Posted on July 23, 2018 - 6:40 pm

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!

CBD in Durango

Posted on June 30, 2018 - 9:00 am

CBD stands for “Cannabidiol.” I wanted to say that right off the bat because most people think “CBD” is an acronym that stands for something (like “cannabis, because duh”), but it’s not—it’s simply an abbreviation, just like “THC,” which stands for “tetrahydrocannabinol.”

But what CBD does is more important than what it means: Cannabidiol is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid (meaning it doesn’t get you high) that may help people with anxiety, inflammation, or pain management. This is the stuff that puts the “medicine” in “medicinal marijuana,” and it’s becoming quite popular. In fact, the FDA just approved the first-ever marijuana-derived CBD pharmaceutical to treat epilepsy (read the article HERE), Walmart is selling CBD products derived from hemp, and one of our local pet shops is even selling CBD-infused dog treats, which should tell you something about this compound’s popularity and efficacy. However, since you’re reading this, you probably aren’t a dog, so I’ll focus on what CBD can do for humans instead of for pets.

In short, CBD is awesome. I’ve had a few people come in to ask, “does CBD cure cancer?” because they’ve heard rumors. I wish this were true (we’d be a lot busier if it were), but unfortunately, CBD hasn’t been studied enough to prove what it can or cannot do. So, for now, I can only tell you what CBD “may” do:

• If you’re an anxious person who clams up when life comes flying your way, CBD may take the edge off. In fact, we have a slew of customers who buy CBD products to combat their PTSD, and they swear by the calming effects of this popular cannabinoid.

• Personally, I feel like I’ve taken a handful of ibuprofen after a dose of CBD. This stuff beats the pain down for me, and it does so without the side effects that make pills so infamous.

• Other than that, CBD is renowned for its possible anti-inflammation abilities. Swelling, redness, discomfort: CBD is something to experiment with if you suffer from any of these maladies.

Alright… that covers what CBD might do for you, so now we need to talk about how to use CBD, and it’d be easiest to list a few of our bestselling CBD products and let you decide which one might be best:

1.) Incredible Power: There are quite a few CBD-dominant strains of flower out there, but most people come in asking for Charlotte’s Web because it’s the most famous. However, I’d argue that Incredible Power is better because it contains around 12% THC and 15% CBD, as where Charlotte’s Web is lower in both categories. This flower is a slightly indica-leaning hybrid, so it’s doubly relaxing, and it’s definitely a shop-favorite.

2.) Chroma CBD Distillate by Evolab. If smoking flower is a bit too harsh, I’d suggest this cartridge for a vape option. Frankly, Evolab makes the best vape oils known to man. These cartridges fit on any universal 510-threaded battery, and the 500mg of oil contained in each one comes in at 56% CBD and about 17% THC. If you’re looking for the highest concentration of CBD in a high-quality vape product, there’s nothing better than the Chroma CBD cartridge.

3.) CBD Therapy Pucks by Highly Edible: If you’re not a smoker, there are plenty of edible CBD options out there, and this product is a perfect place to start. These gummy pucks come in peach or golden strawberry, and each serving contains 20mg CBD and 2mg THC, so this product will provide the relief of CBD without the high of THC.

4.) Ripple Relief: If you’re not a smoker and you don’t like the calories that come from edibles, there’s still an option for you. Ripple is an odorless, tasteless, instantly-dissolvable powder that can be added to any drink (or spaghetti sauce, for that matter) to turn it into a CBD-infused edible. Each serving contains 10mg CBD and 0.5mg THC so this won’t get you high either, but the best part is that drinks usually take effect sooner than other edibles, so Ripple can deliver relief much sooner than other products.

5.) Mary Jane’s Salve: If you don’t want to smoke or eat anything, but you still want to try CBD, this topical is our bestselling option for you. Topical salves are favorites among people who suffer from arthritis, muscle pain, or severe dry skin. And if you’ve never tried cannabis-infused salves, we have a 2oz trial size that’s perfect for first-timers; it contains 60mg THC (but it still won’t get you high) and 20mg CBD per jar.

Of course, we have about seventeen-billion other CBD-infused options available for sale in our Durango dispensary (including quite a few that have a perfect 1:1 balance between CBD and THC) and this list barely scratches the surface, so if you’d like more options, check out our menu HERE.

