Denver Dispensaries
By now all the bad puns have been written. You know, the ones about “Getting High in the Mile High” or the “Rocky Mountain High”, so I won’t bore you with those (or did I just do that?) But Marijuana is now legal in Colorado and it’s difficult to visit the state and not at least encounter some indication of the fact.
My first encounter with the Colorado Marijuana Experience occurred as I was taking a nice walk through Denver’s midtown area. As I crossed the street I noticed the large green and black sight (see above) on the corner advertising a “Cannabis Station.” Being a naturally curious sort, I wandered in.
Upon walking into this fine “Cannabis Station” I first entered a waiting or reception area of sorts. I quickly learned that this was not a marijuana “store” but rather a “dispensary”, apparently a throw back to the earlier days of legal marijuana in Colorado when it could only be purchased for medicinal purposes. Today, marijuana is available for recreational use although this availability is determined on a local basis, with some cities such as Colorado Springs continuing to maintain the medicinal use limitation.
I was greeting in this reception area and asked to show proof of age. Apparently one must be at least 21 years old to even enter the display and sales area proper. I was a bit bemused since my grey hair is generally enough of an age indicator to get the job done. But hey, it’s a business and they were doing their due diligence.
Having passed the age test I was allowed to enter the inner sanctum – the display and sales area. I was surrounded by loads of marijuana “stuff”. There were t-shirts and signs and clothing emblazoned with marijuana themed images. There were all types of paraphernalia. And then there were the glass cases displaying the good stuff – Mary Jane, weed, – you know – marijuana.
Two young ladies behind the display cases smiled as I approached. I was obviously out of my element, they knew it, and rather than pretend otherwise I went with honesty. I mean if you are totally ignorant on a topic what’s to be gained by pretending otherwise. I explained that I was a total newbie from Kansas City and was curious about this whole legal marijuana thing.
One of the sales girls happily obliged my enquiry and launched off into a detailed description of the various products. Unfortunately she was speaking a language totally foreign to me. Most of the words rushed past in a blur but I do recall something about “buds” and “extracts” and “doses” and “dose equivalents.” I again pled ignorance – I’m getting to be really good at that – lots of practice I guess. She was kind enough to slow down and explain again, this time using less jargon and more English.
It turns out that you can purchase your marijuana in just about any form from plant “buds” to ground leaves, to pre-rolled “blunts” to distilled down high potency “extracts”. You can smoke it, wear it on a skin patch, or consume it as an “edible.” And then of course there are a wide variety of producers or brands. It’s all very consumer oriented and driven. And for the newbie – all rather confusing.
Having taken up so much of the sales person’s time, I felt it only right to make some sort of purchase. Since I already have plenty of clothing and knick knacks, I decided to explore the world of cannabis edibles. (Understand of course, this was all done in the name of journalistic research and background.) What a variety! Candy, cookies, even pretzels. And the range of flavors rivals that of your favorite ice cream shop. Before leaving the dispensary I did make a purchase. What was it? I’ll leave that question open other than to say that I do really love hats.
Visit A Dispensary ………………. And Enjoy The Adventure!
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