LOCAL OR IMPORTED

[ThaiBuddhaMan]

...Anyway, I remember seeing brick schwag at C3 the first time I went in. I laughed and asked if anyone bought it and he said exactly what someone said above, "Oh well some of our older patients prefer that because they are used to it from back in the day".

I was meeting with a potential patient who pretty much asked the same thing, if I could get the old skool cheap weed, like she used to smoke back in the 70's. She liked to make & smoke big fat joints and would prefer to be able to smoke the whole thing in one session. She said she was trying smoking and want to use mmj as a substitute. I had to chuckle.

[TheReleafCenter]

How can you tell by looking at 'em if they're Cali buds? We grow a lot of outdoor here too!

Anyway, I remember seeing brick schwag at C3 the first time I went in. I laughed and asked if anyone bought it and he said exactly what someone said above, "Oh well some of our older patients prefer that because they are used to it from back in the day".

Generally by the trim and the cure. It's not an exact science by any means.

[ThaiBuddhaMan]

Brick is very easy to tell. Now knowing where it came from is different but doesn't matter as it's not CO-Grown that's for sure!

ABC

[WilliamBreathes]

The first thing I look for in any dispensary is Cali buds. If they have 'em, I'm out. We have to hold everyone to high standards.

ABC!

amen.

[WilliamBreathes]

I was meeting with a potential patient who pretty much asked the same thing, if I could get the old skool cheap weed, like she used to smoke back in the 70's. She liked to make & smoke big fat joints and would prefer to be able to smoke the whole thing in one session. She said she was trying smoking and want to use mmj as a substitute. I had to chuckle.

this is why getting older folks into growing is best. they can throw seeds in and do a minimal-basic grow and come up with something around mid-grade quality taht doesn't come from mexico. I have a friend who's father does this with some outdoor on some acreage he has.... No strain names, he doesn't care -- he just grows it until it looks good to him and then he dries it and smokes it. I won't touch it, but whatever works for him -- he says our "shit is way to strong for an old man like me."

good stuff.

[WilliamBreathes]

Thanks again for the tip, Klonzic... and all you great folks on cannabis.com

As you can tell, the brick weed wasn't their only issue:

Special Kinds is special only if you like brick weed - Denver News - The Latest Word

I first heard about Special Kinds on a cannabis message board, and it wasn't because of anything good. People were amazed that this dispensary not only sold schwag, but pictured it on a relatively slick website. I had to see what kind of dispensary would so openly sell brick weed -- especially considering new laws about to take effect that will require every dispensary to be growing its own herb.

I expected some sort of storefront, or at least some signage, but drove up and down the street for a while before realizing that the small, residential duplex I kept passing was Special Kinds. A lot of dispensaries have popped up in converted houses, but Special Kinds is really in someone's house. I walked up, rang the doorbell and was greeted by a tattooed woman with a young Rottweiler. She told me to have a seat, that she'd be with me in a minute, and while I almost excused myself altogether from the cigarette-smelling house, I decided to stay for the experience.

After sitting down on the stained La-Z-Boy across from the dusty television with a pellet gun propped against it, I realized I'd already experienced similar places in less-than-legal times -- back in high school, when going to a friend of a friend of a friend's sketchy apartment to get pot was common. I looked around for a bit, admiring the framed pictures from an M.C. Escher calendar and the busted trampoline in the back, then realized that the girl across from me tapping away on her cell phone likely wasn't a patient, but someone who lived there. Sadly, everything I had imagined about a place that brags about selling brick weed was coming true.

The tiny, cramped living room was trashed and the bud bar was actually just the pantry of the tiny galley kitchen. One of the managers told me the goal was to have a more relaxed atmosphere than at the sterile dispensaries run by "kids." Special Kinds had stashed a lot of tinctures and edibles, as well as pot-infused candies, in a cabinet by the refrigerator; the ganja was stored in opaque, plastic cereal containers on a low shelf, with the menu scribbled out on a white board above the shelf. It listed several different kinds of "highs," including some supposed Skunk 1 and Afghani Kush; two "mids," which were actually two kinds of seeded brick weed, and one huge brick of dirt-brown shit weed -- the "low."

Later, when I spoke with a manager over the phone, he told me they offer the brick weed because customers have asked for it, even though it's pretty clear the pot isn't grown in Colorado (or even the United States, for that matter). He said that once the dispensary's in possession of it, though, it becomes legal medical marijuana: "If you're buying brick weed, you aren't going to buy it from someone who is legal. They are breaking the law, but legally we can do it. I figure there are people who request it, so we might as well get it for those people so they can get it from somewhere safe instead of off the street."

There wasn't much ganja in the shop that looked worthwhile; most looked compressed or unimpressive. But I did grab some of the Afghani Kush, which the bud-tender told me was soil-grown, though everything about this sample said it was done hydro -- from the coloring to the smell of Advanced Nutrients fertilizer. While the bud did have some fuzzy crystal goodness down in the crevasses, the huge fan leaves left on the bud really killed any aesthetic appeal this nug might have had. When I broke it open, it barely had the turpentine/rubber scent of a good Afghani Kush. The herb burned harsh and flavorless and I had a hard time packing up more than a few bowls of it. Medically, the strain usually puts me down for the count and is a great end-of-day smoke -- but the cut from Special Kinds was disappointingly weak.

I also bought the brick weed, to have photographic proof that there are still dispensaries selling this crap. I used it to practice spliff rolling, and threw it out when I was done. I could have smoked it, but didn't want to waste good herb chasing the taste out of my mouth, or waste time getting rid of the subsequent headache the brick weed would have caused. If the prices of herb in dispensaries are too high for you, search around and find a caregiver who offers better deals. If the "good stuff" is just too strong for you, smoke less.

I'm sure there are patients who get some benefit from the meds Special Kinds is selling -- and it's staffed by extremely friendly people. But there was very little about this "dispensary" that seemed medical to me. Patients in Arvada: I know you are hurting for dispensaries, but do yourself a favor and drive an extra ten minutes if it means avoiding places like this.

[TheReleafCenter]

How did I know you were talking about cannabis.com...

[ThaiBuddhaMan]

Thanks again for the tip, Klonzic... and all you great folks on cannabis.com

As you can tell, the brick weed wasn't their only issue:

Special Kinds is special only if you like brick weed - Denver News - The Latest Word ....

Read your article last week, forgot to give you props for a great article & service. Had me laughing! Though it saddens me that some patients are getting screwed like they are. But with the gov's signing off on the bill today, looks like more of us are going to get ... BOHICA!

[rightwinger]

Are there many dispensaries selling schwag? Until recently I have seen none on the shelf. There is a dispensary in Denver called Special Kinds that sells and advertises brick pack with seeds and stems for 60 an ounce. Anyone can view their menu at specialkinds.com do not get me wrong, I am all for bringing patients lower cost meds but we all know that this medicine most likely came from Mexico and sprayed and or contains god only knows what. These are the places IMO that also need to be boycotted and shut down. It is very obvious they are not buying local and their intentions might have been good but none the less they are importing product, and IMO this is unacceptable.

Under bill 1284--all marijuana must be grown in the State of Colorado. It cannot be imported from another state or place. Brick packs--with stems and seeds are obviously coming from somewhere else.

National geographic did a special on marijuana being smuggled in from Mexico--an that's exactly what they do--they brick pack it--take apart gas tanks in cars and try to get it in that way. Of course they also walk it over too.