Why I Dislike Dispensaries

[BakedApple]

Dispensaries wouldn't be quite so bad either if they at least charged a fair price. I believe its cheaper on the west coast, but here in MI it's upwards of 260$ oz. 60$ 1/8's - which leads alot to go looking elsewhere. Because unless you're medical, you're going to end up paying a hefty amount of taxes on that 1/8. As was mentioned, it is usually dried out or unproperly cured too and the budtenders don't know jack squat - they just hire pretty faces to lure in the creeps. Give me someone who knows something over some eye candy anyday.

I don't buy dispensary anymore, couldn't justify the expensive 1/8 that cost more than a 1/4 or even 1/2 elsewhere.

 

[SmokingWings]

..... but here in MI it's upwards of 260$ oz. 60$ 1/8's - which leads alot to go looking elsewhere. Because unless you're medical, you're going to end up paying a hefty amount of taxes on that 1/8. ...

Taxes on the weed. And then the shop has to pay all kinds of local and state taxes just to be in business. And expenses like the lights, the heating, the air-conditioning, and anything else necessary to be in business as a dispensary. Oh, and insurance to cover just about everything from a broken plate glass window to a slip & fall. The biggest expense is the outrageous fees that the state and local cities want for business licenses. All these expenses are on top of what the dispensary has to pay for the weed itself which is grown by an operation that has to pay all kinds of fees and expenses and has to pass them on down the line.

The state and cities looked on the passage of the Michigan Recreational Marijuana ballot issue as a cash cow and they will milk it dry. Just imagine how much the prices for those 1/8s and 1/4s would end up being if recreational use became nationally legal and federal taxes and license fees are added.

 

[BakedApple]

Taxes on the weed. And then the shop has to pay all kinds of local and state taxes just to be in business. And expenses like the lights, the heating, the air-conditioning, and anything else necessary to be in business as a dispensary. Oh, and insurance to cover just about everything from a broken plate glass window to a slip & fall. The biggest expense is the outrageous fees that the state and local cities want for business licenses. All these expenses are on top of what the dispensary has to pay for the weed itself which is grown by an operation that has to pay all kinds of fees and expenses and has to pass them on down the line.

The state and cities looked on the passage of the Michigan Recreational Marijuana ballot issue as a cash cow and they will milk it dry. Just imagine how much the prices for those 1/8s and 1/4s would end up being if recreational use became nationally legal and federal taxes and license fees are added.

It's very scary to think about if you don't grow your own or go through a caregiver that is for sure! I'm just curious as to why Oregon, Colorado, Cali are so much cheaper tho. Ok i haven't looked at any other sites than a few in Colorado, but they had oz for like $120. Didn't look like bottom of the barrel, at least from the pictures. Possibly just an abundance of supply from growers out west?

 

[Dwight Monk]

It's very scary to think about if you don't grow your own or go through a caregiver that is for sure! I'm just curious as to why Oregon, Colorado, Cali are so much cheaper tho. Ok i haven't looked at any other sites than a few in Colorado, but they had oz for like $120. Didn't look like bottom of the barrel, at least from the pictures. Possibly just an abundance of supply from growers out west?

They gave out licenses to anyone that wanted to pay the money here in OR, so a supply and demand thing (they quit giving out licences but too late as they grew 3x more than was sold in a year), and as illegal on the Federal level they can't just ship it to another legal State that doesn't have an overabundance of it.

 

[Dwight Monk]

Forgot to add that B-Buds of outdoor grown can now be found for $84 an oz here in OR, and that price includes the 20% sin tax for Rec so if you have a Med card would be 20% less than that for price.

 

[BakedApple]

Forgot to add that B-Buds of outdoor grown can now be found for $84 an oz here in OR, and that price includes the 20% sin tax for Rec so if you have a Med card would be 20% less than that for price.

Is there another spot here in the forum that goes more in depth on bud ranks? I have seen the ranking (B-Buds etc) before but don't really know much into it. Here in MI everything gets a color code but they dont specify what makes 1 strain more valuable than another other than they put the sticker on it. Thanks for all your info.

 

[Dwight Monk]

Is there another spot here in the forum that goes more in depth on bud ranks? I have seen the ranking (B-Buds etc) before but don't really know much into it. Here in MI everything gets a color code but they dont specify what makes 1 strain more valuable than another other than they put the sticker on it. Thanks for all your info.

