THE INS AND OUTS OF CANNABIS DISPENSARIES
Cannabis dispensaries or marijuana dispensaries are government regulated locations in which people can purchase cannabis or cannabis related items for medical or recreational use. These places are located in different parts of the world, they have different rules based on states' regulations and obviously you can only find them in the states where cannabis is legal.
The first dispensaries, or something similar, were born in Amsterdam in the late 1970s and were called coffee-shops. In the Netherlands, coffee-shops are establishments where cannabis is sold for personal consumption. The majority of these places also serve drinks and food because of the drug policy in the Netherlands that allowed only small quantities of cannabis to be sold by the licensed coffee-shop. Alcohol, other drugs, or costumers under eighteen are not allowed. The shops risk closure if they are found to be selling hard drugs or alcohol, or even soft drugs to minors.
URUGUAY, FIRST
In 2013, Uruguay became the first country to legalize marijuana cultivation, sale and consumption. The government decided to create a place to sell and consume cannabis, in order to track this economic activity and to fight the criminal organizations.
In this article, we focus on the dispensaries in United States, as they are a little bit different from the Netherlands and Uruguayan ones. Marijuana dispensaries in the USA are private organizations or companies that sell cannabis and are easy to find in a larger number of states of the country. Depending on the country, there are medical and recreational dispensaries, or only medical dispensaries. In the United States, cannabis dispensaries are mostly medical places, where patients receive cannabis medication only with a doctor’s recommendation. In fact, there are only a few states that house recreation locations. Locations can greatly differ from one another, but they all generally have a secure point access and one or more display rooms with multiple product offerings.
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
The first dispensary was founded in 1992 in San Francisco and called San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club. Naturally, California became the first state to develop a regulatory framework for these type of places. Washington state followed that lead. As of 2016, twenty-three of the United States have regulations on the sale of cannabis and seventeen of those states have at least one medical dispensary. However, only four states (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington) have regulated stores where you can purchase herbs and smoking accessories for recreation. Fun fact - in Denver, the largest city in Colorado, you will find the highest concentration of recreational marijuana stores.
HOW DO DISPENSARIES WORK?
Generally, if you enter a dispensary, whether for medical or recreational purposes, you need ID to prove that you're of legal age. In the medicinal locations, you need to show the medical marijuana paperwork, prescribed by a doctor. As second step, patients need to fill out some registration paperwork, in order to became a member and have access to all the medical dispensaries in the state. As a collective garden, shops are able to grow their own cannabis, basing the type of plants on their patients' requests. In many cases, this cultivation helps make the shops self-sufficient.
In the recreational stores, security is the most important thing. Many banks, for example, are not really able to give money for this places, without a Federal approval. A photo ID is required and a photo registration is necessary because of State law that requires that dispensaries record who’s doing all the buying and selling. No medical papers are required for these shops. Once registered, customers have access to many different types of marijuana, in many different forms, including cookies and candies.
Usually, because of the general fear related to these kind of shops, even if they are absolutely legal, cash has become the main way to conduct transactions. There are some places that take credit card, but just check the information before entering in a dispensary.
ONLINE CANNABIS DISPENSARIES
You can find a large number of information on the internet related to cannabis dispensaries. These digital portals give you information related to the growing medical and recreational cannabis industry. You can find information for on products, services and business. There are a lot of interesting articles regarding the medical or recreation use of herbs and local news on law, use and habits. There are also many different sites that help you to find the medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries near your location. On other sites, if you are a member, you can find the menu with prices and even place online orders.
STORING YOUR PURCHASES
Regardless if you're purchasing your bud for medicinal or recreational use, you'll need a place to store it that will maintain its optimal flavour and potency. Cannabis humidors ensure proper protection from harmful UV rays and keeps marijuana smelling and smoking fresh on account of the regulated humidity levels within.