Working in a marijuana dispensary
It has become the new Arizona dispensary American dream: to go to school, get his degree, study, sell weed. Testimony of Lindsey Bartlett, employee of a clinic.
To be fair, I have increased in English, while working at a clinic in Denver seemed like a good deal.
My first experience with the cannabis industry arrived a few years earlier. In 2009, while the green rush was just beginning, I went to see a doctor in Fort Collins (Colorado), I told him my back pain and I was quickly extended a temporary medical card. Enter for the first time in a cannabis shop was quite surreal: I wanted to touch all the jars of weed, as a 9 year old in a candy store. Realize that I could choose what I wanted was a shock compared to what my dealer offered me a parking lot. And the seller seemed to have the coolest job in the world. I went to see him several times before passing my exams and from Fort Collins to return to Denver.
A friend won a tif with a medical clinic in the fall of 2013. At the time, the cannabis industry was much more regulated. Most of the lessons learned in the state authorizing the sale of medical marijuana would be applied to new recreational cannabis stores that were ready to open. I was assigned to the first floor of a seedy shop in Denver. I called the “hut of the weed.”
I régurgitais mechanically my seller of speech, whether as a young stoner who managed to have a medical card or a bookseller fiftieth anniversary, mother of 4 children. I have had patients who had survived cancer, some who had plaque sclerosis, other bowel diseases; all were really helped by cannabis. I tried to take good care of my regular customers and kept them certain lots of weed for them. One patient reminded me of my aunt: she preferred to consume cannabis in her a bar of chocolate mint, so I put him aside for when she would return.
The “hut of the weed” was truly accessible for all medical patients, but I knew we were sometimes the dealers dealers who resold a portion of what they were buying from us. 60% of our patients were buying their daily limit here, equivalent to 56g per day. Even a regular smoker can not consume everything.
A metal bat and an alarm button were my only forms of security, despite the fact that I was sitting on several hundred grams of weed and several thousand dollars in cash at any time. Like many clinics we had our weekly happy hour balance: the Wax Wednesday that brought the concentrate prices 25 to $ 20. The daily invoice a customer could go from 1600 to $ 1200 in cash in a sale. I was the keeper of the keys, but not the manager, so I had the delicate task of opening and closing the store for $ 10 an hour. But the alarm button took dust. Not because I felt safe, but because the button was left in a drawer. Even if I won more and risking less to sell t-shirts at H & M, I loved my job.
Things have changed rapidly, with prices that were rising for recreational sales.
I started selling recreational cannabis in January 2014, the first day of official sales. The queues were long and these days, chaotic. I spent 13h straight standing, talking. To save my voice, I gathered my patients in groups, explaining the rules of the Colorado and the basics of cannabis. I had no time to eat or take a break. All the shops had no tip box, but we had one, we like to see it used. I tried to provide as much information as I could, taking advantage of my years of experience. Some people did not know how to use a pipe, so I showed them, and I headed to the pre-rolled joints and indiquais how to light. I remember thinking “someone just put a $ 100 tip to have him explain how to smoke weed.” I was the man who whispered in the ear of the weed. I could have put a pouch of weed close to my ear and say “What’s this? Ho, she says she is a 80% Indica “.
Someone gave me the most beautiful compliment as possible by calling me the “Yoda of the weed.” Many things you have to learn.
I learned that there was not a single type of smoker. Just as there are multiple medical cannabis patients, there are many recreational smokers, even if it was mostly tourists. We had a map that showed where our clients had. Some smokers had not smoked for years. Their imagination was stirred by the creativity that exists around accessories, concentrates; the space food or new ways of smoking cannabis. And question number one: where could they smoking?
Most of the clients treated me with respect, and I enjoyed working for them. The clinic owner? Not that much. With the money, he bought a new car, designer clothes, Rolex and even a gold-plated meeting table. They did not share their new wealth with their employees. And while wages had increased, they were still low compared to the cash that brought back sales. But at least most stores now have security agents and offer benefits to their employees.
I did not expect the see the weed whisperer business grow, at least not from within. My TAF was like an abusive boyfriend; he was hot at first, but ultimately not treated me well. But that did not change the fact that I love the cannabis industry, and I love the opportunities it offers to Colorado.