My First Vegas Dispensary Experience
Well, we have officially gone LIVE in Las Vegas as of two weeks ago! Recreational cannabis is here and everyone is so excited!!
People started showing their enthusiasm at 12:01AM on July 1st. Actually, I should say people started a little bit earlier. Lines were completely wrapped around dispensaries like a new Star Wars movie was coming out. People waited in line for hours just to be able to step inside a dispensary as one of the first customers to legally buy recreational cannabis in Las Vegas. Congrats to us! I told myself I was going to wait a couple weeks after we opened to the public to stick my head inside. I wanted to avoid the rush and the lines but honestly that didn’t even really help.
Yesterday I finally made my way to a dispensary around the corner from my house and it was still a v-e-r-y booming place. I pulled into the parking lot and the first thing I noticed was the security officer that was circling the outside of the dispensary. I’m sure most people are happy to be walking into that place so I wonder how often his services are actually needed for something other than patrolling. Being as it was still busy, I had to park kind of far away. I made my way to the entrance of the dispensary and stepped inside.
To the right was a seating area with about 8 chairs and a coffee table. To the left was the line I had to wait in. The line led up to a glass window where a girl was sitting and checking ID’s. Above the line window to the left was a sign that read ‘recreational’, the sign above the right window read ‘medicinal.’ I reluctantly stepped into the recreational line. Iwatched the person in front of me hand the girl their ID so I prepared myself and got mine out too. Soon enough it was my turn at the window. The girl was very sweet and asked me how my day was going. We conversed for a brief second and I handed her my ID. She quickly checked it, pulled a number off of a roll that said ’92’ and handed it to me with my ID. I said thank you and turned around to greet the security officer that was standing at the entrance door. He gave the window girl the go ahead and she buzzed me on in.
As I stepped into this large room I had to take it all in. Roughly 25 people were scattered throughout the room. To the right of me was a small wall with some apparel. There was also refrigerator that had water and Gatorade. The back wall had some succulents on wooden shelves and straight ahead that filled up most of the room was a giant ‘U’ shaped counter. Behind the counter were 4 girls that were helping customers. Then I noticed it, the giant red number that was in the left corner of the counter which read ’76.’ Wow, I had quite the wait ahead of me. So at that point I figured I would start to explore.
Behind the left side of the counter were two large screens that had still photos of a grow. Straight ahead on the wall were 4 screens. Starting with the far left screen, a rolling list of the edibles they carried. The next screen over was a list of the indicas, after that a list of hybrids and lastly a list of the sativas. The lists were all very very short. And I noticed there was a special on two of them as they were typed on the screen in red. These were on special because they were grown outside and the amount of THC in them was significantly lower than that of all the others.
The endpoints of this giant ‘U’ shaped counter were the checkout stations. By each them were stacks of business cards, a container holding matches and a sign. The sign said to text their number and you would receive a free pre-roll with your purchase…uhhh SWEET! The only issue here was there were ‘NO PHONE’ signs all around me. I didn’t know how much of an issue it would be if I pulled my phone out. I kept my phone low in my bag and texted the number. Instantly I got a reply and let the phone drop back in my bag.
The top left of the counter had different flowers and their names with their THC and CBD content levels (as did the screens). Closer to the bottom of the counter were the different resins. Back up the other side were edibles and liquids. They had some of the Dixie products that I have previously written about, the elixirs that we made mimosas with! They also had chocolate bars, rice crispy treats, Dixie elixir dew drops, and chocolate truffles. For a brief second I forgot where I was and wanted to try all these delicious looking baked goods! However, most were high in THC content and when you get over 100mg it becomes a medicinal only product. The people in there for recreational use are not allowed to purchase them. Around this time I checked the big red number. We were only on number 82, so I still had some time.
I noticed that when someone comes in for medicinal they call their name and they are helped before someone with a number. Those people are in and out within minutes. I steped to the back of the room and started looking at all the people. There was definitely a variety. A handful of older people, an older couple, some very young people who just looked so excited and eager to be there, people dressed up like they were on a work break and one girl literally in her pajamas. Some patiently waiting and some making conversation with others around them. I started listening to some of the conversations that were going on around me. A couple guys were discussing different strains that they had tried, giving each other recommendations which is great to hear. All of the sudden I hear this guy come in the door behind me rather noisily. The place was a little louder than a patient waiting room in a doctors office. He immediately started talking to someone that was next to him and said he has been in every day since it opened. This man seemed very high on energy and was just so stoked that this place was finally here for his use. He was rather funny to listen to. He started telling this lady about yesterday and the day before and the day before that.
Okay, so now I have been standing here for quite some time and I realize my number is next. A girl calls out, “ninety-two!” Yay, it is finally time for ME! I walk over to the counter and this young girl gives me a friendly smile and asks how she can help me. I told her what I wanted and then asked her to tell me about a product I saw on the other side. The product I was inquiring about was for medicinal use only. She explained the product to me anyways to fulfill my curiosity and then gathered what I asked for and had me meet her down by a computer. She placed the stickers on my products and I mentioned the phone text. I showed it to her and she grabbed my free pre-roll. She placed my items in a white, thick plastic zip lock bag and explained to me how to open the bag. They are extremely child proof and she joked about returning customers coming back in telling her they had to cut the bag open. She also let me in on keeping it closed at all times while in the car. If for any reason it should open and a cop can see it, it counts as an open container (just like alcohol) and I will be presented with a $600 fine. I was very please with her customer service and product knowledge. So much so that I thought to myself, I need to make sure to write this girl a review. I asked her name and if there was a review platform I was able to go to. I then thanked her for everything and headed to the exit door.
On my way out I hear the super energetic guy saying he would see me tomorrow and I laughed. Maybe he knew I was listening earlier… I proceeded through the exit door which was a different hallway than that from which I came in. I would say I was in there a total of thirty minutes. It was a very pleasant trip and really interesting to finally be in a dispensary and able to purchase recreationally!
Vegas has been ready for this for quite some time. Cheers to more dispensaries and other states hoping on the band wagon. I cannot wait to see how this industry flourishes here in Sin City.
