Ask a Budtender

Alyssa Jackson is 23 years old and hails from Northern California/Oregon. She has been a budtender at the Wheelhouse Dispensary in Port Hueneme for a little over a year and a half and has always had a passion for cannabis and being a part of the industry. Besides being a budtender, Alyssa is also an artist, an actress, a makeup artist and enjoys dancing in public and singing to strangers. The main goal in her life is to be a little out of the ordinary and to make people smile and laugh. “I want the world to be a little brighter where it can — this is a very harsh place most of the time but I aim to smother that harshness with love and kindness … and some cannabis.”

In general, have customers become more open about what they are seeking as far as CBD/THC treatment/ use?

I have found customers are very open and a lot of times eager to share what they are looking for as far as THC/ CBD products. There are several times throughout the day when people express all sorts of different reasons and needs for cannabis. I am always very interested in hearing customers’ stories as to why they consume, everything from very serious health needs to just finally relaxing and getting some genuine dopamine. I have noticed most people love informing me about why they are seeking out cannabis.

Making the environment comfortable is one of my main goals in helping a customer. I find if they feel comfortable and welcomed they tend to share more which honestly helps me find what’s going to work best for them. Not everyone wants to share their reasoning but I am seeing that’s becoming less common as people get more aware of the wonderful benefits of cannabis.

Do you have a preference of edibles vs. smoking? If so, why?

I personally love both edibles and smoking, but I smoke more than I consume edibles. For the most part, I smoke. I enjoy the act and the ritual of it all and of course the immediate effects. There’s nothing quite like packing a beautiful bowl or taking a nice terpy dab.

A good Sativa to start my morning, throughout the day I go between hybrid and Sativa and then end my night with a good heavy indica. Edibles I live off of for my sleep mostly, I suffer from pretty gnarly insomnia and edibles with the magic component CBN are my best friends. For those who don’t know, CBN works directly with the REM cycle in the brain and helps it activate so you fall asleep and, more importantly, stay asleep. I enjoy all the different ways we can consume this fantastic plant, the more options the better in my opinion.

Is there a customer success story you’d like to share?

There are many customer success stories but there is one that stands out the most. I was helping this woman quite a few months back, and I could tell as soon as she walked in she was in pain. We got to talking and she shared with me that she had recently been diagnosed with kidney disease and her kidneys were starting to fail her. I had much compassion for her, as someone with family members with the same disease I felt very deeply for her knowing how scared and disoriented she must be feeling.

We formed a really strong bond right away when we shared our personal experiences with each other. I found some products that I thought might help make her feel a bit better, emotionally and physically. She came back a few days later and I helped her again, tears filled her eyes as she thanked me for finding something she loved and really worked for her and for making her feel so comfortable and cared about. She still comes into the shop all the time and she’s been able to stay off a lot of pharmaceuticals and consume cannabis instead. It’s a treat helping her out and I feel very fortunate to see her progress and be able to get her the natural medicine she needs.

If you could let the public know one thing about cannabis, what would it be?

If I can share one thing about cannabis with the public, it is simply that cannabis is magical. It’s not something to be afraid of, if anything we need more education out there on the benefits of cannabis.

For so long it has been demonized but I think this plant could help so many people; I feel if we were more aware of all the lovely science that goes into weed now it wouldn’t be as scary to some people.

Cannabis goes much deeper than “getting stoned,” it’s an entire world of possibility. The weed world is much different now, if you’re getting it from a legit dispensary everything has been tested in a lab and is safe. I trust smoking or taking an edible way more than I would trust taking a pharmaceutical, I know exactly what’s going into my body. The list of benefits is endless and I can’t even take an over-the-counter pain killer without fear of what it will do to my liver. I never worry about that when I’m smoking, I simply don’t have to because I know my weed is not going to kill me. It’s a super plant, we just need to understand it as a society better so it’s not this big scary “drug” and we can see it for what it is, a wonder plant.

How did you gain your canna-knowledge?

I have been accumulating canna-knowledge since I was pretty young, my parents have always consumed so it was a part of my life from birth basically. When I was a teenager is when I started getting curious about what weed really was all about. I smoked but I didn’t know what I was smoking and so I started doing my own research. I started growing my own plants and helping others grow, I was making my own dab (or concentrate) and was trying to get into anything weed-related. I did my own thing for quite a few years and self-learned many things off the internet and from friends/ family.

Then a little over a year and a half ago I finally got into one of my dream jobs, being a budtender! It was mostly handson learning but at our dispensary, all of us have to pass a full educational training on all the many aspects of cannabis. That was insanely beneficial and helped me excel way more when it came to explaining and understanding cannabis. There’s always room to learn more though so I constantly seek out all the knowledge I can, especially when it comes to my favorite plant.

What’s a special talent a budtender has that makes them perfect for the job?

A special talent a budtender should have is being personable and knowledgeable. I try very hard to greet every customer with positive energy and with as much honest knowledge as I have. Being able to be friendly and inviting is key, in my opinion, people will want to come back to you specifically if you give them a genuine happy feeling. My main goal in every shift with every person is to have them leave with something that will actually help them and a smile on their face. I feel it’s very important to be informative and educate people, while of course smiling and showing them you’re here to make their day a better one.

Any product recommendations?

There are honestly so many products out there I love very dearly but I do have some top ones that stick out to me. For flower I love basically anything from Fresh Baked or Northern Emeralds, they both have beautiful and delicious bud. When it comes to concentrate Papas Select and Dablogic have my heart without a doubt. For edibles, Wyld gummies are my ride or die, if you have sleeping problems like me try their elderberry CBN gummies, they have truly saved me from so much sleep deprivation.

Wheelhouse Cannabis Dispensary is located at 521 W. Channal Islands Blvd, Suite 1, Port Hueneme, CA. Find them online at wheelhouseph.com