And yes, as one last note, you can in fact purchase CBD products online, but they’re derived from hemp rather than cannabis, so they don’t contain any THC (which is why you can buy these products online). This might sound like a good thing to those of you who are looking for CBD’s relief without THC’s buzz, but it isn’t because of one thing: the “entourage effect.”

It’d take a blog of its own to tell you all about the entourage effect, but in short, they (scientists) have found that CBD is most effective when combined with other cannabinoids such as THC because the compounds work together synergistically to provide a better effect. So, even if you’ve tried the hemp-version of CBD that provides CBD all by itself, you might have better luck with a product that provides both CBD and THC, even if the THC percentage is minimal like it is in the five products I listed above.

So please, if you’re over twenty-one with a valid form of identification (a driver’s license is peachy) and you’re looking for a little CBD relief, come see Your Best Buds at 208 Parker Avenue in Durango, Colorado, and we’ll tell you and show you everything you need to know about CBD!

June’s Best Bud of the Month

Posted on June 23, 2018 - 9:00 am

Roy Williams
CEO Madrone Farms

About your Best Bud:

Roy doesn’t work for The Greenery, but he’s your Best Bud for June, and here’s why: he cares about Durango.

When the 416 Fire started rolling through our forests, many of our vendors sent us well wishes, which was nice, but their thoughts didn’t do much to help the community. But Roy took things a bit further—instead of positive thoughts, he sent us a half-pound of the best new-school hash on the planet from Madrone Farms. He didn’t charge us for it; he didn’t ask for any credit whatsoever; he asked only that we sell his hash for $15 per-gram and then donate all the proceeds to our community. Isn’t that insanely awesome?!

And no, that price wasn’t a typo even though if you’ve smoked Madrone’s hash before, you probably still don’t believe me. These guys really do make the best wax on earth, and we usually sell it for $45 per-gram after tax because the quality demands such a price tag. But like I said, this coming Monday, were going to offer grams of Cocoa Krisp Wax and Royal Hulk Berry Sugar Wax from Madrone to our community for $15 each (before tax) while supplies last, and per Roy’s request, we’re going to donate every penny we make directly to those affected by the 416 Fire. So today, we thought you should meet the man who made it possible:

Q. When did you start working for Madrone?
Roy. “I’ve been here since day one in Colorado. I took over full operations of running the lab and the grow four months ago.”

Q. What’s your favorite way to enjoy marijuana?
Roy. “Blunts. Blunts all day!”

Q. What’s your favorite outdoor activity?
Roy. “Walking along Boulder Creek.”

Q. Tell us about your pet.
Roy. “It’s a one-hundred-and-ten-pound gentle giant. Daisy, the Dogo Aregentino.”

Q. Which station do you stream while you’re working at Madrone?
Roy. “I kind of let YouTube decide for me.”

Q. What do you like most about working in this industry?
Roy. “The people. The industry as a whole has become a giant family. We all have a common love, cannabis. It’s easy to get along with your coworkers when they love their job as much as you do.”

That Q&A only gives an inkling as to Roy’s awesomeness, so please trust us when we say that he and his company represent the best of the best in this industry. To prove it, we’re going to honor Roy’s request and sell his wax all next week (until it runs out) for the ludicrous price of $15 per gram, and we’re going to donate every penny made to The Community Emergency Relief Fund that’s been set up The Community Foundation to benefit those affected by the 416 Fire (and if you’d like to make a donation, you can read more about the fund HERE).

So, if you’re over twenty-one with a valid I.D., come see your Best Buds at 208 Parker Avenue next week and pick up a gram (or eight) of Madrone’s wax to fight fire with Fire and support your community in a way that matters. Thank you, Roy!

How to Identify Quality Marijuana

Posted on June 9, 2018 - 9:00 am

Part of me wants to say, “go to The Greenery and look at our marijuana because that’s what quality looks like,” but I’m not going to do that to you. I’ve been writing these blogs long enough to assume that I’ve built up a bit of ethos with at least one of you, and I don’t want to lose your trust. So, this week, I’m going to teach you how to tell the good from the bad when it comes to all the green stuff that’s on the market.

I see it every day: someone new will walk into our shop and look down at the twelve strains we have on display, and they’ll have no clue where to start. But can you blame them? Some of our strains are purple, some have white crystals and orange hairs. Some strains are neon green and some are dark as moss. How’s a newbie supposed to figure out what’s what? There are well over four-thousand named strains of marijuana and they all look different—if I didn’t work with weed all day every day, I probably wouldn’t know where to start either. So, when a new customer looks up from our display and asks, “um, how do I tell which one is good?”, I tell them these things:

1.) Look at the pot.

I know that sounds stupid, but it isn’t as easy as you’d think to tell whether flower is “quality” just by looking at it. We all know what good food looks like because food has been legal forever, but pot hasn’t, so for that first-time shopper, all the visual differences can be difficult to judge. So, one of the first things to look for is density, and that’s what I tell our customers. Pick up one of our display jars and shake it a bit. If the pot rattles around like a little rock, it’s dense, which is good because it means the flower is highly resinous, and that it was grown and cured properly. If the pot feels light like a ball of grass, it’s “larfy.”

For the record, I’ll admit freely that most of the words we use to describe cannabis are ridiculous, and they’re usually lazy versions of real words. For example, the word “larfy” means “leafy,” and it’s the term used in the marijuana industry use to describe fluffy pot, which usually isn’t as good as the dense stuff. And the “usually” matters, because sometimes, a fluffy strain (like the 30% THC King Kong we’re selling right now) will come along that’s better than a lot of the dense stuff.

Secondly, look for crystals. Technically, the crystals are dehydrated trichomes (the resinous glands that grow out of a plant’s epidermis), but all you really need to know is that crystal-covered flower is usually awesome because plants that produce a ton of crystals are usually potent and flavorful, and that’s always a good thing.

Third, check the bud structure. Round or conical buds are usually the best because the shape suggests the plants were grown properly. For instance, if you see long spindles of bud shooting off here and there (these are called “foxtails”), it could mean that the plant was grown with too much heat, which will affect the taste and cannabinoid content. But again, the “usually” matters, because there are a few awesome strains out there (like Casey Jones) that grow foxtails no matter how they’re cultivated.

2.) Smell the pot.

Again, it’s not nearly as easy as it sounds. Just like a fine wine, good pot will have a distinct “nose,” and even though it sounds snobby, we use that word in our industry too. But it’s tricky to pick out pot by its smell. You wouldn’t think it, but some of the best strains smell bad. The UK Cheese we sell in our shop from time to time smells like a mild cheddar, but the taste is creamy and the high is spectacular. We sell a Sour Diesel strain that smells like a gas station, but the high is energetic and blissful. And we sell a Chem Dog strain that smells like bleached linoleum, but again, the high is perfect.

My point here is that you need to reevaluate what you consider to be a “good” smell and start sniffing for specifics. After all, a flower’s smell is determined by its terpene content, and different terpenes do different things. For example, if you come into our shop, smell one of our display jars, and encounter a musky, skunk-like smell, the strain you’re sniffing most likely contains a high concentration of B-Myrcene, which is a terpene that’s thought to provide relaxation and pain-management possibilities.

And you can do this proactively: if you’re looking for an uplifting strain, avoid the skunk smells and sniff around for something that smells like pine or lemons—these smells come from the terpenes Pinene and d-Limonene respectively, and they’re famous for day-crushing energy and creativity.

3.) Lastly, ask questions.

There are a few other visual cues and at least ten more terpenes that really matter, so come in and ask one of our budtenders to explain what you’re looking at and smelling. Tell them the type of high you’re looking for and your quality/price range, and our budtenders will point you in the right direction, because I promise they’ve looked at and sniffed more pot than most of us could ever hope to. And the iPads we use to ring you up when you shop at The Greenery double as computers; we’ll always take the time to look up answers to your questions if we don’t know them readily.

So, if you’re over twenty-one with a valid I.D., come to The Greenery at 208 Parker Avenue. We’ll show you our quality marijuana, and we’ll take the time to explain the differences, because We’re Your Best Buds!

Things to do in Durango

Posted on June 2, 2018 - 9:00 am

Did you know there’s more to do in Durango than buy marijuana from The Greenery? I know… it’s crazy.

In a way, I’ve been doing you a disservice by only talking about cannabis and not telling you about all the other things this town has to offer. And I know it for a fact because lately, the tourists who find us on Google mention these blogs, but then turn around and ask, “so, what should we do while we’re in town?” Well, I apologize, and for this post, I’m going to talk about Durango instead of the best dispensary in it. Here we go:

***

I’m never moving.

This town has all the best parts of home without Alaska’s winter darkness, and it has all the best parts of Colorado without Denver’s crowd. The only way this town could be better is if it had a saltwater beach and palm trees hidden somewhere in the south, because Durango has everything else. We have rivers and mountains and culture and history and a ton of love, and this place has become my home, which is a rare thing for an Alaskan because most of us are clingy when it comes to what we call “home.”

