extablisment

Lit  and  Crit

Continued from Page 2

 

#5: Like Costco, buy in bulk from a trusted supplier. 

 

When you find something that really works, lock it in and save money at the same time. Just as with Costco, why waste your money buying small all the time when stocking up in quantity makes sense? 

 

If you consider that an eighth of weed costs a grower maybe $15 to produce (including the cost of water, seeds, light, care, fertilizer, trimming, distribution, etc, over a season), and a dispensary probably buys that from the grower for $30 an eighth or less, then that $45 bag of bliss you just bought equals a 200% markup to cost. If you pay for a mobile delivery service you will wind up buying that eight for $50 or $60 regardless of the fact that a first time patient gets a free pre-roll. So why pay such exorbitant prices? Are you a fertilizer magnate or something and have bills to burn? Try getting more bounce by buying by the ounce. It means getting a near-wholesale price just like your dispensary. 

 

Sure, you may not want or can't afford to pop $220 on a large sack of stinky to tide you over for an entire year. Yet if you do it an eighth at a time you might spend upwards of $440 for the same amount. Why not cut your costs in half? Then, store your new stash out of sight and light, heat, and air. Toss em in a glass container like a pickle jar with a seal. Throw em in the freezer and they'll preserve a great deal of their potency even over several years.

 

If you don't expect to smoke it all yourself or don't have the money, just go around your office or dorm room with the collection can and promise each donor an eighth for a meager $35 "donation." You'll probably make a little money and keep everyone in high spirits to boot.  Who knows, maybe you were born to be a businessman of bud. Startups gotta start somewhere!

 

And if you have no friends? Look at it this way… it's an investment in your peace of mind. Just knowing that you are not throwing your money down a rathole again (like you did when you bought shares in all those marijuana stocks) will make you feel wonderful before you even take your first congratulatory toke.

 

You'll also be supporting local businesspeople by giving them return business. Sure, you could try to buy only name-brand Martha Stewart Cannabis or whatever, but why not find a local go-to entreprenuer and stick with them?

 

It is tempting to try new shops every new buy to get that sweet sweet first time patient bonus. However, each time you are starting at zero and will have to figure out how legit they are and if their inventory and labelling is up to snuff. That is a hassle that can lead to some disappointing purchases. If you can find a dispensary that knows its farm, keeps prices reasonable, has discounts for buying in bulk, has a courteous staff, good location, and has fresh quality product, stick with them. 

 

There are going to be a lot of new places in town soon enough. It might even be a saturated market for a year or two. The best shops will earn a good rep with their customers and stay open; the rest will be gone in a few months or were 'pop-up' shops to begin with. If an owner is making a commitment and fighting for your rights, support them. Try to become a regular. There is nothing better than getting a sweet deal because they know your face.

 

#6:  Buy variety

 

Weed smokers should figure out if they prefer heavy Indicas that knock them out, Sativas that provide a rush, or hybrids that seek to do both. Ideally, you should buy a few of each category and alternate between them when possible. If you build a tolerance with one strain, switch to another. This will keep the product's apparent  potency up and not burn you out on a particular head space. Start to enjoy various varieties not just for how hard hitting they are but also for the various flavors of their smoke and smell.

 

The only way to know if the unique signature of a product works perfectly with your body's own cannibinoid system is to try it. I you like it, go back for more and load up. I can't tell you how many times it has happened that I discovered a strain I really liked and went back to the shop to get more…and found it sold out. The substitutes were never really the same.

 

That is why we suggest that if you come across a batch that really does it for you, lock more of that specific plant and harvest down in bulk or you will soon find yourself hunting and gathering again too soon rather than sitting around the fire and admiring the stars the way God intended.

 

Once a few years back I bought an eighth of something called "Extreme Dream." It was fabulous, some of the best I've ever had. It made me feel like I was floating on a cloud. I went back to buy more several weeks later but it was out of stock. I never found that strain again. I found similar stuff but never that specific plant's harvest again. The body and brain are complex for sure; one particular product fit me to a tee. It seemed to be able to plug in to every single one of my cannibinoid relaxation and pleasure ports and virtually massage them to death. If you tried it, you may like it but it may not meet your unique cannibinoid profile like it does mine.

 

Names Don't Mean a Thing

 

Today, there are a lot of "blue dream" Silver Haze clones out there. There are nugs named for past cup winners and freshly minted brands too. None of it means a thing. The names most growers and dispensaries use for their products mean less than nothing.  Extreme Dream is a hybrid of the famous Blue Dream and something else, but who knows what it really was before some enterprising dispensary slapped a new name on a Kush Sativa hybrid. Most dispensaries just want to make it seem like they have a lot of variety in stock. Two bags of grass with the same name on them from two different dispensaries will most probably be slightlydifferent.

 

Unless I am able to track down the farmer and buy from the exact same harvest, I will probably never get that perfect THC CBD combo this particular plant had ever again. Even the same farmer growing the same seeds in the same way might not be able to duplicate the same result every time. Variation in the curing might have more to do with it than anything.

 

Thus, though potency and price are your main concerns in terms of squeezing the most out of your Mary Jane ducat, they are not the only ones. Consistency and the right strain from the right source is also important. Just like wine, finding a particular vintage is key. That is why when I find something I like, I try and back up the truck on it before it is gone.

 

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