Ask a Stoner: Budtenders Need to Be Cleaner at Work

Don’t be afraid to call these punks out. Fuck them kids.

September 7, 2021

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Dear Stoner: I've been to dispensaries where budtenders handle money and flower with their bare hands or the same gloves and keep chopsticks and pens in the same cupholder. Aren’t they getting trained in sanitary aspects?
Colorado Karen

Dear Karen: Dispensaries that want to achieve lower insurance fees or get lighter discipline from the state after minor violations are enrolled in the state Marijuana Enforcement Division’s Responsible Vendor Program. This program requires budtender training that includes sanitation practices, but the Responsible Vendor Program is only voluntary. Non-enrolled dispensaries can teach their employees sanitary practices, too, but I see why you’re doubting that.

I’ve never seen bare hands touch flower at dispensaries, but I have seen the same gloves touch flower and money, and I often catch flower chopsticks in questionable containers between use. It’s not excusable, but we need to remember that most budtenders make barely more than minimum wage and aren’t chosen with aptitude tests. Yesterday, a budtender asked if I wanted my eighty cents in change back, and then rolled his eyes when I said yes.

Don’t be afraid to call these punks out. Fuck them kids.

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