If you’ve just received your recommendation to use cannabis, you’re probably ready to start trying it out. But where to begin? Many patients feel a bit confused about how to even find cannabis products in their area. In this article, part of a series geared towards folks new to cannabis, I’ll share some great resources that can help make your medical marijuana search quick, easy and successful.
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Finding Cannabis with HelloMD’s Product Search
One easy way to find products is to use HelloMD’s product search. You can browse through the options, hone in on different product types using the search filters, or look for something specific by typing in exactly what you’re looking for.
Another thing that’s helpful about HelloMD’s product database is that it includes descriptions that tell you a little more about the products with details like:
- what conditions it’s recommended for
- whether it’s psychoactive, and
- how much CBD or THC the product contains
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Searching for Local Cannabis Dispensaries
One great way to look for local marijuana dispensaries in your area is by conducting an online search, typing in your town’s name along with “cannabis” or “dispensary” via Google or another search engine. Sometimes dispensaries have a web presence of their own and may even have a menu of their products available to view.
Exploring Marijuana Delivery Services
Some folks prefer to avoid the dispensary altogether and opt for delivery services instead. What’s great about delivery is you don’t have to leave your home—you just place your order and the cannabis you ordered comes to you. This can be especially helpful for patients with mobility issues, who find it difficult to make trips out of the house. And for those who have busy lives, having one less errand to take care of is always a plus.
You can find delivery services online in the same way you can find dispensaries. Since delivery services are smaller and sometimes homegrown, patients can find that it takes a little more work to find a delivery service that maintains the quality they’re looking for. Luckily, there are some great companies to choose from.
Meeting Up with Cannabis Patients
Another option for finding local cannabis is to look for patient-to-patient resources. Depending on the law in your area, you may be able to trade marijuana with other cannabis patients. There are websites that facilitate these kinds of trades by allowing individual marijuana patients to list products they have available for trade or purchase. The people listing here are often patients who cultivate their own medicine and have more than they can use themselves.
While these message boards are often a great place to find cannabis in bulk—and have deals that you couldn’t get in the dispensary, it’s important to take a cautious approach. There’s no quality control when you purchase from someone you just met online, and the last thing you want is to spend money on bulk marijuana only to discover it’s contaminated with mold or pesticides. While patient-to-patient meet-ups can work well for experienced cannabis users who know what they’re looking for, this might not be the best avenue to choose if you’re new to cannabis.
Getting Advice about Cannabis Products
Cannabis products come in many shapes and sizes, and most medical marijuana patients—86% according to our 2016 Medical Marijuana Patient Survey—agree that different strains create different feelings and effects. We’ve found that the majority of patients settle into two to three products that they use regularly.
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Of course, many patients wonder what types of cannabis works best for them. This is an important question, and one that I’ll go into more detail about later on in this series for cannabis newbies. That said, you can get started on your quest for the product that best suits your needs by seeking out advice from those with more experience.
Your recommending physician is a great place to start and may have specific parameters for you, such as types of cannabis or ways to use cannabis that might be particularly helpful for your condition. HelloMD’s doctors as well as its Q&A feature are a great resource for these kinds of questions.
Budtenders, or cannabis consultants, can also be very helpful with the advice they give, and some may be able to direct you to products that are a good match for your needs. However, this can really depend on the individual budtender. Some are exceptionally knowledgeable and able to go into depth about the different products’ effects, while others are really just trained to be sales clerks and can’t really help steer you in the right direction. If you’re just starting out, it can be worth your while to try a few dispensaries in order to find your go-to budtender or cannabis consultant.
Choosing the Best Dispensary for You
There are so many ways to find marijuana products near you. You just need to know where to look and what to look for. In the next installment of our Cannabis for Newbies guide, we’ll delve further into this topic and talk about how to pick the right dispensary for your needs. Now that you know how to find all the dispensaries in your area, we’ll show you how to choose a good dispensary out of the bunch.
Need a medical marijuana recommendation? Consult with one of HelloMD’s knowledgeable doctors; it’s easy, private and 100% online.
