How to Know If a Weed Dispensary Is Legal

While cannabis may be legal in some form in 40 states, legality is a relative term, as federal legalization is not yet the law of our increasingly marijuana-loving country.

In practice, this means that instead of a well-regulated national market, each legal state has its own rules on how and to whom you can sell weed, and each state has its own fight against an unauthorized gray market. It’s no secret that places like New York are facing an influx of “illegal” stores , and aside from the resurgence of the smoldering war on drugs, it’s hard to know what to do about it.

If you eat, smoke, or smoke marijuana, you definitely want to make sure it’s not tampered with in any way. Although licensed recreational and medical markets have faced recalls from time to time, their products are generally recognized as safe by both the state government and the people who patronize them.

Why shop legally?

While they’ll probably be more expensive than what’s on offer for this guy on Telegram, legal marijuana bought from a licensed dispensary will give you peace of mind. Products coming from other sources do not have the same chain of ownership or paper trail and are not subject to the same testing regimes required by many states. Some people may still count on their longtime dealers, but the new gray market is more like capitalism’s usual condiment – imagine “smoking shops” selling mysterious vapes filled with who knows what – than the old days when it was a relationship based on trust and willingness to mutually commit illegal activities.

While some of these sub-sanctioned cannabis strains may be perfectly acceptable for consumption, if you’re a medical user or a sensitive population – or just plain paranoid – you don’t want anything added to your product for a long list of safety reasons .

Here are tips on how to make sure your cannabis shop is legal, whether you visit in person or online.

Look for government logos and licenses (and compare the packaging to the real deal)

When looking for a store, search terms can be crucial. We hope “medical dispensaries” will narrow down the choices to more stringent medical stores if you’re in a state with a medical program and you have a card. “Recreational dispensary” may lead to some other results, as gray area stores sometimes imitate the language of legal (but not medical) stores.

Sanctioned, licensed shops take your information and scan, not just look at your ID. While some unlicensed stores will make sure you turn 21 and add you to a loyalty program or even pay taxes, they have very few remedies if their products make you feel sick compared to a business under government agency oversight.

Many law dispensaries like to distance themselves from the gray market, so they prominently display logos, documents, and language to identify themselves as licensees. For example, in New York, stores display the state logo and a QR code that you can scan to see their integrity, while in California , you can quickly find licensees in a database . You should also pay attention to the packaging. If what you’re buying includes a brand name, google it to see if it’s an established manufacturer. If so, look up the name of the strain (as well as any numeric identifiers and packaging dates—information that should normally be on the label for anything legally produced) to make sure they pass the smell test. There is a tough market for counterfeit packaging, but you can usually tell the difference between a fake and the real thing (spelling is a key factor).

Do your research

If you google “cannabis shop” it won’t go into your permanent entry, but you’ll be surprised at the mixed results you get if you do. Since the Farm Bill was passed in 2018, synthetic cannabinoids have become more common in retail, both online and in person. It can be difficult for the average consumer to tell the difference between a cannabis-derived product, a hemp-derived product, or a synthetically created product, and many don’t understand why they should care.

Federal loopholes are to blame for all this confusion. People have basically realized that it is possible to synthesize THC from hemp cannabinoids, which are legal in most states (thank you for that, Farm Bill!), but the results mean it’s hard for beginners to know exactly what they’re getting . While THC grows naturally on both cannabis plants and hemp plants, one does not have the same legal status, so the rush to create “compatible” cannabinoid products has gotten things into a really weird place. Unfortunately, this means that the responsibility lies with you when you buy something. Google the product name, read the fine print on the label, and understand the difference between delta-8, delta-9, and THC-O.

Verifiable online stores are secure; others, not so much

It’s probably not safe to order cannabinoid products from any national online store you haven’t looked at, unless you’re into hemp cannabinoids and synthetic alternatives.

Hemp is federally legal, but cannabis is not, so anyone who sells you “cannabis” across state lines on the Internet is either breaking some rules or selling you hemp or synthetics like cannabis. Licensed online retailers sell cannabis in several states where it is legal, but they will never operate outside of the states.

Cannabis review sites like Weedmaps and Leafly have results that are sometimes ranked based on partnerships, but they don’t actively advertise illegal shops, at least not anymore . Check reviews of any stores you wish to review, paying attention to scams and fees – the Better Business Bureau has reported a surge in dispensary-related scams. (This can be directly blamed on the lack of secure banking services for most cannabis businesses.)

Licensed online cannabis stores can take your order directly if you’re in a legal state and will usually deliver it the same day, but they definitely won’t take your order if they can’t fulfill it, so that’s one of the guarantees against any confusion.

All of this could have been avoided.

Critics say unauthorized stores are killing the sanctioned market themselves, and it’s safe to say that states like New York are full of clutter, but is this herb safe? When it comes from legal manufacturers, it can be.

In states like California and Oregon, the unauthorized market is certainly still thriving at the retail level, but more importantly, it is fueling the rest of the nation’s markets as wholesalers. According to a recent court case , even licensed businesses are accused of sending licensed products through the back door to other states.

As one of the main growing regions, you can find California products in stores across the country, but since interstate trade is not yet allowed, they do not reach their destination through official channels.

While legit growers in states like New York are to be commended for working hard to provide a greedy market, it’s definitely odd logic to grow your own when even farmers from states with long growing histories (and long growing seasons) struggle to sell theirs. products. legally. Supply and demand are balanced and satisfied by the gray market, but for law-abiding legal operators, the same trade is prohibited.

Instead of the mystery of supply mismatches and loopholes that allow the market for synthetic cannabinoids to run wild , buying marijuana should be easy and safe. The gray area leaves room for both scammers and bad or counterfeit products. It’s time for the feds to legitimize growers and sellers and focus on quality assurance like any other agricultural product, so maybe worry your legislators about that.