Dispensary shopping long outweighs all the dark and horrible undertones that come with waiting on an unpredictable dealer for your marijuana. Here are the top 15 benefits of choosing to shop dispensaries vs. your sketchy dealer.

“From Criminal To Dispensary”

1. Paranoid Dealers

In an illegal state marijuana dealers are paranoid, especially in more rural and poverty torn areas, where pill trafficking and harder drugs have a tendency to be part of the deal. Some of  these dealers still live in the ’90’s, hunkering low in the drug game for worry of a long jail sentence; others, gun-totting anti-authoritarian savages with more fear and madness running through them than the likeness of 10 wild boar, half-starved for violence and trapped in a Holiday Inn service elevator. This type of dealer lives on the edge. You play by his rules. You don’t call him. He calls you. Code words are to be of an understood drug-lingo not to be deciphered by police, always changing, yet they must be discreet. Otherwise you will confuse him, putting his already stoned mind into a fear-frenzy and pissing him off.  At this point, chances have wavered, and in all likelihood you will be cut off from your supply.

2. Knowing What You’re Getting

With the ever elusive dealer, you never really know what you’re going to get. Sometimes they just make up a strain name. Other times they pull half of a gram from your eight bag or ball you up a corner sac in the dark shadows of a sketchy trailer park at midnight—this is a very specific kind of hustle at rates up to 60 dollars an eighth and some end up with one of those ripped off edges of a zip-lock baggie stuffed with trim clippings.

3. Waiting

Waiting for the dealer that never comes after a long days work is always a pain in the ass.

4. Consistency

With all the fear of selling an incriminating herb, keeping the same dealer year round becomes unlikely. Dispensaries are consistent.

5. No More Paranoia or Arrest

The stigma of being taken in by police during the deal can outright ruin a good buzz. Too much time is centered around the paranoia, anxiousness and fear of the deal; the potential for an arrest awaiting that outweighs the peacefulness of a good kush.

6. Weed Friendly

Dispensaries are friendly, welcoming, freeing in their approach, easing any stoner into their blissful desire to shop around and an encouraging “get high” mentality.

7. Better Pricing

Marijuana prices at dispensaries are 3 times cheaper than what you will pay dealers in illegal states. Prices for medicinal shops range from $15 – 40 an eighth with recreational shops prices ranging from between $20 – 60 an eighth.

8. Thriving Community

In 2013 alone, over 500 medical marijuana dispensaries were opened in Colorado, with 160 of these stores applying for recreational licenses that year. Now, recreational shops are springing up across the state for the neighborhood friendly stoner, brownie baking house wife, medical patients, and the all-in-between glassy-eyed tokers. Denver, Colorado, the Mile High City, as its called, has more than a 2-1 ratio of marijuana shops compared to all the Starbucks located throughout Colorado. Every where you turn, every town you enter, you can find a new shop, and new friendly faces to greet you, with the greatest of green to select from.

9. Store Varieties

With so many shops emerging, you can be sure to find the shop that is perfect for you. They range from small family run businesses to larger commercially run businesses. Small run shops tend to be more personable, while commercial shops work to market sales and may charge more for top quality buds. The commercial shops tend to keep whatever they supply in regular stock, so if you are looking for something popular you had before you can be assured that it will be readily available in one of these.

10. Choice Buds

While many shops carry a selection of house strains, you can find shops that keep new herbals in rotation, so that you can constantly change up variety, because we know that your taste buds beg for new curious indulgence!

11. Top Of The Line

At a dispensary you can get top strains directly from premium grow houses. These are shipped to the store every week. Not only that, but supplies of the freshest baked goods, candies, pure hash oils, and concentrates of the highest quality—all with lab tested results—are at your finger tips, going far beyond any street dealer’s promise for a good product.

12. Experienced Salesmanship

Dispensaries know their products, often giving their store employees discounts or sample products so they can relay the types of highs and the medicinal benefits you will get from different strains, oils, or edibles. Here, you will never be swindled on the weight you pay for either. Many dispensaries even go above the 3.5 eighth mark. Local shops selling 3.8 – 4 grams per $20 eight bag is not uncommon.

13. Awesome Deals

It isn’t often your dealer has a “Deal” for you. They are usually paying mid pricing for good quality products, generally $35- $40 an eighth, and selling it for $60 street value prices. With a dispensary however, they have weekly deals, “20% off Shatterday Sale!” reads one downtown sign, “Buy a $30 1/8^th  strain, will throw in a gram joint for a penny!!” reads another.  These daily shopping deals can make for a fun and surprising adventure, good for any stoner looking for that best bang-for-your-buck weed package.

14. Marijuana Taxes Boost Economy

Local dispensaries marijuana taxes help fund state programs and stabilize the economy. According to Time magazine, Colorado’s $700 million dollar marijuana industry collected $70 million in marijuana taxes in 2014, nearly double the $42 million collected in alcohol taxes.

15. Taxes Go To School Funding

While paying hefty prices to a dealer puts money in their personal pocket book, marijuana taxes at the dispensaries are set to be used for the future of our upcoming generation’s education, including new construction sites for schools. Denver, Colorado Senator Pat Steadman stated that in 2015 these taxes would raise anywhere between $30 – 40 million towards school funding projects and could be expected to reach to even larger heights as the industry attracts more consumers.

Do you have fun or sketchy stories about your dealer? What are your comparative thoughts to shopping in recreational and medical dispensaries versus a dealer buy? Let us know on our social media page or in the comments section below.Cannabis For You, Near YouJoin the Herb community and get exclusive offers, early access to products, and good vibes.

February 15, 2016 — Last Updated December 11, 2019

Written by Brandon Lee

See original article: https://herb.co/news/culture/15-reasons-dispensaries-way-better-dealers/