Your first Cannabis Dispensary Visit

You have been on a flight for hours to LAX for your vacation, event or conference, check in to your hotel and you finally have time to relax. You heard that Recreational Cannabis became legal in Los Angeles and you are ready for your first visit to some of these Cannabis Dispensaries that you have heard about. Where do you start?

Research
One of the first things that you can do is research your local area and see if there are any legit Cannabis Dispensaries in your immediate area or even delivery perhaps. Mobile apps Yelp ,  Weedmaps , and Leafly can help in seeing the menu, pictures of the facility  and some customer feedback (some words of caution, some reviews are conditional meaning that they were incentivized to do the review) so take it with a grain of salt. Looking at the menu of the Cannabis Dispensaries and getting a general idea of pricing is how the above mentioned apps work the best. Instagram and other social media can help as well, however whatever city you are in including LA our best advice is ask an Cannabis expert or take a Cannabis Experience Tour, for several reasons, for one you have experts who are willing to take you to where the best Medical and Recreational Cannabis is with discounts and other perks.



The Visit
Once you have figured out where you would like to purchase your Recreational or Medical Cannabis you need to make sure you are prepared, because sometimes the first visit can be overwhelming. Get Cash, most dispensaries are operating under state laws and are patiently waiting for the Federal Government to give them the "green light" allowing more banking opportunities, however until then most Cannabis Dispensaries take cash only, however there are ATMs in most ($3 charges on average). Current State Issued ID Card, you  will need to bring a current State Issued ID card or Passport (21+ for recreational), if you are under the age of 18 you will need to get your Doctors Recommendation Card (If visiting LA, here is a losangeles420evaluations.com/). You will present your ID to the person usually behind the glass and wait until the security guard calls you back. You cannot consume of the premises (although some will allow, you have to do the research) so do not do it or you can be banned (shameless plug, you can consume on our 420 friendly bus). Budtenders, this is the equivalent to a Bartender at a Bar or a Barista at your favorite coffee shop and they can make or break your experience as they should know about the Cannabis including asking you what effects your are looking for, or what are Terpenes? Genrally the budtenders are very attractive females, some with personalities and some who can actually guide you to a wonderful Cannabis Experience, so make sure your take your time and get with the right one, if they appear to be rushed or not attentive, ask for someone else.

Consumption
There are several ways to consume cannabis and each have their own benefits and depending on your tolerance some methods might work better for you. First off if you have never consumed cannabis or it has been quite some time since your last joint, take baby steps because this is not your momma's cannabis. Pre-Rolls are cannabis "cigarettes" usually rolled by the dispensary or cannabis brands, some are stronger than others so make sure you look at potency and type (Indica, Sativa, or Hybrid)  and only take a couple of tokes in the beginning and pace yourself. Indicas will usually leave you a little "couch locked" or stuck so generally people usually use Indica at night to help with sleep. If you are looking for more of a daytime cannabis, try Sativa which is known for being uplifting and sometime increase your creativity; If you are looking for a combination of both, then Hybrids might be the best bet, some industry experts state that most of all cannabis being currently distributed are some form of a Hybrid cannabis strain.  Flowers can be purchased by the gram, 8th (3.5 grams) price range $30-60, Quarter( 7 grams) $60-$120, Half Ounce (14 grams) $120-$240  and Ounce(28 grams)  and with the recent laws, several are pre-packaged (however most have samples to smell) which depending on the date of packaging can be somewhat dry so always ask your Budtender "Whats fresh?". Concentrates are the result of the extraction of chemical THC from the plant (If you would like to see the THC extraction  process click here)  and are not for newbies because of the high potency and we would recommend building up your tolerance prior to trying concentrates, if you are feeling brave please consult your Budtender. Edibles are a favorite way to consume cannabis without exposing your lungs to the potential harm that smoking anything can do. Edibles are eaten and based on most recent California Law can be consumed in 10 mg doses and a maximum of 100 mgs per pack (10 doses per package) which can be very strong to those who have never eaten a cannabis edible. There are consumption guides that can help you with dosage, however would recommend starting off very small and slow, as edibles are digested and can take some time to take affect, so be patient if you do not feel anything wait about an half an hour to an hour to see how you are feeling. Tinctures and Topical  (Lotions, Oils, and more)  and  are also becoming a more popular way to consume cannabis taking advantage of the health benefits (CBDs, THC-A, ETC).

Traveling
If you are traveling in a vehicle it is illegal to consume cannabis, however it is perfectly legal on our 420 friendly cannabis bus (shameless plug lol) so please wait until you are at a safe consumption location (Home, Cannabis Bus, or Cannabis Lounge) before medicating. If you are traveling by plane we would recommend looking at the local laws of the place you are traveling to for laws and rules around cannabis transporting. In 2018 LAX released news stating that TSA they were no longer enforcing federal cannabis laws at LAX and it would be up to local law enforcement to intervene and LAPD said they were "not really" interested in participating in the enforcement. I have heard several people tell me that they have traveled with an once, however we are not suggesting that. If you are going to travel with it, DON'T BE GREEDY, that is how you get caught up. Repackage your edibles so that are not as obvious and put away you meds in something that does not look so obvious. In my recent travels to Seattle,WA (another great place for Cannabis) I traveled and check a bag with pre-rolled blunts and had no issue, Seattle is also a cannabis friendly state so make sure you do your research. 

Bottom line is do your research when you get to LA, because there are several illegal dispensaries operating which means that thier information is not validated or approved by any governing body, so anything goes. You want your first cannabis experience to be an amazing one so make sure you do your research or save yourself the hassle and Book a Tour! 

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