Last week we discussed that as a newbie cannabis user you may be surprised to know how many options you have to partake of the lovely plant and its many benefits. But we only got as far as your first option of smoking the flower. Therefore, this blog will be about the rest of your options to enjoy all the different cannabis products at Altitude Dispensary.

So, it’s possible that perhaps you have never used cannabis because you do not want the harmful effects of smoking. It’s entirely possible that you thought the only way to use and enjoy cannabis was to smoke it. That is what I used to think and how it used to be for quite a while. But these days you have options and Altitude Dispensary has you covered.

Probably the next best thing to smoking flower is using a vaporizer. A vaporizer heats your cannabis product at a lower temperature than an open flame. This means you inhale the cannabis in vapor form, rather than smoke. By using a vaporizer you get all of the benefits of smoked cannabis but with very few of the drawbacks. 

Altitude Dispensary has a variety of products to purchase to vaporize your cannabis. They have vape pens. These are small handheld devices which look not unlike a pen with which to vaporize your cannabis. They have oil cartridges for your vape pens. And they have mini vaporizers. These will come with instructions to show you how to partake in your newly purchased goods. 

If neither smoking nor vaping your cannabis sounds good to you, you could always eat it. Yep, eat it. You’ve probably heard a story or two about someone eating a pot brownie and thinking it was just a regular ‘ol brownie (yes, please). But you may be surprised to know that edibles, as they are called, now go far beyond the ‘ol chocolate brownie these days. In fact the variety of edibles and their potency is mind boggling at Altitude dispensary. Now, along with baked goods, you can also purchase and consume hard candies, gummy candies, drink enhancers, chocolates, and gum (yep, gum.) This surprised even me- apparently, it’s a fast-acting edible that’s quickly absorbed through the lining of your mouth and lasts around two hours. Who knew? Altitude Dispensary literally has four pages of edibles for you to choose from.

There’s little else you need to know about these edibles other than stick them in your mouth and eat them. But in case you have questions about them, they all come packaged with the type of flower they are made from- sativa or indica or a hybrid of the two, the dosage and the amount of THC. It is important, especially as a newbie, to adhere to the dosage of the package. You do not want to over do it. It is better to start slow and increase the dosage as you see how you are feeling.

The high from edibles is a bit different from that of smoking or vaping. It will come on a bit slower, likely last longer and be more of a body high than that of smoking or vaping.

It’s important to know that as a newbie cannabis user, you have several options. The friendly and knowledgeable budtenders at Altitude Dispensary are eager to help you with whatever option you choose.

I remember when dispensaries first became legal and started popping up all over Colorado. At the time, I had held onto the idea that only those who already smoked or partaken in cannabis would be using these dispensaries. I did not think that those who had never used the product would suddenly be curious and start using it just because now it was legal. Shows you what I know!

Indeed, once dispensaries were legal, many who had never thought to enjoy cannabis, decided to give it a go. Without the fear of legal repercussions, they had nothing to lose and were curious. But one question remained for them—how would they be partaking of the product. Many who had never partaken had perhaps never done so because they did not want to smoke. They were in luck because dispensaries like Altitude Dispensary have options. Lots of them. If you don’t want to smoke, you don’t have to. That is not the only way anymore to enjoy the joys of cannabis. 

Altitude Dispensary has an array of options for you to choose from. Of course, there is flower. ‘Flower’ is what us old schoolers used to call ‘pot’ or ‘weed’ or ‘grass.’ It is the green stuff you put in your pipe and smoke. It’s probably what you think of when you think of the legalization of marijuana. This is sold in grams and there are a variety of strains within two main categories of indica and sativa. Flower is smoked, perhaps in a bong, or a pipe, or a joint. It is lit with a lighter and inhaled. But a lot of people don’t want to have to smoke it, which is why there are now alternatives.

Your next option is vapes. There are all sorts of vapes that vaporize the flower, wax or oil so that you do not have to burn it. You can vape using a vape pen or an old school traditional vaporizer that looks somewhat like a hot air balloon made of plastic wrap.
Your next option if you would like to reap the effects of cannabis without actually smoking it, is edibles. Edibles are food products which have cannabis in them. You eat these rather than smoke them. These products come in a mind boggling amount of choices these days. Altitude Dispensary has chocolates, hard candies, baked goods, drinks and so much more for you to choose from. These products tell you on the label how much THC you are getting and also let you know the correct dosage so you take just the right amount to get the best high from it. 

So, whether you’re a long time cannabis user, or you are simply curious and want to find out what all the hype is about, Altitude Dispensary has all your needs covered. Come on in today and chat with their friendly budtenders to find out what might suit you best. They have daily and weekly specials to make it affordable for you too.

That’s okay, we got you. In an earlier blog post I wrote about things to help you out for your first time in a dispensary such as Altitude Dispensary. These were the logistical things like having your identification card ready, being prepared to wait in a line, and trusting your budtender to help you get to your perfect selection of cannabis. This post will be more about what you need to know if it’s your first time partaking in any cannabis product.
First and foremost, it’s important to know that you have options, lots of options if you want to enjoy cannabis. This was not always the case. You even now have the option to not smoke which may be some people’s hesitation to try this wonderful plant. I get that.

But, let’s start with if you want to smoke. If you are going to smoke cannabis, you are going to be looking for flower. Flower is what we used to call weed, or pot, or grass. It’s what you think of when you think of marijuana. It’s the green stuff you put in your pipe and smoke.

Your options within the category of flower are sativa or indica, or a hybrid of both (my personal favorite, being disinclined to make tough decisions.) Your budtender can explain all the different types of flower Altitude Dispensary has to offer at any given time. But for a quick reference, with indicas, think ‘in the couch.’ This is going to be mellower and even help you to relax. While sativas are going to be a bit more up and allow you to do more than veg on the couch.

