Answers to common weed questions from budtenders | The Green Room
If you’ve never darkened the doorstep of a cannabis dispensary before, the prospect of navigating the world of legal weed can feel downright daunting. Even more so if you’re worried about asking a stupid question. That’s one of the things I discovered while compiling a recent beginner’s guide to L.A.’s weed shops.
But rest easy first-timers! As Nikki Horton, a budtender at Mid-City microdispensary Wyllow, puts it “There are no stupid questions.” For example, asking, “What has the highest THC content in it?” isn’t a faux pas if that’s what you want. (Just like going into a liquor store and asking for the highest-proof hooch isn’t a bad thing. But in either case, it’s probably not going to be exactly what you had in mind.) Neither is asking a budtender to explain things such as cannabinoids, terpenes or the entourage effect. (Hint: That last one has nothing to do with what they smoked on an HBO show.)
While there aren’t any stupid questions to ask, there are definitely some smarter ones that will help you dial in your desired buzz or expand your horizons without crashing and burning. They include:
What products/dosage do you recommend for my experience level?
What’s good for [insert your desired effect here: socializing/sleeping/focusing/pain management]?
What do you recommend if I’m worried about getting paranoid/the munchies?
What’s fresh/new/exciting right now?
What social equity, BIPOC and/or LGBTQ brands and products do you have?
What do you have that’s grown outdoor/indoors?
What clean weed products (i.e., solventless concentrates or comparable to organic flower) do you have?
Do you have something that’s similar to some other product I’ve tried and liked?
To help you jump-start your journey, the Green Room crew asked some of these questions of two talented L.A.-area budtenders: Wyllow’s Nikki Horton and Cal Levaux, a manager at the Woods dispensary in West Hollywood. As you watch the video above, a quick reminder that these budtender recommendations are just that – recommendations. While cannabis has become a popular go-to for those seeking relief from a range of maladies including relief from pain and inflammation, there’s a lack of reliable, well-funded medical studies that prove the plant’s much-touted medicinal properties (and at least one recent study indicating that expectations may play a part in the efficacy of pain relief).
But rest easy first-timers! As Nikki Horton, a budtender at Mid-City microdispensary Wyllow, puts it “There are no stupid questions.” For example, asking, “What has the highest THC content in it?” isn’t a faux pas if that’s what you want. (Just like going into a liquor store and asking for the highest-proof hooch isn’t a bad thing. But in either case, it’s probably not going to be exactly what you had in mind.) Neither is asking a budtender to explain things such as cannabinoids, terpenes or the entourage effect. (Hint: That last one has nothing to do with what they smoked on an HBO show.)
While there aren’t any stupid questions to ask, there are definitely some smarter ones that will help you dial in your desired buzz or expand your horizons without crashing and burning. They include:
What products/dosage do you recommend for my experience level?
What’s good for [insert your desired effect here: socializing/sleeping/focusing/pain management]?
What do you recommend if I’m worried about getting paranoid/the munchies?
What’s fresh/new/exciting right now?
What social equity, BIPOC and/or LGBTQ brands and products do you have?
What do you have that’s grown outdoor/indoors?
What clean weed products (i.e., solventless concentrates or comparable to organic flower) do you have?
Do you have something that’s similar to some other product I’ve tried and liked?
To help you jump-start your journey, the Green Room crew asked some of these questions of two talented L.A.-area budtenders: Wyllow’s Nikki Horton and Cal Levaux, a manager at the Woods dispensary in West Hollywood. As you watch the video above, a quick reminder that these budtender recommendations are just that – recommendations. While cannabis has become a popular go-to for those seeking relief from a range of maladies including relief from pain and inflammation, there’s a lack of reliable, well-funded medical studies that prove the plant’s much-touted medicinal properties (and at least one recent study indicating that expectations may play a part in the efficacy of pain relief).
