7 Most Common Questions I Hear as a Cannabis Budtender

Here at The Source cannabis dispensary in Rogers, Arkansas, we carry over 500 different cannabis products. This can be extremely overwhelming when shopping for cannabis—especially if you are a first-time consumer. 

Fortunately for our patients, our expert patient consultants (who we call “budtenders”) are highly educated on the therapeutic benefits of the cannabis plant and have extensive knowledge of our product catalog in order to better assist our patients in finding the best cannabis product for them. 

One such budtender and longtime employee of The Source Cannabis, Shaun Forrester, has compiled his answers to the 7 most common questions about cannabis he hears as a budtender.

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1. What's the cheapest cannabis flower you have with the highest THC?

If you are looking for cannabis flower that will be highly potent and achieve the desired results, we recommend looking at the dominant terpenes in your favorite cannabis strains, as the terpene profile of the strain is more important when it comes to using cannabis to treat your symptoms. While THC content is an important aspect of pain relief, the amount of THC is not the end-all, be-all of what you should know about a particular cannabis strain.

Around 80% of patients ask me for the cheapest cannabis flower with the highest THC, unaware that the entourage effect of terpenes and cannabinoids also affect how the product “hits.”

You will often find that a cannabis strain with lower THC levels will hit every bit as hard as a high-testing cannabis strain if it has the right blend of terpenes that your body responds to. If the high-THC strain doesn’t have the terpene profile your endocannabinoid system prefers, then the effects might not be as satisfying. This is known as the entourage effect, meaning that the benefits are derived from the whole cannabis plant. 

It's all about which cannabinoids bind to your cells' CB1 and CB2 receptors that determine which ones your body may need. Sometimes your body might need a cannabinoid that agitates a particular receptor to stimulate other receptors, and sometimes you need a cannabinoid that will inhibit the production of endogenous cannabinoids. 

Unfortunately, at this point, there is no test to check for these bio-markers, so each person has to go by trial and error using cannabis strains with various terpene profiles and cannabinoids like CBD, CBG, CBN, and THC, among others.

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2. What's the strongest edible you have?

In Arkansas, cannabis cultivators can only put 10 mg of THC per edible dose. Due to these state regulations on dosage per serving, finding the correct edible dose for yourself can be challenging. Some producers have made more potent edibles with multi-dose gummies, meaning there is more than one serving per piece. More doses have been favorable for many patients, as it makes it easier to get your desired dose in as few gummies as possible. 

Finding the correct dose for edibles can also be challenging because of the time it takes to feel the medicine kick in. It takes time to feel the effects of edibles because traditional edibles have to be processed through the liver in what's called first-pass metabolism. This process turns the Delta-9 THC (the psychoactive ingredient found in cannabis) into 11-hydroxy THC, so you feel more of a "body high" with traditional edibles. 

The good news is that new technology has allowed producers to create new "fast-acting" gummies that bypass this process. Nanotechnology is used to make the THC water soluble instead of fat-soluble, so the THC not only hits faster but also remains Delta-9 THC and gives you more of a "smoker's high."

If you are looking for this kind of effect from your edibles, we offer at our cannabis dispensary WANA’s Quick Acting gummies, Osage Creek’s Fast Acting gummies, and Good Day Farm’s Nano gummies, available in-store or through our online shop for pick-up or delivery.

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3. What is the best cannabis strain for sleep?

For many patients, the best thing for sleep is usually a good indica flower or concentrate. Cannabis strains like Eleven Roses, Commerce City Kush, and Scott's OG (among others) are excellent strain options to give you a relaxed or sedated effect. When you think indica, think “in da couch.”

However, it depends on your body chemistry; this is, without a doubt, the second most common question I hear daily at our Rogers dispensary, so if you would like to learn about our options, please consider stopping in and talking with another one of our knowledgeable team members or me. 

Consider flower alternatives for sleep

There are other options besides smoking or vaping, such as edibles, pure cannabis oil like ArkanRaw, and cannabis tinctures that also help with sleep. The main benefit of edibles is that producers can separate the cannabinoids that help most with sleep. CBN is the main cannabinoid that assists with sleep because it helps the body regulate its own melatonin production. Regulating your melatonin production benefits many, as some patients cannot take melatonin supplements because too much melatonin can cause night terrors, which is the opposite of what patients seek. 