Once you have chosen the flower you want to smoke, you must decide how you will smoke it. You again have several options. You can buy pre-rolled joints. These are best for passing around and sharing. And because they are pre-rolled you don’t have to worry about learning how to roll your own joint (I’ve still not mastered this party trick.) 
You can also crumble or grind your flower up and put it in a pipe (preferably glass) or a bong (also preferably glass). A bong will likely get you the best bang for your buck- meaning one or two hits from the bong should be all you need as a newbie smoker to get you supremely high.

For all of these methods you will need a lighter to light either the joint or the bowl (aka pipe), or the bong. You may also want to purchase a grinder, though this isn’t necessary. If you are crumbling and separating your flower yourself, you want to be sure to remove all seeds and stems. These are no fun to smoke and should be removed and discarded before smoking.

Last but not least, you may want to purchase something in which to keep your flower. There are all sorts of fun glass jars you could choose from, or your basic Bell canning jar will do the trick. The main goal is that it is air tight so your flower doesn’t dry out.

We’ve only just covered the option of smoking cannabis as a newbie. Stay tuned for next week for more options on how to consume and partake in the wonderful products Altitude Dispensary has to offer the newbie cannabis user.

So you may have heard of cannabis tourism, right? The idea that people might travel to a place for the simple fact that cannabis is legal, and they can partake in its joys for the time they are in the place in which it is legal (much like I did when I traveled to Europe in the mid 90s and traveled through Amsterdam twice). The idea that, even if you can’t do it in your state, there are other states in which you can legally do it, you just have to travel there first. The idea that, maybe your state yet doesn’t have dispensaries like Altitude Dispensary in Denver, but you could go to Altitude Dispensary if you were just in Colorado. 

 I remember the idea early on in the legalization stages here in Colorado. Many folks were speculating that with legalization would come recreational tourism. There were two camps people were in with this: either they loved the idea of legalizing marijuana and the fact that that legalization would bring in tourism money to whichever state legalized it -OR- there were those who were not at all keen on the fact that Colorado might be inundated with folks from all over the country, and maybe even the world traveling to Colorado for the express purpose of checking out all the new dispensaries like Altitude Dispensary in Denver. Regardless of the large amounts of tourism money these cannabis loving tourists might bring in, folks in the latter camp were not thrilled about the possible influx of what they deeded to be seedy characters (they were smoking marijuana cigarettes) disrupting their daily life. 

It didn’t really matter what camp you were in. As soon as it become legal, people came (if you build it, they will come...and they did).

I remember when it first became legal and dispensaries were popping up everywhere in Colorado. I had a friend from Chicago come and visit (he wanted to ski, but he also want to legally smoke marijuana for the first time in his life). He arrived in the ski town a day before me and when I arrived, he told me about everything he had bought at the dispensary and how much it all cost (a lot!). So when we went together to the dispensary the next day, we were both surprised by the big price different from one day to the next. Turned out, back then, when it was first legal, those residents within the state in which it was legal got a rather large discount on all purchases. The frugalista in me was thrilled!

As far as I know, those discounts no longer apply. A tourist pays the same as a local these day, but that hasn’t meant that cannabis tourism has slowed down much. People are still coming to Colorado to ski and to smoke. For all your cannabis needs, whether you are flying in or simply walking by, Altitude Dispensary has you covered. They have a wide variety of flower, vapes, edibles and other products. Ask their friendly budtenders for what you are looking for.

So, I like marijuana, as you may have noticed. Like really, really like it, and chances are you do too. Right? I like the smell of it, the taste of it, and I really love the high of it. I love it so much that sometimes I worry that maybe, just maybe I’m smoking too much. And while smoking or eating cannabis is very different than drinking alcohol, for one the high doesn’t last nearly as long and the chances of becoming addicted to marijuana are far lower than the chances of becoming an alcoholic, you still may have some concerns about your consumption. And that’s ok. You can still partake in everything you love at Altitude Dispensary and be aware of your intake. This blog will show you how.

First, my next door neighbor has started using one of those little M-F pill containers to dole out his flower for each day. I think this is genius! Really. In this way he knows exactly how much he gets to smoke each day, and knows exactly how much he does smoke each day. It’s win win. Kind of like that diet that’s all about the different colored and sized containers...you can eat as much as you want as long as it fits in the container. The same is true for all the flower that is in his little daily pill box.

Often, the problem with monitoring your marijuana consumption is simply not being aware of how much you are smoking on any given day. Sure you go to Altitude Dispensary and buy an eight or a quarter of your preferred indica or sativa, or a hybrid (my favorite) or what have you, but how long does that last you? How often are you smoking throughout the day? Portioning out your weed for the day is a great way to be more aware of your daily intake. This helps you not only manage you consumption, but also your budget. When you know how much you are smoking, you know how often you need to stop into Altitude Dispensary to re-up your supply. Win win, again!

So maybe you are not into flower and perhaps prefer edibles. These are a bit easier to keep track of already. Hooray! Let’s take a look at edibles. These are great if you are trying to cut back because often their effects can be a lot longer lasting than the fast fading effects of smoking. This means you don’t have to eat as much or as often to reap the effects of an edible. This, again, can also help out with your budget too. You can buy fewer edibles, yet reap the same effect.

 Also, edibles tell you how potent they are right on the packaging, so there is no guessing. You know exactly how much THC you’re getting. They even often come with suggested doses-two gummies, or three drops in your water etc. This is a great way to keep track of how much you’re eating and how often. 

Whatever your fancy, the budtenders at Altitude Dispensary can help you find what you are looking for. Everything in moderation, even moderation is a motto I like to live by and these little tips can help us do that.