Gas Station CBD? Why You Should Always Buy Cannabis Products From a Dispensary

Quality of Product

It would be remiss to not acknowledge the pioneers of the underground cannabis movement that made legalization a reality. But times have changed since the days of yesteryear when Slacker Dave was running a low-level, illicit operation out of the back of his trunk. Yes, there are those professional, black/grey market dealers out in the wild that will always be ahead of the curve, introducing new genetics and crosses to the market. And on the same token, not all legal, large scale cannabis companies are guaranteed to grow great flower. There’s an equal amount of people producing great and poor products on both sides. 

But many times, where the large-scale company can have the advantage over the dealer running 2 lights in his apartment is in the overall quality of the product grown. Provided that the large-scale grower is doing everything correctly, the optimal, artificial environments created for the plants to grow in, as well as the practices of the operation itself, can drastically alter the quality of the product. Small scale, illegal growers just cannot compete with the technology and sustainability practices of large-scale operations. 

Authenticity of Product 

Now that CBD has gone mainstream, we often see decals on the windows of gas station convenience stores advertising its availability. But according to a study by the Journal of the American Medical Association, around 67% of over-the-counter CBD products do not include the amount of CBD advertised in them, with many of them containing only trace amounts of the cannabinoid. These products are not regulated by the FDA. 

How can they get away with this? As it turns out, the U.S. Government does not regulate legal, hemp-derived CBD products, which is what most of these convenience store CBD brands are. Therefore, there’s no system of checks and balances to ensure that you are getting what is advertised on the bottle.  

However, cannabis-derived CBD – which is different than hemp-derived CBD – is only sold inside legal medical/adult use marijuana dispensaries. Because most states require products sold from dispensaries to be tested by independent labs – usually by the individual batch – in most cases you can be sure that what you are buying from a dispensary matches what is on the label. State mandated lab testing also protects you from harmful by-products. 

Contaminants 

Here is where things can get scary. Many state legal cannabis programs have a series of strict testing regulations that protect you from ingesting harmful contaminants, such as pesticides, mold, heavy metals, or microbials. No disrespect intended toward the legacy cannabis industry, but there is no system in place in the illegal market to ensure that you the product you are lighting on fire and inhaling is not laced with something harmful. 

Many states in the legal industry do allow FDA approved pesticides; the same ones that are used for fruits and vegetables. These are safe to consume. However, without this system in the illicit market, if a pest infestation takes place, a garage grower may do whatever it takes to save their crop. If that means using a harmful, industrial pesticide like Eagle 20 to eradicate the bugs, so be it. Longterm ingestion of these chemicals can lead to serious illnesses and diseases, such as cancer.  

Further concern is with other contaminants that can pop-up during the cultivation process, such as mold, heavy metals, or microbials. If these are detected in a state-mandated test, the company must destroy the product. Unfortunately, again, there is no system in place to look for these things in the black market. Why risk it? 

Support Your State, Not a Cartel 

Largely, the legal cannabis industry has hurt the international drug cartels that previously thrived from building the marijuana market when it was unlawful. While many states’ cannabis programs aren’t yet perfect, supporting the legal market continues to take power away from dangerous cartels. Further, depending on your state’s tax structure, the legal market can help support your local economy. 

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Well, there you have it – four great reasons to support your local dispensary. It’s not just about us, it’s about you too.  

For more information, visit Bloc Dispensary. 

Sources: 

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2661569
https://time.com/3801889/us-legalization-marijuana-trade/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/modern-marijuana-more-potent-often-laced-heavy-metals-and-fungus-180954696/
https://www.chicagotribune.com/marijuana/sns-tft-cbd-oil-may-be-fake-20200514-cujpsrh2ljhgpkqyoe37ugkdwm-story.html