nugs

I enjoyed walking in to your dispensary the other day, although I was feeling quite ill.  We chatted, enjoyed one another's banter, and the ever-present feeling amongst cannabis culturists that we're in this together.  Your facilities were clean and your receptionist kind, though clearly still learning.  You checked my medicinal legal status quickly and securely.  We chatted up politics and agreed that things were a mess, briefly touching on the “entitlement” factor and the difference in cannabis generations.  It was a great start! I thought to myself, 'What a great experience this is going to be!'  With that thought as my last before heading off to the green room, I was confident my needs would be met competently.

Through the security door I passed, head throbbing and stomach churning, the loud smell of botanicals providing instant eye-closing relief with their unspoken promises.  Behind me the door closed audibly, and I opened my eyes to watch the budtender walk around the counter to serve me.  I found myself baffled by his next sentence, “Well, what we have are these two strains right now”, as he proudly set the shaky looking jars on the counter.  Dumbfounded that this is how a business for medicine is run (a situation akin to patronizing a pharmacy and being made to choose only between Tylenol or Advil), yet not wanting to offend the seemingly gleaming with pride employee, I simply asked for the strain with the highest CBD level. Instead, I was offered a sativa with an unnecessarily high THC level for my day and symptoms. I, sir, will hold myself accountable for knowing better and not saying anything.  However, the only other strain offered is openly known (basic 101 stuff) to be a poor strain for my symptoms.

I understand that we're in the middle of a “green rush” and how exciting it must be to get to work with dope all day long, especially when you're a bit younger, 'What a cool job!' The perception amongst friends of how lucky one must be, selling pot and meeting cool people day in and day out!  Unfortunately, I don't deem a person qualified for this position because they use marijuana and know a trick or two.  I don't fancy myself a pediatrician because I have a child and have taken care of her while sick.  Surely I should not be able to diagnose and take care of all sick children.  My lack of western medical knowledge and human anatomy notwithstanding, the very idea that I could do what has taken someone years of study and practical application to be considered qualified would be offensive to a medical doctor. Should the same principle not apply here?  We are discussing medical cases when it comes to how medicinal cannabis can best serve an individual; and I am being provided with a medical service for my diseased health by choosing to receive medicine from a dispensary am I not?  If a budtender cannot understand the magnitude of what he/she is doing here, than I personally would like to fire him/her from the culture because the point of what so many of us are working so hard to accomplish (for decades without compensation) is lost in their ignorance of the basics. 

Getting high is not the end game for medicinal marijuana activists.  The amount of pot smoked does not qualify one an expert.  I have consumed vast quantities of wine and beer in my day, and yet no one is offering to let me run their brewery.  I've also not received any phone calls from Sonoma County.  As a patient, a care giver, and also a casual user, we cannot allow the perception of our industry to change or the stigma surrounding it to be proliferated.  The importance of how medical cannabis serves those of us that rely on it cannot be lost.  On that note, if you're looking to have a little fun behind a bar; tap beer, mix drinks, pour wine, but for goodness' sake, don't waste a sick person's time when we are already lacking quality of life.  Thank you for your time but lack of serious effort. Complacency in lieu of medicinal needs will surely grow your business far!     

-MK Gould