Westword
Audio By Carbonatix
Dear Stoner: I wanted to return a faulty vape cartridge at a dispensary, and the budtender told me dispensaries can’t accept returns. Is that it? Can I get nothing back for this crap product?
Vance
Dear Vance: No, and yes, depending on the dispensary’s attitude and the product you bought. Colorado cannabis regulations ban dispensaries from accepting returns or issuing refunds the way Amazon and Walmart do, so the budtender couldn’t return your money even if he wanted to. It’s a lame rule to hide behind, though, because there are still ways to make you whole.
Dispensaries still operate under different rules from more traditional retail operations, so returns and refunds are more difficult than they should be.
Jacqueline Collins
For starters, a good dispensary can and would give you a replacement product for free. It might have to charge you a penny to appease more regulatory nonsense, but I’ve seen budtenders pull pennies from behind the counter before, and even add a few free joints or an edible on top of the replacement product in some cases. Since this store left you out to dry, however, the next course of action would be to contact the vape cartridge manufacturer. Send them a photo or video of the faulty cart on Instagram or via email, and there’s a good chance they’ll set you up for a free replacement at a nearby dispensary – preferably not the store that stiffed you.
Send questions to marijuana@westword.com.
