Cannabis Uses, What is/is not being said in CA vs. CO is Shocking

By Cody Price of Cannawyz

I recently took a week long trip to Colorado. My goal was to navigate several retail locations and see how things are run as compared to California. To paint the picture of my needs, I have severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. I played College football at Arizona State and Georgia Tech. 14 seasons of my life I ran into walls that were running into me. So CBD is a big game changer for me. With that in mind, I had the medical use, and symptoms ready to explain to each shop, and my goal was to see what they would recommend, or not...

What I found was staggering. The very first shop I went to was in Denver, downtown, at a very busy location. I showed ID, and waited. Then they let me in. I was greeted warmly by a young woman who was well dressed and very courteous. I was given my own little table top area, that was about 3 feet long. Below the table there was a configuration of products below to view. What I noticed was that there were about 5 other little booths, all with the same set up.

The conversation started like this.. " Hi my name is Cody, I have severe pain from many years of Football. I am looking for a few things. One, is that I need something for my pain. I have really bad arthritis. What Strains could you tell me about, or products that may be useful?"

She responded with a look of fear and confusion.. " I am not... umm. well.. uh, I can not answer that sir."

I replied, " Oh, what I mean to say is that I am looking to see what strains you have that might be help full for arthritic pain, and joint soreness. Sorry if I was confusing you."

Then her tone went from confused to angry, "Sir, I am not at liberty to have this discussion with you at this time. I am going to have to ask you to refrain from asking for medical advice. If you continue I am going to have to ask you to leave."

I was shocked, she was totally stone walling me! I then asked her if she could just show me anything that has a 1:1 CBD ratio, or that is some sort fo a ratio that has a good amount of CBD.

She said that they did not carry CBD, if I wanted any, I should head to the grocery store down the street.

OK, then I said, " Well I do have issues with medicating at night, and then I get super hungry. I have read a lot about strains that have a form of THC that alleviates hunger. I am told it is good for diabetics particularly, it is a form of THC called THC-V. Do you have anything with that form of THC in it?"

"Sir, I am done having this conversation with you, and I am going to have to ask you to leave."

I then kindly asked to speak to a a manger. She sort of hurried into the back room, and a few minutes later she emerged with an older man, who was telling her he would handle it, and to wait in the back.

This was the manager, and at this point I was now feeling pretty confused as to what I had done that was so wrong that she had asked me to leave.

The manager said, " I am the manager. Can you please step aside and come over here so we cna talk privately?"

So I obliged and went with him into an area away from the other customers.

He told me that he understood I was from California, and that he knew what the confusion was all about. He went into great detail about how nobody, meaning nobody, can walk into a Cannabis shop, and ask for anything, accept for the exact product or strain that they were looking for. The reason was that Colorado had banned and barred anyone from any cannabis store to give any sort of recommendations for medical use. Not unless they had a medical card. Even then, they could only ask to speak to the Dr. and ask the Dr questions before giving out any cannabis that might be helpful. He continued to tell me that what was happening in Colorado was that the medicinal benefits were the problem. because the Feds said it has to be for recreational use, and not for medical use, as it has not medical benefit. So that state of Colorado, made it very clear, no longer could any shops give out strains based on customers needs or desires for any sort of medical benefit. I told him that what I wanted was a CBD Vape cartridge, and did they have any of those. He said " No, we don't deal with those as it is too risky for us to sell as people could think we were selling medical use products, which CBD was known for."

So I asked him to find a strain that had THC-V for appetite suppression. He then said "Hey man, you have to just ask for the name of the strain, if you do not know it, come back when you do. We can not tell people what is in each strain no matter what. That is crossing the line."

So then I pulled out my hone and found some common strain names. I gave over a few names, and they took about ten minutes before coming out and saying they could not confirm what was in the strain I had asked for, but the name I gave was what they had, in this case it was a strain known as "Durban Poison".

So then I said, "Well, could you at least tell me if you have any oils, that are called "girl scot Cookies"? As I know those have a higher CBD content, so that would work."

Now what he told me next was very crazy. "In Colorado, we have completely removed all elements from the Oils, all that is left is 95% or more pure THC. We do this because to label that there is anything else in there would be medical use or advice. So now its all about the THC, being as pure as possible, so no names are on the Oil cartridges anymore, its just a matter of how strong of content you want the THC."

So then I walked away with no "Oil concentrates", and about $50 worth of "Durban Poison". I left scratching my head. My first concern was, that I prayed this never happens in California. Wow, to believe that the sate has banned anyone from saying what was in the strains, and removing all medicinal benefits from the oils cartridges. wow, just wow.

So now I look at what happens in California and I am starting to catch on that there may be a looming disaster ahead for California. I have been to over 50 different retail shops in California. I always ask for the strains that would help with pain, sleeplessness, and appetite suppression. I always, always get a different answer. Sometimes the bud tenders even argue about it out loud in front of me as to which is better for this or that.