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4. What is the best/strongest cannabis product for sleep that does not require smoking or vaping?

Cannabis consumption methods such as edibles, oils, and tinctures can provide relief for patients with COPD or other respiratory diseases that make smoking and vaping simply not options. I usually tell patients to start with a gummy that contains CBN: WANA’s fast-asleep gummies have 5 excellent cannabinoids, including CBN. If that isn't sufficient, you can try Smokiez gummies, a 1:1 ratio of CBN to THC, with 10 mg each per gummy. 

It can take 2 or more hours for an edible to take full effect, so we strongly recommend starting with a low dose first, between 2.5mg and 10mg, then slowly increasing as desired.

As someone who also has issues falling and staying asleep, I know that sometimes gummies and other types of edibles just don't do it. In these cases, you may need to use raw cannabis oil or cannabis tinctures with 500mg - 1000mg of THC. Start dosing low and slow: low doses are highly recommended when starting cannabis oils and tinctures, then slowly increase your dose until you find your happy place. You don’t want to start too fast because of the delayed onset of action in cannabis edibles. It’s essential to be aware that when you ingest cannabis as an edible, it can take two hours or more to reach its peak effect. That is quite the delay, which is why some people have been known to get impatient, eat more, and then regret it as the effects become too intense for them. Again, that’s the opposite of what you want. 

5. What's the best cannabis strain or product for pain?

Like treating sleep, I tell patients to use a high-THC flower for pain management. THC is the main cannabinoid that relieves pain, but CBD can add to the effectiveness of THC by reducing inflammation. However, you can go with a sativa or hybrid cannabis strain, if you prefer, instead of an indica; sativa-dominant strains are better for daytime pain relief because the effects of the cannabis sativa plant tend to energize and uplift the body and mind and not make you sleepy. 

With hybrid cannabis strains, I recommend trying a gram or two first of flower, especially if you're consuming during the day, as some hybrid strains have enough indica dominance that it could “couch-lock” or sedate you, making it hard to handle everyday tasks.

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6. What's the best cannabis product for pain when you can't smoke or vape?

The best cannabis products for pain that do not require smoking or vaping flower or cannabis concentrate are high-THC edibles, raw cannabis oils, tinctures, and transdermal patches. Just like when treating any symptom with cannabis oils and tinctures, you want to start with a low dose and go slow when increasing your dose. 

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7. What should I do if I can't smoke or vape cannabis and edibles do nothing for me?

If you have a high tolerance for THC, you might not feel anything from edibles, so your best bet will be cannabis-infused sublingual lozenges, tinctures, or edible raw oils. 

It is possible that edibles are not effective for you because the THC structure changes after first-pass metabolism (as previously discussed with traditional vs. fast-acting gummies). If this is the case, the sublingual lozenges work well because they do not need to be metabolized through the liver, meaning they are also fast-acting, which is beneficial for easier dosing. 

If you are needing this kind of cannabis product, we offer at our cannabis dispensary sublingual troches by Natural State Medicinals, tinctures by various cultivators like Shake Extractions, Natural State Medicinals, and Pure Pharma, as well as RSO, dabbable syringes, and ArkanRAW full-spectrum cannabis oil by River Valley Relief, available in-store or through our online shop for pick-up or delivery.

About The Source cannabis dispensary in Rogers, Arkansas

The Source is a fully vertical, state-of-the-art grow facility and cannabis dispensary located in Rogers, Arkansas. Our mission is to cultivate and dispense high-quality cannabis in a safe, friendly, and compliant environment. Shop our online store for free local delivery or pick-up, or stop by our dispensary today!

Resources:

• The “Entourage Effect”: Terpenes Coupled with Cannabinoids for the Treatment of Mood Disorders and Anxiety Disorders
• The Entourage Effect: Everything You Need to Know
• Getting High on the Endocannabinoid System
• What’s the difference between endocannabinoids and phytocannabinoids?
• Cannabis Edibles: How Do They Work?
• What Happens In The Liver When You Eat Edibles?