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Boulder Dispensaries - Tumbled Buds? etc.

Making a return trip to Boulder next week, and have a few questions.
Last year, we had an interesting visit, and hope to improve on some aspects of the experience. ( Including the fishing, but that's on us. )

First and foremost, have retail prices gone down along with the wholesale market? That would be a pleasant surprise.

Are there any shops that regularly offer higher quality, properly grown and cured buds? "Flash-dry" taste was an issue.

At virtually every shop we visited the bud appeared to have been tumbled. There were no trichomes visible on the surface, and when asked, the tenders claimed it was all "hand trimmed" ... which didn't answer the question, and in fact, deliberately evaded it. Does all the retail bud look like that? ( After more than four decades of growing, we're not easily fooled. )

If all the retail bud is "that way" can anyone recommend two or three shops that consistently beat the competition with either quality, selection, or price?

Any particular strains? ( The posted THC percentages are taken with a grain of salt ... especially since there are no standards for measurement, and THC is the only cannabinoid listed. )

We've seen "house brand" strains listed. Are any of them really bred or just high yield, re-labled commercial stuff?

One thing we've had no experience with is vapor-pens, and the liquid cartriges. Are there any "brands" that stand out?

Thanks for your time & attention.
 

EvergreenState

Active member
I wouldn't trust bud tenders. If the buds are obviously tumbled, with no trichomes and they they tell you it's hand trimmed, then they can't be trusted.
Use your own judgment, trust your eyes and your own common sense. When marijuana became an "industry," then it opened it up to people whose only concern is every last penny of profit they can squeeze out of a bud. Yes there are some good shops but you have to search for them. I have two shops in Portland that sell beautiful buds. They are in the minority.
Yes I understand they need to make a profit but when you cut every corner you can in order to get every last penny of profit, the end product will greatly suffer. Kind of like sending production to China, pay the lowest possible wages you can, ignore worker safety and rights, ignore environmental laws, work out a sweet deal with the USA government for shipping terms that make it practically free to ship, use as cheap materials as you can possibly find, charge a huge profit percentage on the final product and before you know it, you are rich. The end product is a POS but it kind of functions. It's to the point now where you can search far and wide for an American made product and there is none to be found.
This is the future of retail marijuana. Once it gets approved nationally for legal sales, Wall Street will be funding the profiteers and the quality of the final product will be drastically reduced.
Look at the bud and if it looks like shit, move on. Trust your eyes.
 

hush

Señor Member
Veteran
My personal recommendation is to try to gravitate toward concentrates instead of flower. As a whole, concentrates in the industry are a lot more consistent and standardized than the flowers are, so I learned early on that, at least in terms of bang for the buck, concentrates are where the quality is. You will definitely find really good, top shelf flower in dispensaries, but when you see the price on them, and it reminds you of black market prices, you'll probably think twice about spending the money. That's just my experience anyway.

That said, I've also gotten some killer buds from the popcorn-nug ounces that dispensaries always sell. But yeah, when I'm spending money, concentrates are where it's at for consistency and quality.


Edit: I just noticed that you did mention vape pens... the one cartridge brand I've found consistently remarkable, but is a bit pricey, is Pura Elements. But honestly, I've discovered there really isn't too much of a difference between them all as long as you stick with CO2 oil with only terpenes, and no diluants. That has become my *absolute* most preferred way to get medicated, but it's just so expensive for my tolerance level, so I stick with shatter and dabs.
 

Mr. Greengenes

Re-incarnated Senior Member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I don't know much about the CO dispensary scene (or Californias, though I live here), but a friend recently gifted me some seeds of a Fort Collins area strain called S.W.A.T.. I hesitate to be the decider on what constitutes 'fire' in other peoples estimation, but I like it. It's indica dominant, but with lovely terpene profile and a high yield.
 
14ner is alright in boulder they have good bud if you get it when it is fresh that is the problem with even the good dispensers they have a hard time keeping the bud from getting crispy in the low humidity out here. Hard to find a nice sticky bud out here unless you know someone pulling down or you know your favorite places schedule for when they restock. I usually ask the budtender what has come in most recently and start looking there.
 
Thanks for the feedback.

It's very much appreciated.

One correction ... ( guess my synapses are getting worn out ) ... it's been two years since we last visited Boulder, not one. It was hard to believe the changes ... our previous visits were all in the 70's.
 
I'm puffin on Spliffin Pure Cartridges .5 and 1 gram sizes. They hit nicely. Get a few 510 batteries online for cheap. I recommend the three power setting type defaults to the lowest power it keeps the oil tasting clean. Very Stealthy if that matters. If I have to choose between other peoples bud or concentrates I'll take the oil.
Best of luck!
 

therevverend

Well-known member
Veteran
Once the buds spend a few months sitting under the UV lights in the storefront they're going to get dry, crispy, and devoid of visible crystal. Especially the ones that aren't packaged in jars. Usually the pricey stuff is packaged better.

We always used to have the conversation about tumbled buds when we'd get BC. It looked like the resin had been shaken off it. I don't believe the BC growers had done it. I think it was poor handling during harvest, trimming, and changing hands multiple times.

