For the first time, customers at recreational pot shops in the state of Washington can now order their bud based on smell and have it weighed out in real-time, saving plastic and ensuring customer satisfaction.
Commencement Bay Cannabis has taken the historic step of allowing select strains to be sold at its stores in bulk, allowing customers to smell and view their weed before purchasing. “Deli Style” is a term for buying weed the way lunch meat is bought at the deli. You pick a flavor, give it a smell, and pick the buds you want as they are weighed out in front of you. This is how weed was sold in medical Cannabis dispensaries in Washington for years, and how many other states, including Oregon, sell their pot.
First and foremost, Cannabis is an agricultural product. It’s a plant that’s farmed, processed and cared for in a style similar to grapes, apples and peaches. Imagine going to the grocery store and having to buy each apple in a plastic bag or small jars of grapes instead of a big, Ziploc bag that lets the grapes breathe for freshness. Most people would never buy an avocado without giving it a squeeze, but we ask our Cannabis consumers to buy weed without smelling it every day.
“I love that we can smell the weed and offer that experience to our customers,” said Carla Coleman, one of the lead budtenders at CBC. “Buying pre-packaged weed is literally a risk, and just because you mess with a vendor and have a good experience doesn’t mean you’ll get fire the next time. I wish we were able to sell all the weed deli-style!”
Deli-style keeps pot fresher, although that might seem like a shock. There is nothing worse for weed than stuffing an eighth or quarter ounce of flower into a jar or Mylar bag and leaving it sealed for weeks or months in a well-lit environment. Stored alone in a Mylar, Cannabis has been shown to absorb chemicals and plastics from the bags. In glass, the weed is chemical-free, but the empty air and space create room for trichomes to fall off, causing the quality to degrade.
Conversely, storing bulk weed in large jars with a quarter pound to a pound keeps the plant fresh by storing it together. It’s easier to maintain a controlled environment for a big jar than a small one, and bulk-stored weed holds moisture, terpenes, trichomes and quality longer. The smell jars used at CBC are also sealed, using an air bubble that’s pushed to waft out smells without exposing the pot to air, all while safely tucked against a Boveda pack for freshness.
For the store’s assistant manager, David Hampton, the big surprise has been selling more budget buds along with the top shelf, especially because the budget buds are smelly and look great in a big jar. CBC can also sell the product at a lower price when prepackaged, passing savings on to the customer.
“Believe it or not, we’ve pushed more of the lower tier than the higher because it’s cheaper. There’s also a cost factor with deli style. Our Gold Leaf ounce is $252 deli-style or $320 prepackaged, and our budget ounces are only $56, so we have great discounts and a big range of price and quality.”
According to Washington state law, Cannabis companies are allowed to have a range in the standard weight of product, which means that a gram of oil or an ounce of flower might not weigh what it says on the label. Many companies seeking to shortcut and save 20% commonly weigh grams of oil to 0.8 grams, or short eighths (3.5 grams) to 3.0 or 3.2 grams. It’s generally not greed but rather over-taxed corporations struggling; saving 0.2 to 0.3 grams on every jar adds up to huge savings at the expense of the customer. With deli style, you see the budtender weigh the weed out, ensuring that the buds you want end up in a jar.
“There’s no hiding the looks behind a bag with deli style, and watching us weigh it out, you can choose your buds specifically,” said Raven Morales, another lead budtender at CBC.
This deli-style opportunity is only happening because the CBC is owned and operated by a tribal entity, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, which the LCCB (Liquor Cannabis Control Board) doesn’t have regulatory authority. The LCCB runs excessive taxes averaging 47% at the point of sale, enforces ridiculous restrictions like making home grows illegal and limits selling weed deli-style, all of which hurt Washington consumers. Buying weed pre-packaged allows low-quality Cannabis to be sold and proliferate, hurting craft farmers who are forced to compete without the ability to showcase product quality.
With tribal-owned stores moving toward selling deli-style, selling baller jars of 7 grams of concentrate, and allowing events with onsite sales and consumption, the hope is for the LCCB to realize it is hurting both consumers and the industry and will recognize these freedoms under current regulation.
“I’m a huge advocate for this to be available for the entire state,” assistant manager Hampton explained. “I’m hoping it’s a learning lesson [for regulators] to revisit the laws and see what we can do to fix as many as we can. Until then, I’m grateful for this opportunity for CBC to be the first, this is like winning the lottery!”
Until the rules change, tribal-owned shops will have a distinct advantage, and they are passing that along boldly to the customer, whose benefit the entire Cannabis system depends on and should be designed for. Long-time customer Jae Shin, who stopped in after a day of contracting on a job site, says the change has been amazing.
“I’ve tried everything in this shop over the last five years, and with the prepackaged jars, you aren’t 100% sure about getting your money’s worth. With deli style, you get to see the fresh buds and smell what you are working with! I got the Bombay from Dodi, the new Marshawn Lynch x Gold Leaf collab. After smelling it, I had to try it!”
