A SK A STONER BY HERBERT FUEGO Monday ALL CBD Products 20% Off Tuesday Buy One Get One 50% Off of ALL TICAL Strains Wednesday 25% off ALL Tier One dro Flower Thursday 20% off ALL Rosin Friday Saturday 20% Off ALL Chocolate Edibles Sunday Two 1000mg Ascend Cartridges for $100 OTD Tier 3 Oz for $99 OTD, Mix & Match Dear Stoner: I’ve had the same Cookies strains in four states, and they’re all ex- tremely different. How can that be? Donahey E COLFAX AVE & CHERRY CREEK POLICEANDTHIEVES.COM Dear Donahey: Dispensaries carry many of the same strains and brands from state to state, but similarities often end at the strain name or product label for a couple of reasons: Strains vary exponentially depending on the cultivator and growing environment, and securing the same plant genetics from California to New Jersey is still a crime, thanks to federal prohibi- tion. Cannabis businesses have to jump through hoops in order to appear in new states, and often must grow or manufacture products in each state in order to maintain primary control. There are occasional brands, like 710 Labs, that only expand after they secure their own production setups, but that doesn’t enable growth at the speed most capitalists would like to see. To step around interstate traffi cking laws, cannabis companies usually agree to licensing deals with other growers, extractors or edible makers in new states or countries as legalization spreads, with branding and product informa- tion provided in exchange for a fee or sales percentage. This strategy leads to fl ower, hash and vape products that are similar but rarely identical to those of the mothership. Edibles are the only dispensary product of note coming close to universal standards across the country. Dear Stoner: Budtenders know so little about cannabis and where it comes from. They should be required to pass a test before get- ting a job. Not knowing what bubble hash is or telling me Durban Poison is an indica shouldn’t be tolerated. Scales Dear Scale: Any salesperson should know the basic and perhaps even detailed information about the products they’re selling, but dispen- saries pay budtenders minimum wage and still expect them to step through a minefi eld of questions. You can fi nd fi fteen different phrases to describe the same thing in the cannabis world, and approaches toward growing, extrac- tion and consumption still differ wildly from region to region and generation to generation. Some pot shops do make their budtenders take part in responsible vendor training or product research, but there are more than 205 dispensaries in Denver alone. You’re bound to come across a few wet blankets, especially at the tourist traps, so don’t let one apathetic budtender ruin a good time. It’s pretty easy to buy weed without engaging in a Q&A, anyway. 28 Send questions to [email protected]. SEPTEMBER 22-28, 2022 WESTWORD | REAL ESTATE | RENTALS | HEALTH WELLNESS | SERVICES | EMPLOYMENT | ADULT | MUSIC | CLASSIFIED | westword.com
