Think of cannabis dispensaries as your one-stop shop for everything Cannabis. These are commercial stores with a professional staff, offering you a wide variety of cannabis products to cater to your recreational or wellness needs. You can buy a wide range of cannabis products at these shops.
There are many things that make a dispensary the perfect one, some of which we have explained in the next section. Although it is important to know what constitutes a good dispensary, it is equally important to have the skill to be able to identify the bad apples. This guide deals with identifying the Cannabis dispensaries that you should avoid.
What’s a good Cannabis Dispensary?
According to us, a good Cannabis Dispensary has certain essential features. These are:
- Welcoming nature of staff: Friendly staff goes a long way in building an association of the buyer with the dispensary
- Customer Reviews: Positive customer reviews bode well for a cannabis dispensary and speak to the quality of the product that they offer
- A convenient location helps you in accessing your dispensary easily. Convenience is based on your frequency of purchase.
- Quality: Having a good quality product is very important. A compromise on quality can mean a loss of money and a potential risk to your health.
- Price: Affordability is a top ranking factor for a good dispensary. A good cannabis dispensary sells cannabis products at affordable rates to consumers without charging an extremely high margin.
- Delivery options: Some dispensaries offer home deliveries while some do not. A good dispensary is one that suits you. You can also check for subscription based services at a good dispensary.
- A good cannabis dispensary is one that sources organic products.
Type of Dispensaries you need to avoid

The Oh So Gala ones
If when you enter your dispensary it feels like you’re entering a sophisticated art museum, then it is probably that and not a dispensary. Such places are meant for exquisite taste testing and display for the nouveau rich. They cater to a specific cross-section of people and do not cater to common individuals who consume cannabis products almost daily. So if you see your friend dragging you to one of these dispensaries, then it’s time to say no to them.
The Hole in Pocket ones
Beginners get awestruck by the other-worldliness of cannabis dispensaries. Dispensaries can seem unreal and imaginative. And in this excitement, people end up paying way more than they normally would at a good dispensary.
You need to make sure that the dispensary you’re at is affordable. Many dispensaries price match, i.e. if you find a product being sold at a price lower than what they’re selling then they would match that price for you.
Therefore, steer away from dispensaries that charge you a lot. You might be getting swindled at high prices!
The cheap as water ones
If your dispensary is selling you cannabis products that seem suspiciously low for the price, then that’s a red flag. Often, such dispensaries sell products that are contaminated in some way and form. These contaminants might be with the view of increasing the potency of the product or making it long-lasting. Either they’re harmful to your health.
To get a better understanding of the prices of a particular product, consider googling it. You will find a list of websites selling the same product. Thus you can get an idea of the price that the product sells at.
The shady ones
Dispensaries that are located in the suburbs of the city or at notorious places rife with crime are best avoided. They can lead to one too many unpleasant experiences for you that might make you dislike cannabis altogether. Such establishments might not even be licensed and thus you can easily run into trouble with the law.
Good dispensaries near you would be located in a popular marketplace with big banners and signboards. It is not a business to hide if it runs on a valid license, these small details tell you just that.
The entitled ones
Have you ever gone to a shop where the staff there behaves with you as if you owe them a million dollars? Well if that happens to you when you go to a cannabis dispensary, then it is definitely a place you need to avoid. Such dispensaries where you are made to feel un-welcomed and hostile, even though you pay for a good experience don’t deserve your time or your money.
You can instead invest in a better place where the staff is courteous to you, and has a lounge or a waiting area for you to rest or stay at till someone comes to cater to you.
The inferior quality ones
Dispensaries that compromise on the quality of their products are not good dispensaries period. A dispensary should not sell you a product of lower quality, come what may. It’s their job as a professional establishment to have a commitment to unwavering quality.
A sudden drop in the potency of a cannabis product from your favorite dispensary might be an indicator that the shop is not being run well and that it is perhaps time to change to a new dispensary.
The unhygienic ones
Cannabis products are meant for human consumption, therefore it is important that they are not contaminated. In this pursuit having a clean and hygienic store is an important element. While you wait for your turn with the budtender, notice how many times a clever comes to wipe the floors or do general maintenance. A high rush area like a shop has to be cleaned several times an hour to maintain hygiene and zero contamination of the product.
FAQs
- Do Cannabis Dispensaries charge you for entering the premises?
No, they do not.
- Is product testing available at a cannabis dispensary?
Generally, product testing is not available at a dispensary.
- Do dispensaries offer home delivery?
Yes, there are some dispensaries that offer such services. Contact your dispensary to know more about the kind of services that they offer.
- Can you be imprisoned for going to a dispensary?
Going to a Cannabis Dispensary is not illegal.