They use a lot of different terms that I don't think are consistent, usually B-buds are the smaller one-two hit kind of ones. And usually the cheaper stuff under 20% thc, but I don't go by the numbers at all personally. Top shelf stuff can be priced all over the place from $8-16 a gram at some places. I will try and post some examples in there later today of ones I have got at Dispensaries.

 

[SmokingWings]

It's very scary to think about if you don't grow your own or go through a caregiver that is for sure! I'm just curious as to why Oregon, Colorado, Cali are so much cheaper tho. Ok i haven't looked at any other sites than a few in Colorado, but they had oz for like $120. Didn't look like bottom of the barrel, at least from the pictures. Possibly just an abundance of supply from growers out west?

Most likely it was the basic business law of supply and demand. If the supply is larger than the amount the people want to buy then the price drops to influence more sales. Dwight brings up the number of grow licenses that were given out in Oregon and the production was more than what the buying public wanted. The excess would sit there unsold.

It was to the point where I noticed articles in local newspapers on the abundance of weed out west and a lack of buying public. And as mentioned the growers and wholesalers could not move the excess out of state.

 

[BakedApple]

Most likely it was the basic business law of supply and demand. If the supply is larger than the amount the people want to buy then the price drops to influence more sales. Dwight brings up the number of grow licenses that were given out in Oregon and the production was more than what the buying public wanted. The excess would sit there unsold.

It was to the point where I noticed articles in local newspapers on the abundance of weed out west and a lack of buying public. And as mentioned the growers and wholesalers could not move the excess out of state.

Too bad we had to learn from the mistakes of other states! As mentioned I don't buy from dispensary very often anymore but I do keep tabs on prices for certain items. I just double checked a couple and while there was 1 or 2 offering a "150 oz" deal most are still 260$+. Can't speak to the quality of those 150$ oz's but in the past i would check them out and they were very underwhelming. Think mexibrick. That or seeded to hell.

Back to another comment earlier about how they can't even see or smell the product before purchasing.. Until last year or year before maybe, all weed was in giant mason jars on full display and the budtenders would open it and let you smell. They would even pull a nug out and let you see it though you couldn't touch - which is understandable. All dispensaries closed for like 2 months while they were vetted by LARA- which afterwards they were a lot more "regulated". Now stuff is pre-packed crap that you can't really see or even if you can see you obviously can't tell how fresh it is and alot of times the bud is really dry.

 

[Dwight Monk]

Ok so the terminology varies, sometimes they will say B-Buds, but usually it mostly goes by THC% and generally outdoor stuff sells for slightly less (but it was that way on the street before too, as outdoor product was always slightly less than indoor).

Pics of the Bluleberry Cookies I got for my kid, budget stuff at $3 a G $84 a zip (was under 15% THC):

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• Dwight Monk
• Jan 21, 2021

BC

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• Dwight Monk
• Jan 21, 2021

BC

Some I got an 1/8th of as name of Strain cracked me up, Hippie Crippler was $4 a G so an 1/8th was $14, and just barely under 15%:

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• Dwight Monk
• Jan 21, 2021

HC

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• Dwight Monk
• Jan 21, 2021

HC

Some Acapulco Gold I got few weeks back that was $14 a G and falls into top shelf in that Dispensary but it was right at 30% THC:

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• Dwight Monk
• Jan 21, 2021

AG

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• Dwight Monk
• Jan 21, 2021

AG

So varies by Dispensary and a few other variables, think sales have picked up due to Covid I read somewhere, as folks staying home and not going to bars. But they still grow more in a year than they sell in a year until folks go belly up or the Feds make Interstate Commerce legal at which point OR would be golden. Oh and those prices are Rec which includes the 20% Sin Tax, if you have a Med card for OR then would be 20% less than that price.

 

[Marzbadrock]

Not all dispensaries are like that. I know of one that has grade A+ bud than ranges from 20% to 33% with good terpenes. Price is $180 to $220 a ounce and offer 10% veteran discount.

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• Marzbadrock
• Dec 7, 2020

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• Marzbadrock
• Aug 14, 2020

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• Marzbadrock
• Mar 25, 2020

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• Marzbadrock
• Sep 1, 2015

 

[SoGnotSOG321]

The packaging shift, breaking from the big jugs and the sniff touch..sell tickets, sign a waiver, samples to touch an smell wtfe come up with something other than ASCEND!
Hey I wanted to pass along that yesterday the governor of Illinois granted the portion of the sales taxes to those communities in grant form so the money will go to the grant funds instead of the regular channels so the money can be distributed right now! "Pritzker The Prick" has delivered a lot more than anyone expected and gets credit from me.

