When they’re not out enjoying the stunning sights of Olympic National Park, you might find John Sanders enjoying some Birria Street Tacos with his wife and son. He’s also passionate about paddleboarding, hiking, learning new languages and playing music with friends.
You live out on the peninsula pretty deep and commute to Port Hadlock. It takes a special mentality to appreciate that sort of space in your life. How does Cannabis fill that space?
My family and I have five acres and live completely off-grid, and the plant accentuates all of it.
Have you ever grown weed?
Oh my god, way too much. I’m still trying to get it off me and it’s still sticking!
What’s the advantage of being someone who knows how to grow when budtending?
You know what you want to sell to people; you know what’s good; you know when it should be harvested; you know what to look for when it’s harvested properly; you know if it’s got some kind of disease going on. There are so many factors that come with growing [Cannabis] properly and having had to deal with those things teaches you what to look for.
As a budtender, do you sometimes look at weed and suggest a different product because you see something that isn’t your personal preference?
I say there’s something there for everyone. So, if I don’t personally like something but a customer likes it, I’ll tell them that this was waiting for them. People appreciate different products for different reasons. What’s good for the indoor lover isn’t necessarily what satisfies someone who is looking for sun-grown organic. If it looks boofy, but it’s grown the way they want it to be, I’m glad they appreciate it, and that’s all that matters.
If you had to squeeze a special secret out of any grower. Who would that be?
Chemdawg. I wanna know — I really, really wanna know his story. He paints it out like some mysterious thing.
What strain would you smoke with him?
The Durr Burger.
This article was originally published in the November 2024 issue of Northwest Leaf.
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