Ask a Stoner: Should Dispensaries Test Budtenders Before Hiring Them?

Dear Stoner: Budtenders know so little about cannabis and where it comes from. They should be required to pass a test before getting a job. Not knowing what bubble hash is or telling me Durban Poison is an indica shouldn’t be tolerated.
Scales

Dear Scales: Any salesperson should know the basic and perhaps even detailed information about the products they’re selling, but dispensaries pay budtenders minimum wage and still expect them to step through a minefield of questions. You can find fifteen different phrases to describe the same thing in the cannabis world, and approaches toward growing, extraction and consumption still differ wildly from region to region and generation to generation.

Some pot shops do make their budtenders take part in responsible vendor training or product research, but there are more than 205 dispensaries in Denver alone. You’re bound to come across a few wet blankets, especially at the tourist traps, so don’t let one apathetic budtender ruin a good time. It’s pretty easy to buy weed without engaging in a Q&A, anyway.

Send questions to marijuana@westword.com.