Ask A Budtender: Maplewood Dispensary Answers 5 Legal Weed Questions – Maplewood, NJ Patch

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Are you ready to buy legal cannabis from “an experienced budtender” in New Jersey?

TerrAscend, the company that owns two of the 13 cannabis dispensaries permitted to sell for recreational use starting April 21, released a list this week of answers to frequently asked questions about buying legal weed in the Garden State, including what it’s like to purchase pot from a “budtender.”

Here are answers to five questions they were asked by Patch and other media:

Q: What’s the experience like for customers coming in to buy cannabis?

The adult-use consumer experience will be similar to many other typical shopping experiences. Customers will wait in line, show their legal ID and then an experienced budtender will shepherd them through the purchasing process, providing insight and recommendations if needed. The budtender will then help them through the payment process and out the door. We at TerrAscend pride ourselves on providing stellar customer service at all our Apothecarium retail locations.

Q: TerrAscend NJ LLC announced last year that they had a licensing agreement with international cannabis brand Cookies. Is that a product line recreational consumers can expect to find?

Cookies will not be available for purchase at this time, but watch this space for more information.

Q: Are there preparations for the change that you can discuss?

We are very excited to be opening … and have some exciting things planned for those initial customers in line. Be sure to get there early!

Q: Do you anticipate adding staff?

We will be adding extra staff at our retail locations to provide the additional support needed during this busy opening period.

Q: Do you anticipate any concerns with meeting both medical patient and recreational consumer demand?

We do not anticipate any concerns in terms of meeting patient and consumer demand. We have robust processes in place to ensure we reserve sufficient inventory for our patients while welcoming our new recreational customers to our stores. We have a well-controlled and monitored inventory plan that focuses on ensuring all our Apothecarium retail locations have a consistent stock of products.

More On Recreational Cannabis In New Jersey

As of Thursday, recreational cannabis customers are able to buy up to 1 ounce of dried flower or up to 5 grams of concentrates, resins, or oils, or 10 100 mg packages of ingestible items in a single transaction.

While 13 medical dispensaries are now able to sell for recreational use, more will come on line in the future. In fact, in the mile-square city of Hoboken alone, there are four non-medical dispensaries applying to open, in addition to two medical facilities already approved.

“Remember that the laws against impaired driving apply to being high,” cautioned Jeff Brown, director of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, this week. “Our guests from neighboring states should remember it is illegal to transport cannabis across state lines.”

Read the list of 13 dispensaries in New Jersey selling for recreational use here.

Consumers should check the websites of the approved retailers for specific information on hours of operation.

Follow product instructions and remember ingestible products can take longer to take effect than smoking or vaping. Call NJ Poison Center at 800-222-1222 if you are concerned you may have ingested or used too much.

Legal cannabis products are in child safe packaging, but always keep them secure and out of the reach of anyone under the age of 21.

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