I know, it's tough. You walk into a new dispensary for the first time, and you're immediately shown to a shelf with about a hundred and twenty different kinds of weed on it.
While you're trying to get your breathing back on track and keep your joy under control, the budtender behind the counter is most likely expecting you to already know what you want. She's got people waiting, after all.
Where do you begin? How can you possibly get the most out of your bud stop with so many choices?
It's easier than you may think, if you have a nose.
If you don't have a nose, it will be considerably more difficult for you, but just let me know and we'll figure it out together.
Welcome back to another issue of High On Dispensaries!
Here you'll find tips and tricks on how to navigate the"budding" legal cannabis industry in high Colorado. I'm a manager at a shop called High Valley Cannabis. If you ever find yourself in the most beautiful part of Colorado, come see us.
Take Smelling Seriously
Lots of my customers miss out on the best possible cannabis experience for them.
I hate to see it, but some people are in a hurry, and others are convinced that "weed is weed is weed." Whatever the reason, people tend to not give their nose a fair chance.
As a customer, I've never visited a dispensary that doesn't allow the opportunity to smell before buying, an opportunity of which full advantage should be taken.
In Colorado, recreational dispensaries are required to have separate display jars and supply jars. The display jars are simply for looking and smelling. Relax, the contents of the display jars are never actually sold to customers. The bud that is sold comes from larger supply jars, which haven't had a hundred people's noses all up in them.
The point is, it's always easy for the budtender to give you a quick look and smell. You'll want to make sure you get a good, full smell.
I haven't worked long in the industry (none of us have, really) but I've smelled hundreds of different strains. Nothing is the same.
Some smells will hit you like a piece of candy.
It's pretty simple. If you want to eat that smell, if it makes your mouth water, then that's one to remember.
Don't Forget Flavor
When you smoke a cannabis flower, flavor is experienced in a completely different way than eating, as you are actually inhaling the fragrant oils.
There is an ever-growing and seemingly endless list of flavor combinations in the cannabis world. They cannot easily be described, but experiencing them is as easy as smelling.
You can absolutely trust your nose. It knows.
Now I'm just going to tell you a little about terpenes. I'm not really changing the subject, though.
Terpenes Bring the Flavor
THC, CBD, and all those other wonderful cannabinoids come from trichomes.
Trichomes are basically tiny hairs on and around the flowers. These little hairs serve several purposes on many types of plants, but with cannabis, one of their primary purposes is to secrete fragrant oils called terpenes.
There are over a hundred different terpenes that can be found in cannabis.
That's only the ones that have been discovered so far, and independent research on cannabis still isn't allowed under US law. Each strain has a completely unique combination of various terpenes, which means that the flavor varieties are actually endless.
Perhaps even more fascinating, studies on terpenes are beginning to prove that they have medicinal value.
Here are some of the more prominent known cannabis terpenes and their possible benefits.
Limonene
Whenever there's a citrus flavor or aroma, there's some limonene. It can be used to fight bronchitis or promote weight loss.
Citrus fruits also produce these terpenes.
Myrcene
Myrcene is an earthy and musky flavor that is found most often in hops (beer). Medicinally, myrcene is a powerful anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxer.
Linalool
The flavor of linalool is spicy and floral, like potpourri. It is also an anti-inflammatory and it helps with motor control.
Those are three of the most common and most researched terpenes.
I'm not going to go into great detail about terpenes in this post. I wanted to share the importance of smell and explain where it comes from.
Back To The Shop
Smell as many as you can. Smell them all if you have to. Do it for me.
We've got five senses, if we're lucky. We can count on them. Smell is the only way we can know about the particles and molecules in the air that are invisible to our eyes.
The part of our brain that makes decisions about purchases is less reliable than any of our five senses if you think about it. So shouldn't we use every tool available to us when making a decision.
When buying cannabis, your nose is the most important tool you've got.
Thanks for Reading!
I promise, together, we'll learn how to shop for weed like civilized people.
Sources
http://www.brainfacts.org/sensing-thinking-behaving/senses-and-perception/articles/2012/taste-and-smell/
https://www.inverse.com/article/32000-marijuana-terpene-flavor-effects
https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/terpenes-the-flavors-of-cannabis-aromatherapy
http://maryjanesdiary.com/terpenes/
Images
pixabay.com
bitmoji.com