It becomes very clear, that nobody knows for sure, anything. The wild west of treating symptoms and cannabis is here. Each bud tender will tell you their own personal story of what they have or have not tried, and how it worked for them, The issue is, Cannabis treats everyone very differently. So for a bud tender to say, "Well this worked for me, or I hear it worked for someone else who had those issues", is a concern to say the least.

What is needed is a basic course, for everyone who is a bud tender to attend. This course would include education and training on common uses. Maybe a universal chart that has symptoms and issues on one side, and a list of cannabis products on the other. I could even envision Universal numeric system. Where as it ranges from 1-1500. The 1-100 category is for pain. 1 being the lowest THC, and 100 being the highest for sever pain. The 101-200 is for eating disorders or people undergoing cancer treatments who have problems eating. 301-400 could be for the very energetic high. 401-500 could be for those who have anxiety, and need help sleeping.

This way each product could have a number in it, and that number would be an indicator of what the best uses for the product is. So walking into a store you could ask for anything between 400-450, and what did they have in that range? Knowing what your symptoms are, and your tolerance to varying strengths of THC, and being able to easily get products that fit those symptoms would be huge. Right now nothing like that exists.

California is in the early stages of this medicinal cannabis use environment. My hope and prayer is that they do not do what Colorado has done and completely vacate the medical use for the plant. The BC could at some point put together a commonly know universal; list for each retail or delivery location to use as an example. That would be helpful. But maybe that would lead to lawsuits against the BCC for making medical advice.. Who knows for sure.

My advice when traveling to Colorado is to have a list on hand of what you need, and just turn it over on a piece of paper and see what they have if anything. Other than that, nobody is going to help you find what you need. At least in California, the bud tenders are Trying to help. I just wish they had some training on what to recommend. Hopefully that comes next. We will just have to see over time what comes next.

Every shop will have a different vibe...just as every customer will have a different vibe.

However....rec shops are rec shops. Medical shops are medical shops. (same pot...higher dosage edibles/etc...only 3% or so State Taxes paid on sales) Folks go to rec shops to get product to get high on...not for medical advices. Even the DOCTORS here don't (cannot) give such information out... or have (or care to have) such knowledge. It's not a prescribed drug here...it's a "recommended" drug here "that may help your condition". Like giving out medical advice when you aren't qualified to do so...the recreational dispensary workers have limits...just as the doctors have limits.

If you had a CO MMJ/card/were a resident...things might go differently in a medical dispensary. I dunno. I haven't bothered with a card since it went "legal". We don't need that protection (affirmative defense) for home grows now as we did before. When I was last in a medical dispensary here I was a carded patient selling them pot...and that activity hasn't been allowed since 2010.

California has had MMJ since 1996...so they are far from being in the "early stages" of the medical use parameters. They did just get legal rec pot though. Again...same stuff but different rules and parameters. Colorado has not vacated the medical use of the plant...they just require you to BE A PATIENT to garner the benefits of the program and the medical dispensaries and have a line between both entities. There is a completely separate room/entry in many shops where the med side of things resides. No MMJ card...no entry/etc. Rec shops are open to everyone who wants to buy weed to get high on. They don't NEED to know what the medical benefits might be. CBD is all over....in the head shops...pet stores...Hell...I can get it in my morning coffee if i want....at the coffee shop on the corner. I don't ask the lady for the one that fixes "X" though. She doesn't have to know/care to know/is just working retail...like the budtenders and the rest of the folks enslaved in those hourly positions.

good luck out there.

Wow, just fricking wow... We need this legalized on the federal level.

it is amazingly bad that colorado has done that.....
but here's something to think about....there's no way to make this chart you're wanting.
cannabis effects people differently...there are so many variables it's practically impossible to give any kind of accurate advice on which strain would be good for which person.
are all cannabinoid receptors the same? do some have a better receptor face for certain mix of cannabinoids and terpenes?
do all people have the same number of receptor sites? body size, physical activity, tolerance, all make a difference.
even environment matters...where will you be using this? at home? at the mall? at work?......the amount of stress you're under when you use it makes a difference.....
about the only way to learn which strains work best for you is to keep track of what you get, and how you like it. if it comes from a good dispensary and has a breakdown of the cannabinoids in it, you can try to look for other strains with a similar makeup and see if they have the same effects. otherwise, you're working in the dark.
breeders will sell strains that are entirely different, but call them the same thing...i recently grew out 3 blueberry plants from 3 different breeders....all three were entirely different plants.....entirely....not even remotely similar. and the three banks were Canuck, Seedsman, and the Vault...not three fly by night newbies....
in order to make accurate recommendations, you'd have to have a history of what the customer has bought and the effects its had on them before....and then you'd still be guessing mostly