5 minute read
THE BUDTENDER
THE BUDTENDER DIARIES:
QUESTIONS PATIENTS SHOULD ASK THEIR BUDTENDERS
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BY ANNA ERVIN
Potentially one of the most intimidating things about visiting a dispensary as a new patient is knowing the right questions to ask. From a budtender’s perspective, it’s easy to say “just ask about the terpenes,” or “pay attention to the lineage” but what if you’re only just beginning to embark on your journey into cannabis education? Topics like terpenes and genetics might feel a bit overwhelming, but this doesn’t make them any less important.
When I first began shopping for legal cannabis, I lived in Denver, and my experiences in dispensaries were borderline traumatic. I remember feeling like a burden to the budtenders who didn’t seem to think any of my questions were valid, much less did they want to answer them. To be fair, many of my questions sounded like “what are you smoking,” which I now fully recognize is a loaded question (again, this doesn’t make it any less important).
Questions are an invitation to provide education, transparency, and empowerment for our patients. It’s the customer’s way of saying, “please help me make an informed decision on the medicine I’m purchasing.” In turn, a budtender’s responsibility is to offer as many resources as possible.
So where to begin? I recently shared a post on The Budtender Diaries Instagram page asking my followers to contribute the most helpful questions patients can ask their dispensaries. Today I wanted to dive into why some of those questions are so important, and how both patients and budtenders can navigate the discussion in a way that offers education and transparency.
I’M INTERESTED IN THIS PRODUCT, CAN I SEE THE COA?
Certificates of Analysis can tell you almost everything you need to know about a product. When it comes to flower, the COA will show you who cultivated it, when it was harvested, when it was tested, and what those lab results provided. Extracts, topicals and edibles are a bit trickier, as they don’t often provide the full details, such as who originally cultivated the flower before extraction and processing (always room for improvement).
Every dispensary in compliance with state regulations should have COA’s readily available. Even if you don’t understand the test results right away, this is a great place to help you start asking your budtender questions about a specific product.
When purchasing flower, it’s important to remem-
ber that different types of growers use various cultivation methods. This is a topic I would love to dive into further, but for now, simply finding out what works best for you is the goal. The different nutrients, pesticides, herbicides, and especially the curing methods used in cultivation can affect the flavor, aroma, and experience that the final product offers; and the extraction methods used for processing concentrates, topicals, and edibles carry an even greater influence.
To dive deeper into this topic you can ask if flower is organic or conventional, what types of pesticides or herbicides were used in cultivation, and what types of solvents (if any) were used for the extraction of concentrates, topicals, and edibles.
WHAT ARE THE CANNABINOID AND TERPENE PERCENTAGES? WHAT ARE THE PREDOMINANT TERPENES IN THIS PRODUCT AND WHAT ARE THEIR REPORTED BENEFITS?
Believe me when I say that cannabinoids and terpenes can feel like overwhelming topics to dive into at first, but once you begin to understand their individual effects, you can’t help but pay attention to them. Common cannabinoids are THC, CBD, CBG, and CBN, and your budtender can tell you more about the reported benefits of each. Products with high THC percentages will provide more of a psychotropic experience than products dominant in CBD. Terpenes, on the other hand, will help you identify the flavors and aromas that you most enjoy, as well as enhance the overall experience.
Ask your budtender which terpenes are reported to provide an active, euphoric experience, and which might provide a relaxing, sedative effect. If either of you finds yourself stumped, you can always refer to online resources to tell you more.
WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING?
out, and this one helps me get creative, while this one puts me right to sleep…”
Don’t be afraid to get specific with your questions: Can you recommend something that will help my body relax, but won’t make me sleepy? If I’ve enjoyed this strain in the past, what would you recommend that’s similar?
The Budtender Diaries is a multi-media platform that aims to provide educational resources and opportunities for budtenders and patients. If you are a member of this community, you have the potential to help create an industry that benefits both patients and the makers of their medicine. If you have questions, stories, or topics you’d like to add to the conversation, please submit them to anna@ herbagemag.com.
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The return of the loaded question. Budtenders tend to either love or hate this one, but to me, this question invites a deep discussion on the benefits of various cultivars. It took me a long time to figure out how to answer this one, as I enjoy so many different products for various things. But when it came down to it, that’s exactly how I explained it to my patients. “Well, I use this strain as a pre-work-
Dispensary Locations:
372 Bryan Drive Ste 112, Durant OK, 74701 700 S Air Depot Blvd Ste D, Midwest City, OK 73110 2412 E Highway 37, Tuttle, OK 73089 10401 S Pennsylvania Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73159 121 S Main St, Stillwater, OK 74074
barkerenterprises420@gmail.com 405-501-1774