But Durango is also The Greenery’s home more so than it is mine. The Greenery was born here, and our business model was breed by locals. We’re staffed with locals, we’re the local’s spot, and even if you’re not a local, we’ll treat you like one while you’re here. If you walked in and asked us what you should do after stopping at The Greenery (quite a few people really do come straight from the airport), we’d tell you to go see these places:

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

Did you know that our hometown train was the one in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and that Robert Redford and Paul Newman rode that train? It blew my mind when I figured that out, even though to my daughter, Paul Newman is “that guy who makes salad dressing and lemonade.”

And even though our train creeps through our town seventeen-hundred times a day blowing that dissonant whistle and belching plumes of smoke, I love that thing. I love that there’s still a real-life steam engine that’s fed with coal, and I love that you can ride it along the cliffs or walk along the tracks and pick up heavy chunks of its black food. If you’re visiting Durango, you need to click on the link at the top of this paragraph and see our train.

The Animas River

This river got its name thanks to all the souls it took when this town was being founded back in the late eighteen-hundreds, so if you’re visiting and you want to raft the Animas, I’d suggest taking a guide like 4 Corners Whitewater. Those people know what they’re doing.

But if you just want to sit by our river and smell what Colorado is about, we have miles of the Animas running through town, and it’s crossed by bridges and bordered by trails. Just go find the river and then spend a day enjoying it. That’s all it takes.

Purgatory Ski Resort

It doesn’t matter if you like skiing when it snows or doing backflips on a mountain bike during the summer months: Purgatory has it all. They have trampolines and ziplines and big-ass slides and a lake for paddle boarding. If you like outside, Purgatory is the place for you while you’re in Durango.

Powerhouse Science Center

If you have kids, take them here. Or if you’re an adult who acts like a kid when you get stoned, go here. This huge, brick-built building once powered all of Durango, but now it sits restored along the banks of our river, and it’s packed with science and educational fun (which I swear to you is a real thing). The Powerhouse is close to downtown, so you can learn things and then take a short walk to buy and eat things.

Ska Brewing

This place is to beer as The Greenery is to bud. That’s all I’ll say.

***

But even after reading all of that, it’s not like you can’t walk into The Greenery and ask, “so, what should we do while we’re in town?” because most of our budtenders know more about Durango than I do. Everyone has his or her favorite spot or attraction, and it never hurts to ask. So, come see Your Best Buds at 208 Parker Avenue if you’re over twenty-one with a valid I.D., and we’ll share our home with you, right along with the best marijuana in Durango.

Top Shelf Marijuana in Durango

Posted on May 26, 2018 - 9:00 am

Word abuse should be illegal. That way, if someone said “irregardless” or something else nonsensical, real-life grammar police could come along and issue a citation while the rest of us watched and shook our heads slowly. But grammar police aren’t real, and believe it or not, the word “irregardless” has been added to most unabridged dictionaries simply because it’s been said enough times to become a real word; the definition in Webster’s is “regardless.”

And the idiocy doesn’t stop there: if you look closely enough, you can find “gourmet” foods in the gas station, or “artisanal” meals in the frozen foods aisle. I mean seriously, is a TV dinner actually “artisanal” if you have to microwave it? Does the raw cardboard packaging really mean that what’s inside is somehow better than anything else you find next to the frozen waffles? No. It’s just advertising, word-doctoring, and it’s insidious, when you think about it.

True, I work in sales and advertising, so it’s possible that I’ve gerrymandered semantics a time or two, but in the end, I’ve found that honesty really is the best policy—gas station “gourmet” food will get you sick, and then just a little bit, the word “gourmet” loses some of its meaning, which is the reason word abuse should be illegal in the first place.

It’s no better in the marijuana industry. There are plenty of dispensaries that throw around the word “organic” even though their products are anything but (since marijuana is federally illegal, it isn’t regulated by the FDA, so people use the word “organic” without oversight). But the worst case of word abuse in this industry is the misuse of the term “top shelf marijuana.” It’s frustrating, so please pay attention to this: marijuana cannot be “top-shelf marijuana” just because someone put it on the top shelf. It irks me to no end because at least once a day, someone will come in and ask why our top-shelf strains are costlier than the ones downtown.

