Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
The daytime temperatures, as usual for the summer months, soared well into the triple digits in Mesquite on Saturday.
That didn't keep a line from forming at Deep Roots Harvest for the opening of recreational marijuana sales in Nevada.
The heat was so intense that, by noon, just two hours after opening its doors, Deep Roots had already spent about $250 on bottled water so that the flock of people patiently waiting their turn to browse the selection of cannabis strains, edibles and extracts for sale legally for the first time in the Silver State, would be properly hydrated.
"This has been a long wait, overdue definitely," said one customer who identified himself as Chris. "I'd always hoped for this day, but I didn't think I'd see it."
Cannabis dispensaries in Nevada were introduced to an exponentially larger customer base and a corresponding increase in demand overnight – literally. When the clock struck midnight on Saturday, Las Vegas customers lined up in the hundreds were already waiting to make their purchases.
In Mesquite, hundreds of people from Nevada, Arizona and Utah – at least according to the license plates in the parking lot – came to purchase cannabis legally in the Virgin Valley after the Mesquite City Council chose not to impose a moratorium on recreational sales at its June 27 meeting.
As the expanded customer base will bring with it an increase in demand for the product, dispensaries will need to increase their attention to detail, said Deep Roots Chief Operating Officer Ryan Breeden.
"The biggest challenge is being 100 percent compliant, because if we're not 100 percent compliant you're out of compliance. There's no margin for error. We have to run this company really tight," Breeden said. "Any time you have an increase in traffic, your chances of being out of compliance go up. So we have to make sure we don't let the increase in volume effect our compliance."
Regulations for recreational cannabis, for example, are not the same as for medical cannabis.
"For instance, some products are OK for medical patients – there's no really dosing restrictions to medical – but a rec customer, we can't sell them anything over 10 milligrams a dose," he said. "It's a marathon, not a sprint. We need to slow down and make sure nobody is walking out of here with something they shouldn't."
Breeden also mentioned that smokable extract is limited to 4,000 milligrams per transaction for recreational use, whereas there is no milligram limit for a medical patient. Cannabis-infused drinks are only being sold for medical purposes at Deep Roots because of their dosage.
Beyond physically preparing enough product for the new stream of business and remaining in compliance with industry regulations, industry professionals also have a third tier to their labor – destigmatizing an industry in its infancy which, currently, is only accepted in choice parts of the country.
"Part of normalizing this industry is ensuring that medical and recreational facilities are seamlessly integrated into the normal daily life of the community," Breeden said. "Mesquite is a pretty beautiful place, we don't want to disrupt that. The last thing we want is to cause a disruption or an issue in town. So part of destigmatizing is ensuring days like today go off well."
If the customers are any barometer of how the day's success, Breeden and company should be pleased.
"Everybody that's leaving this place got smiles on their faces," said one customer named Shawn.
A cannabis user for about 10 years, Shawn said he would now plan to purchase cannabis primarily at a licensed dispensary rather than seek it elsewhere.
"I'd rather go somewhere that you know what it is, how much THC, you know everything about it because it's all labeled," he said.
Shawn's friend, Chris, said he'd be doing the same. Both customers declined to provide their last names.
"You know what you're getting and they have a variety to choose from instead of just going to a dealer and getting one strain like, 'Oh here it is, this is what you're getting.' You can go in here and get a strain that is based on what you're looking for," Chris said.
Their friend, Nolan, was in Mesquite from St. George. He said he wasn't much worried about being stopped bringing cannabis across the border into Utah, where possession is punishable by up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine. He acknowledged the likelihood that Utah law enforcement may be cracking down.
"It's a cat-and-mouse game as far as the law is concerned," he said, adding "This is enough to make me want to relocate."
Mesquite's location near the border of three states – two of which do not recognize cannabis as legal for recreational use – has always added an extra degree of sensitivity to the discussion. An Arizona resident asked that her photograph not be taken because she was worried her employer might see it and fire her.
An officer from Mesquite Police Department made a slow loop around the Deep Roots parking lot just after 1 p.m., though Officer Quinn Averett described it as routine.
"He was just driving through just to see how many people were up there. We don't have officers targeting that area or anything like that," Averett said.
Breeden said that eventual acceptance comes down to proper education, a responsibility he said the industry collectively carries.
"I think one of the most important things in terms of destigmatizing this industry is education," he said. "A lot of that falls on us here. A lot of people coming in today, this might be their first experience with cannabis ever, so we don't take that responsibility lightly. We might be the first time they've been educated about cannabis, here today."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Cannabis takes root in Nevada
Author: Lucas M Thomas
Contact: Contact | St. George Spectrum
Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Website: St. George News - Home
That didn't keep a line from forming at Deep Roots Harvest for the opening of recreational marijuana sales in Nevada.
