The weed-shopping experience has come a long way since recreational dispensaries first opened in Colorado. Take flower, for example: Formerly just buds in a faceless jar, flower is now branded and packaged with ever-changing names and bright colors as growers get the shine they deserve but that evolution has come at a price.
No longer restricted by laws requiring the majority of weed sold at a dispensary to also be produced by the dispensary, wholesale growers are turning potheads into sneaker-heads, dropping new strains with $60-an-eighth price tags and plenty of hype on Instagram. Like most trends on social media, this affects a vocal minority of cannabis shoppers but shoppers with deep pockets and loud voices nonetheless.