I’m always kind to these customers, because after I thought about it for a while, I realized it wasn’t their fault—they’d been lied to thanks to all the false advertising in other Durango dispensaries, and if anything, they deserve the truth (literally, I have a T shirt that says “grammar police” on the front). So, I take my time with these misguided customers, and I tell them this:

At The Greenery, our top-shelf marijuana is on the top shelf because it’s the best cannabis on earth.

My boss would get uber pissed at me if I told you exactly how we operate our grow because that’s the kind of knowledge people pay us to learn, but I can tell you that we’re straight-up scientists: our growers run around and shoot lasers at our plants to make sure the canopy temperature is perfect; we drop particulate gasses on the fanleaves of our plants to help them breathe; we use light-emitting ceramic bulbs and engineered growing mediums and all sorts of super-secret stuff, but I’ve already said too much. My point here is that our buds really are Your Best Buds because there’s no shelf in Durango that’s higher than our top shelf.

Why? The other guys use hydroponics and nasty-ass greenhouse grows just so they can pump out as much mid-range pot as they can. The other guys don’t take their time when they’re trimming or curing. The other guys take subpar pot, slap a “top shelf” label on it, and then piss me off because like I said, word abuse should be illegal. Yes, you’ll pay more for true top-shelf cannabis, but that’s how life works. Good beer costs more than the stuff with a blue ribbon on the front, good food costs more than the frozen stuff, and good marijuana costs more than the pesticide-sprayed stuff that’s sold elsewhere in this town. I’m sure that sounds harsh, but it’s true.

So come see us at our Durango dispensary on 208 Parker Avenue and talk to one of our budtenders. We’ll take our time and show you the difference between our “top shelf” and all the others. We’ll let you smell the difference between ours and theirs, and once you smoke it and taste the terpene-rich awesomeness, the term “top shelf marijuana” will start to mean something again.

May’s Best Bud of the Month

Posted on May 19, 2018 - 9:00 am

Jesse Anderson
Sales Manager, Staff Writer, Budtender, Guy Who Vacuums the Warehouse

For this particular blog, our normal blogging mastermind had to take a back seat. It’s finally his turn to be our Best Bud! He actually offered to write his own profile, but alas, we could not allow any such thing. So here we go…

About your Best Bud:

Jesse is a man of many wonders, and a few oddities, but we love him all the same. His Alaska roots show in his honest and easy demeanor, his role as a father shines in his kind and compassionate interactions with others, and his freakishly large brain acts as an in-house cannabis supercomputer spewing out fact after fact on everything and anything related to marijuana.

If you’ve had the pleasure of being helped in our Durango dispensary by Jesse, you know exactly what I mean. Or if you’ve purchased wholesale hash from Jesse, you know what I mean. Or if you’ve been lucky enough to read his weekly blogs, you know what I mean. He’s pretty damn awesome and that’s why Jesse is our (long overdue) Best Bud of the Month!

Q. When did you start working for The Greenery?
Jesse. “April 27^th, 2017.”

Q. What’s your favorite way to enjoy marijuana?
Jesse. “I’m a huge fan of fruity flower like Strawberry Banana, and I’m old, so I smoke joints. But as a father who appreciates discretion, I also love the PAX Era vape system we just started selling, and edibles are always fun.”

Q. What’s your favorite outdoor activity?
Jesse. “I try to keep up with my wife while she mountain bikes ahead of me, but I only pretend to like it, and if I’m being honest, I’d much rather be people-watching because this town is perfect for it.”

Q. Tell us about your pet.
Jesse. “We have a nine-weeks-old black Pug puppy named Yoda who spends his time looking ridiculously cute and pooping on things.”

Q. Which station do you stream while you’re working at The Greenery?
Jesse. “I always let other people pick the music while I work because I’m the type of person who listens to songs over and over again, and I got sick of my music years ago.”

Q. What do you like most about working at The Greenery?
Jesse. “I love that I can be myself while working here because I had to be someone else in my past career. And I love traveling the state while I sell The Greenery Hash Factory’s hash on the wholesale market—I never thought a career like this could exist legally, and at least once a day, I say to myself, ‘take that, guidance counselor.’”

See, guidance counselor, Jesse turned out to be more than employed, he’s an asset that we are thankful for every day. He’s also a rad dad and husband (side note, his wife is also super cool), and I think our world could use a lot more Jesses.

Visit our Durango dispensary and ask Jesse to help you out. You will learn more than you could have imagined about cannabis and you will leave feeling a little better about the world. As Jesse says, ‘How could you not be happy? We are selling legal marijuana!’.

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