The heat was so intense that, by noon, just two hours after opening its doors, Deep Roots had already spent about $250 on bottled water so that the flock of people patiently waiting their turn to browse the selection of cannabis strains, edibles and extracts for sale legally for the first time in the Silver State, would be properly hydrated.
"This has been a long wait, overdue definitely," said one customer who identified himself as Chris. "I'd always hoped for this day, but I didn't think I'd see it."
Cannabis dispensaries in Nevada were introduced to an exponentially larger customer base and a corresponding increase in demand overnight – literally. When the clock struck midnight on Saturday, Las Vegas customers lined up in the hundreds were already waiting to make their purchases.
In Mesquite, hundreds of people from Nevada, Arizona and Utah – at least according to the license plates in the parking lot – came to purchase cannabis legally in the Virgin Valley after the Mesquite City Council chose not to impose a moratorium on recreational sales at its June 27 meeting.
As the expanded customer base will bring with it an increase in demand for the product, dispensaries will need to increase their attention to detail, said Deep Roots Chief Operating Officer Ryan Breeden.
"The biggest challenge is being 100 percent compliant, because if we're not 100 percent compliant you're out of compliance. There's no margin for error. We have to run this company really tight," Breeden said. "Any time you have an increase in traffic, your chances of being out of compliance go up. So we have to make sure we don't let the increase in volume effect our compliance."
Regulations for recreational cannabis, for example, are not the same as for medical cannabis.
"For instance, some products are OK for medical patients – there's no really dosing restrictions to medical – but a rec customer, we can't sell them anything over 10 milligrams a dose," he said. "It's a marathon, not a sprint. We need to slow down and make sure nobody is walking out of here with something they shouldn't."
Breeden also mentioned that smokable extract is limited to 4,000 milligrams per transaction for recreational use, whereas there is no milligram limit for a medical patient. Cannabis-infused drinks are only being sold for medical purposes at Deep Roots because of their dosage.
Beyond physically preparing enough product for the new stream of business and remaining in compliance with industry regulations, industry professionals also have a third tier to their labor – destigmatizing an industry in its infancy which, currently, is only accepted in choice parts of the country.
"Part of normalizing this industry is ensuring that medical and recreational facilities are seamlessly integrated into the normal daily life of the community," Breeden said. "Mesquite is a pretty beautiful place, we don't want to disrupt that. The last thing we want is to cause a disruption or an issue in town. So part of destigmatizing is ensuring days like today go off well."
If the customers are any barometer of how the day's success, Breeden and company should be pleased.
"Everybody that's leaving this place got smiles on their faces," said one customer named Shawn.
A cannabis user for about 10 years, Shawn said he would now plan to purchase cannabis primarily at a licensed dispensary rather than seek it elsewhere.
"I'd rather go somewhere that you know what it is, how much THC, you know everything about it because it's all labeled," he said.
Shawn's friend, Chris, said he'd be doing the same. Both customers declined to provide their last names.
"You know what you're getting and they have a variety to choose from instead of just going to a dealer and getting one strain like, 'Oh here it is, this is what you're getting.' You can go in here and get a strain that is based on what you're looking for," Chris said.
Their friend, Nolan, was in Mesquite from St. George. He said he wasn't much worried about being stopped bringing cannabis across the border into Utah, where possession is punishable by up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine. He acknowledged the likelihood that Utah law enforcement may be cracking down.
"It's a cat-and-mouse game as far as the law is concerned," he said, adding "This is enough to make me want to relocate."
Mesquite's location near the border of three states – two of which do not recognize cannabis as legal for recreational use – has always added an extra degree of sensitivity to the discussion. An Arizona resident asked that her photograph not be taken because she was worried her employer might see it and fire her.
An officer from Mesquite Police Department made a slow loop around the Deep Roots parking lot just after 1 p.m., though Officer Quinn Averett described it as routine.
"He was just driving through just to see how many people were up there. We don't have officers targeting that area or anything like that," Averett said.
Breeden said that eventual acceptance comes down to proper education, a responsibility he said the industry collectively carries.
"I think one of the most important things in terms of destigmatizing this industry is education," he said. "A lot of that falls on us here. A lot of people coming in today, this might be their first experience with cannabis ever, so we don't take that responsibility lightly. We might be the first time they've been educated about cannabis, here today."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Cannabis takes root in Nevada
Author: Lucas M Thomas
Contact: Contact | St. George Spectrum
Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Website: St. George News - Home