In Colorado I think it's the trim machines. That's why the clerks (they aren't bud tenders they're clerks. A BARtender serves you a drink while you sit at a chair and sip at it. A clerk takes a bag of pot off a shelf and hands it to you. Budtenders should be selecting, trimming, and loading the bong or rolling the joint for you. These clerks don't know a thing about pot except for the overstock they smoke after it passes it's expiration date. Sorry I digress..)

That's why the clerks say the bud is 'hand trimmed' which is probably not true. If it is true it was trimmed so quickly and poorly most of the crystals were knocked off. Because they have so much and prices have dropped so much they can't afford to present properly cured and dried pot.

As for the 'I only smoke concentrates' crowd. Concentrates are the stuff that's too poorly processed to even show itself on shelves. The growers have so much stuff and the price has fallen so low they just hand it to the chemist. To me it's cheap nasty gross harsh. I'm going to smoke fine organic cannabis or hashish. If the legal Rec market cannot supply this I will go somewhere else.
 
X

xavier7995

Seconding 14er, though always with the caveate of buyer beware. As mentioned, even well grown weed gets kinda funky and dry here. They do at least make an effort there.
 

Rockness Monsta

New member
Once the buds spend a few months sitting under the UV lights in the storefront they're going to get dry, crispy, and devoid of visible crystal. Especially the ones that aren't packaged in jars. Usually the pricey stuff is packaged better.

We always used to have the conversation about tumbled buds when we'd get BC. It looked like the resin had been shaken off it. I don't believe the BC growers had done it. I think it was poor handling during harvest, trimming, and changing hands multiple times.

In Colorado I think it's the trim machines. That's why the clerks (they aren't bud tenders they're clerks. A BARtender serves you a drink while you sit at a chair and sip at it. A clerk takes a bag of pot off a shelf and hands it to you. Budtenders should be selecting, trimming, and loading the bong or rolling the joint for you. These clerks don't know a thing about pot except for the overstock they smoke after it passes it's expiration date. Sorry I digress..)

That's why the clerks say the bud is 'hand trimmed' which is probably not true. If it is true it was trimmed so quickly and poorly most of the crystals were knocked off. Because they have so much and prices have dropped so much they can't afford to present properly cured and dried pot.

As for the 'I only smoke concentrates' crowd. Concentrates are the stuff that's too poorly processed to even show itself on shelves. The growers have so much stuff and the price has fallen so low they just hand it to the chemist. To me it's cheap nasty gross harsh. I'm going to smoke fine organic cannabis or hashish. If the legal Rec market cannot supply this I will go somewhere else.

Facts! distillate is usually made from junk they cant sell in any other form
 
Dutch coffee shops have been doing it for years wait till the glands get replaced by fake resin happened in Holland ,Belgium and uk the glass weed . Grow your own fuck wall street .
 

green404

Member
I find places that sell grams and sample a few different stores. Then all the stuff I don't like that much I give to homeless people or roll fat joints and send them off at parties.
 

satisfiedwolf

New member
Helping Hands is my top choice of Boulder dispensaries- properly grown and cured organic buds. Pax and indigopro are good vapes but require their brand of battery that only works with those cartridges- if you get a generic vape pen battery you will have more cartridge options but quality may be an issue- Madrone, chroma, eureka and CSC brand cartridges are good
 
Helping Hands is my top choice of Boulder dispensaries- properly grown and cured organic buds. Pax and indigopro are good vapes but require their brand of battery that only works with those cartridges- if you get a generic vape pen battery you will have more cartridge options but quality may be an issue- Madrone, chroma, eureka and CSC brand cartridges are good


Thanks for the information.

Been trying to narrow down the options.

This "vape pen" thing is all a mystery to many older heads.

It's sounding like a name brand versus generic conundrum.

Might have to get a "generic" battery unit before we leave.

Just on general principles, I avoid products that rely on "exclusive" attributes to lock-in the customers.

Have never used "wax" or "shatter", and certainly won't bother with a unit that gums-up and needs constant maintenance, much less a blow-torch.

Might look at the available selection of straight resins instead. ( It was way overpriced, in my opinion, two years ago at The Farm. )
 
Verde natural gets my vote in Boulder organic hand trimmed slow cured cannabis most buds out there are so dry they do what I call the Colorado crumble & basically turn to dust in a week or two
 
Verde natural gets my vote in Boulder organic hand trimmed slow cured cannabis most buds out there are so dry they do what I call the Colorado crumble & basically turn to dust in a week or two

We had an interesting trip.

There were too many dispensaries.

Didn't have time to visit even a fraction.

Only one repeat from the previous visit.

Found some eight's vacuum sealed in tins.

Have never seen "weed in tuna-cans", but they work.

Visited the 14er, Helping Hands, and Green Dream.

Best Strain Name: "Thelonious Skunk"!
 

clearheaded

Active member
was just watching an "exposed growing" epi on youtube and was hilarious talking about trim and next shot is shaking buds over screens before packing them up lol then teh keef pile under.. dont know anything about colorado but it appears to be a normal pratice and not thought twice about showing a doc crew thats adertizing the brand...
 
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