Pubdate: Thu, 17 Oct 2013
Source: Tucson Weekly (AZ)
Copyright: 2013 Tucson Weekly
Contact:  http://www.tucsonweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/462
Author: J.M. Smith

GET YOUR GUMMY WORMS HERE

Downtown Dispensary Has a Super Convenient Location and an Excellent 
Selection of Edibles

Convenience is a key reason to have an Arizona medical marijuana 
card. The card turns the chore of getting meds into something akin to 
grabbing a gallon of milk-"Sure, honey. I'll grab an eighth on my way 
home from work."

There are suddenly a lot of dispensaries in el Pueblo Viejo, all 
vying for a chunk of your bud budget, so convenience has become an 
important part of the equation. Let's face it, most patients are 
unlikely to drive across town to get meds unless they have to-in 
which case they almost certainly will. But we don't have to waste the 
gas anymore, and the cannabis quality, prices and selection really 
don't vary much from place to place, so the Place becomes more important.

I spend a lot of time working on Fourth Avenue, so the Downtown 
Dispensary is at the top of the convenience list for me. The shop on 
the north side of Sixth Street, half a block west of Fourth, is easy 
walking distance from my office, which usually rotates between the 
Epic Cafe and Sky Bar, depending on moods. And it's also convenient 
to downtown events like the street fair or Second Saturdays. I'm 
guessing they get and will continue to get mad walk-in traffic. 
Parking is behind the building, but the entrance is on Sixth Street, 
so you'll have to scurry in if you don't want people to see you. ;)

The waiting area is huge and tidy, with many typical waiting room 
chairs lining the walls. They have the obligatory cannabis reading 
materials and the bank-style window-two of them, in fact-through 
which you thrust your card to be buzzed into the large inner sanctum. 
They had 12 strains the day I went, but only a handful were lab 
tested. The story here is the same as at many other dispensaries-they 
don't have a grow op yet, so they are relying on other dispensaries 
for inventory.

Prices start at $15/$45/$85/$155/$290 per 
gram/eighth/quarter/half/ounce and top out at $20/$65/$120/$225/$420. 
Yes, that top shelf is expensive, but prices are likely to trend 
downward once all the local dispensaries are growing. Several local 
dispensaries are limiting purchases to amounts under an ounce. Give 
it a few months, and that will probably change.

This dispensary had a wide selection of edibles the day I went, 
including several varieties of cookies and brownies, suckers and 
gummy candies-even THC-infused sodas from a Phoenix kitchen. 
Impressive. I suggest buying the larger sizes. A brownie with 60 mg 
of THC is $15. One with 180 mg is $28. Or you can get a 200 mg gummy 
worm for $20. Do the math. ;)

Interestingly, the Downtown Dispensary doesn't sell pipes or many 
other smoking or vaporizing supplies, though it does have rolling 
papers. There are two reasons: They don't want to seem like a head 
shop; and they don't want to step on the toes of other Fourth Avenue 
merchants, such as Moon Smoke Shop, that sell smoking supplies.

The Downtown bud tender seemed knowledgeable and helped me find an 
indica strain (Ingrid) that wouldn't make me anxious (it doesn't). So 
I made my purchase, thanked the dispensary crew of two and strolled 
out into the October sunshine to go back to work at Sky Bar.

How could I not approve of a place less than a stone's throw from my 
favorite haunts? Especially one with an impressive selection of 
edibles and a community-minded desire to fit into a niche on Fourth 
Avenue, not take sales away from existing businesses?

Mr. Smith approves.

[sidebar]

The Downtown Dispensary 221 E. Sixth St., Suite 105 838-0492; 
thedowntowndispensary.com Open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., daily Pluses: 
Convenient for midtown, UA and downtown; nice selection of meds with 
low bottom prices; edibles, edibles, edibles Minuses: Top-shelf 
prices a tad high; few strains lab tested
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom