But a lot has changed in three-plus years, and I'm glad they landed back on my radar.
See also: "Marijuana Advocates Say Special Taxes Lawsuit Could Overturn All Pot Licensing Regs"
Local Product of ColoradoThe entry area leads to the patient lounge, a wide-ish hallway connecting a room from which "Radioactive" was blaring with the bud dispensary at the opposite end. I handed my paperwork to a twenty-something woman who let me in through the steel security door and filled out some more paperwork while what I assumed was a female patient looked over at us with an expression like someone had farted. When I finished up, the woman who'd taken my info introduced herself as my budtender and walked me right past the sourpuss, who was gone when I walked out later. I never figured out what she was doing there.419 West 13th Avenue Denver, CO 80204 303-736-6850
Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Raw marijuana price range: $8/gram $25/eighth-ounce, $160/ounce. Nonmembers pay about 10 percent more. Other types of medicine: Butane waxes and shatters, CO2 oil, edibles. Online menu? Yes. Handicap-accessible? Yes.
While the original Local Product of Colorado was clearly put together with a lot of forethought (the place gave off an open, art gallery/boutique-hotel-lobby vibe), LPC's current space is much more compact and cozy. Wood floors and wood ceilings will do that. But the light gray on the walls and light streaming in from 13th Avenue keep it from feeling cramped. The staff also kept the artwork from local artists on the walls, including some awesome wood-burned Colorado flags done on what looks like old barn planks.
The steel bud-bar display cabinet is gone; instead, oak-veneer-and-glass cabinets set up in an "L" showcase mostly waxes and oils. Herb is kept in tall glass jars on a built-in bookshelf along the southern wall. It's not a bad setup: Considering that the demand for waxes is so high right now, devoting a lot of space makes sense. But confining the buds to the corner means patients have to double up to ask for selections. Another patient was in while I was shopping, and the two of us did a little dance around each other for a minute while my budtender pulled my selections. Edibles are kept mostly in the refrigerator near the dispensary door, though a few display candy bars from Incredibles were on display in the far cabinet. Continue for the rest of the review and photos. Based on the amount of waxes taking up an entire display cabinet, it's clear that they are a huge focus for the shop. Concentrates from Native Roots, the Lab, Colorado Concentrates and Rasta Bubble were all available in several strain-specific, pre-packed grams. Shatter oil from Native Roots goes for $40 a gram, waxes for $20 to $35. Nearly everything was made from Local Product trim. Comparatively, the bud selection wasn't huge, but the dozen or so strains on the shelf seemed like a good assortment. My budtender kept apologizing for what she considered a skimpy selection, though, and I was able to make it through most everything in stock. The Chem 4 was the first strain I went for. It was arguably the biggest stinker in the shop, and I mean that lovingly. The spicy, rubbery fuel smell seeping out of the open jar punched me in the nose, and I instantly put the jar of tight, sandy-colored buds aside as one of my choices. At home, the single nugget I was given broke down into pebble-sized, sticky chunks that were pungently sweet and earthy. Unfortunately, the flavor wasn't nearly as strong when smoked, and during burning, the buds took on a more harsh, hashy flavor. Still, they did have a noticeable Chemdawg aftertaste and burned clean down to a fine, white ash. The potency was able move me from lying in bed with nausea to eating breakfast with the family in ten minutes earlier this week. At $25 an eighth and $160 an ounce, the quality was enough to make me consider going back again later in the week as soon as I run out.Other strains seemed well-grown but didn't quite hit the smell levels of the Chem 4. Although he Ogre and Alien OG were both ripe and boasted full buds, I didn't get much of a strain-distinct odor out of either, and the Ogre was traded in from another shop. The Kushage was another sample that was almost there, but I couldn't get past the lack of nose-friendly smells. But it wasn't all harsh: The Blue Dream was spot-on, with chunky, grass-green buds stinking of lavender, and I would have taken home some of the Golden Goat if I didn't already have a quarter-ounce at home from a friend.
The Jack Frost is a strain I normally would pass by, but the pungent pine aroma out of the jar mixed with a light, hazy skunkiness reminded me of summertime hikes in the foothills. Since I can't go hiking right now thanks to a shitty back (and the ever-demanding needs of a baby, of course), I figured this would be the next best thing. It wasn't. Nothing beats hiking in Colorado in the summertime. But it was a great way to get a buzz and forget about my back pain for a while, as well as to remember that I shouldn't be hiking. It gave me some energy after a day on my feet and helped me build up an appetite for an evening cookout. The chunky, dense and trichome-fuzzy buds burned slightly dry and crackly, but the full flavor was like how you would think smoking a pinecone should taste. It's worth checking out if you're looking for something sativa-rich downtown and don't want to spend more than a twenty and a ten.Of all of the concentrates LPC had, the crumbles of icewater-extracted hash from Rasta Bubble seemed the most appealing. (I admittedly didn't even look at the shatter oils the shop kept in the freezer.) Sometimes I don't need the extreme blast of a high-proof oil, and bubble hash is more my speed -- this was one of those weeks. But I didn't take a good enough look in the shop, and the the dry, flavorless chunks of the 25-micron Diesel blend failed to satisfy my craving as much as I thought they would. Sure, they took my inner elevator to the top floor, but there wasn't much else about it to enjoy. The flavor was bland, and it didn't melt down so much as burn up like coal. Rolling it up in a joint was the best means of consumption, I found, but it did well as vaporizer food, too. At $17 a gram, it's in the perfect price range.
And that's where Local Product seems to fit overall. While you can find better, the bud isn't to be overlooked, and the sheer volume of cheap wax is a treasure trove for those of you who can't live without your vape pen in your pocket. And the pricing is ideal for those of us trying to keep ourselves stocked with cannabis to burn without burning our wallets.
Read more reviews from Westword's medical marijuana dispensary critic, William Breathes, in our Mile Highs and Lows blog, and keep up with all your Colorado marijuana news over at The Latest Word.