 

[Mustang92]

I like dispensaries because they create jobs for people that know weed, they fill empty wharehouses with grow ops to supply the dispensaries and they hire even more people. I'm in canada and beside 7acres lic. grow op and they advertise for people with growing experience and pay extra for it.

I don't use dispensaries because i have tons of my own weed and i think they cuts corners on curing to get product out faster but I do respect the fact they are providing future jobs to replace the ones that move away.

 

[Mustang92]

They gave out licenses to anyone that wanted to pay the money here in OR, so a supply and demand thing (they quit giving out licences but too late as they grew 3x more than was sold in a year), and as illegal on the Federal level they can't just ship it to another legal State that doesn't have an overabundance of it.

to you think the federal goverment will ever make it legal in US? why when you can do it at state level.
Canada is breaking international law(UN-INCB) making weed legal, i don't think anyone cares but the US did oppose the move along with some other countries.

 

[Dwight Monk]

to you think the federal goverment will ever make it legal in US? why when you can do it at state level.
Canada is breaking international law(UN-INCB) making weed legal, i don't think anyone cares but the US did oppose the move along with some other countries.

We can hope they eventually change it, but yeah it will likely be awhile.

 

[SmokingWings]

Back to another comment earlier about how they can't even see or smell the product before purchasing.. Until last year or year before maybe, all weed was in giant mason jars on full display and the budtenders would open it and let you smell. They would even pull a nug out and let you see it though you couldn't touch - which is understandable. All dispensaries closed for like 2 months while they were vetted by LARA- which afterwards they were a lot more "regulated". Now stuff is pre-packed crap that you can't really see or even if you can see you obviously can't tell how fresh it is and alot of times the bud is really dry.

When the proposal passed the voting in 2018 a whole lot changed. To encourage the voters that were in the middle as far as legalization was concerned the group that introduced the proposal added what some are calling "safety issues" which included rigorous testing and preventing people from being able to touch the product and possibly contaminate it with their fingers.

The proposal that was passed at that time is where the excessive licensing fees came from. The state treasury and the local govts were pretty much guaranteed a lot of money and many voters accepted those fees without thinking of the long run.

 

[NewToTHC]

You know it's bad when you spend 5 minutes trying to open up the Cdn. gov packaging and safety proof plastic container. Five minutes later and a handful of plastic for the landfill you are see a boveda pack in the container for moisture control that is completely dried out and as hard and dried out as the bud.

 

[SoGnotSOG321]

You know it's bad when you spend 5 minutes trying to open up the Cdn. gov packaging and safety proof plastic container. Five minutes later and a handful of plastic for the landfill you are see a boveda pack in the container for moisture control that is completely dried out and as hard and dried out as the bud.

Same.

 

[SmokingWings]

to you think the federal goverment will ever make it legal in US? why when you can do it at state level.
Canada is breaking international law(UN-INCB) making weed legal, i don't think anyone cares but the US did oppose the move along with some other countries.

Make it legal in the US?

Eventually. It could be as early as by the end of this coming summer or it could happen 8-10 years down the road. It will happen when the Federal agencies and the Washington D.C. law makers decide it is time to start collecting more taxes. Good chance that the next big Fed breakthrough will be the summer of 2022.

why when you can do it at state level.

It might be legal in many states but all that means is that the particular state govt and enforcement agencies will not prosecute people for possession of whatever amount that particular state says is legal. But, the Feds still override the state law and they can bust someone for any amount, even a 1/4 gram, if they want.

As some mentioned in earlier msgs in this thread, until the Feds change the laws affecting the entire country it is still illegal to transport Marijuana across state lines even if both states are medical or recreational legal. The Feds can bust them even if the two states touch as far as I know. Probably claim that they can do it because they transported on Federal highways built with money from Federal taxes.

Until the Feds make it legal the Marijuana cannot be mailed through the postal system. It cannot be shipped using a common carrier which includes FedEx, UPS (United Parcel Service) or a trucking company. Basically any shipping or carrier business that needs some level of Federal licensing.

 

[BakedApple]

Even when it's federally regulated though, it doesn't mean it will be good - look at everything else that's federally regulated.

Also right now liquor is legal but you can't ship that postal unless you have a license to do so, meaning the gov gets their cut.

last, it may indeed be illegal to carry weed across state lines but I wouldn't sweat that too hard. As long as you are obeying all traffic laws and aren't carrying anything over personal possession - meaning you're not trafficking - then you shouldn't have to worry about getting stopped.