Our First Dispernsary Visit! First Impressions.....

So Mr Hound and I went to some Northern CA dispensaries yesterday to see what's, what they were like etc.....In some ways they were what we expected (they sold GANJA!) but in several other ways they were not at ALL what we thought they would be.

We went to three total. Two of the three dispensaries had armed security guards (one had two......one outside and one inside as well) and in the third place the owner had a pistol in his belt.

Only one was in an area of town that REALLY made me nervous despite the guard and Mr Hound being right there......the two others were in very average spots (although it was mentioned to me that one place had been robbed several times....hence the guns...) and the procedure to get INTO the building was a bit.......we brought our letters and STILL had to be verified by phone......at all three places! Neither one of us are complaining about it....just seems sad that it all has to be so securely done and guarded. We completely understand WHY it had to be done and THATS the part that is sad we feel. Once everything was verified we were let in to look around.

Care to share which clubs you visited? I've only been to 3 so far (PCC in Berkeley, Blue Sky in Oakland, and HS in Richmond).

And yeah, it's a hassle to get verified by phone, but too many people are making fake recommendations (it's pretty damn easy) to get into the clubs. That's why I just went and got my OCBC card so I never have to be verified.

I'm trying to find a place with some good clones, though.

These are actually in the Sacramento area. They were Hugs, Doctor's Orders and Nor Cal Alternative Healing......all within the limits of the city of Sac. At the places you went were they heavily guarded as well?

So after all the phone calls, filling out forms etc....we went into the first place. We only bought something at one place but were impressed by the selection offered.....most straight ganj at $20 gram and clones between $15-25 apiece. All three places were pretty different as far as the building itself. One was a house, one a rented office and one new looking building that was most likely put up for that purpose.

I glanced at the clones and saw nothing wrong with them......from a distance of about 5 feet so cannot talk about pests or anything but all the clones I saw (2 places had them) seemed like healthy and happy plants to me WSC. :)

Sounds like You all had a fine day, cept the guns anyway. i was hesitating this year getting my state card, but after hearing of the hassel of just using the recomendation, maybe i will get it. i just asumed with out the card you could not get into those places. guess i was wrong there. Thanks for the info.
Maybe next time down that way i will look in on one.

I would take a guess and say that the places west coast style went to were prolly guraded...I dont know about Berkley but i bet Oakland and Richmond had gurards...

How many clubs you think they have in the TOWN?

Hey thanks for reading you guys. :) I was struck by several things that I wanted to post....the main being AGAIN....contrary to what I would have thought (and what I grew up with) the patients using these places were NOT a bunch of sad ass stoners. We saw people from ALL walks of life here and whenever I see that I am reminded that it really is NOT the same it used to be. Cannabis DOES have good medical applications....and most likely many more than it is used for now.

THAT gets me to start thinking about things that folks like Markass have always talked about......legalizing. I'm somewhat ashamed to say that while I've used cannabis for several years it's only in the last few MONTHS I've learned more about than I ever did before (except for growing it). And had my mind changed about its use about 180 degrees. And I like to consider myself...well...perhaps SOMEWHAT learned.....(as do we all :D) so there are a LOT more folks out there who minds need to be opened in this respect.

Inbud....bring your doc's letter, CA ID or DL and come at a time when your doctors office is open and can be called to verify you are a patient. We were told this at absolutely EVERY single place we looked into. I don't think you have to do this EVERY time you go.....once you are verified at a place you are good after that. :)

I wouldn't necessarily say they were heavily guarded. They all had a guard out front. I don't think they had any guns, at least not visibly. They guards are pretty friendly, I just show them my card and they let me in. The shop in Oakland (Blue Sky) is actually a coffee/juice shop up front (I see kids in here all the time), and you buy the meds in the back room. There is a guard in front, though.

For the card, go to Welcome to PIDC's Home Page for more info. I faxed them my doctor's rec to get pre-verified. Then I just went to their place, filled out some forms, took a picture and got my card. They even gave me a list of dispensaries/coops in the state of CA.

To my knowledge, there are four clubs in Oakland: Blue Sky (formerly known as SR-71) on 17th street, California Advocate Relief Exchange (CARE) on Broadway, Purple Heart Center on 4th, and Harborside Health Center off Embarcadero.

And thanks for the info, Weedhound, I'll have to check out those places if I'm ever out around the Sac area!

I went to another place in Berkeley called Berkeley Patients Group off San Pablo Ave.

The staff was super friendly. They had a big white board in the back as their menu the strains they currently had. When I went in today around 6:45 PM (they were closing at 7), their top-grade was All-Star Romulan for $60 w/tax. I picked up an eighth of some stuff called Goosh and some Jack Herer. Both sativas. Both really good. They had a bunch of edibles (a good variety) and hash/kif. I think they also had some cheap schwag/bammer called El Bueno, but no thanks on that one.

Anyway, like I said, the dude up front on the register was very friendly and gave me a quick rundown since I was new to the place. They also let you medicate on site so it's cool to have a place to chill at and relax (although I did not have a chance to today). Oh yeah, they give you some card and for every $20 you spend (before taxes), you get a $1 credit on that card. I guess that's cool, but that means I'll have to spend $1000 to have enough credit for a $50 eighth. lol. It's worth a visit, IMO.