Recreational cannabis is legal in many parts of the world, which means everyday people can visit a cannabis store in the area they live and purchase any number of products like infused pre-rolls, pink kush, and cannabis-infused edibles. 

If you don’t have much experience purchasing cannabis, or you’ve had a bad experience with a dispensary in your area, you might be eager to find your new ‘local’ that you can rely on to provide high-quality products for a satisfying experience. As challenging as it can be to find a cannabis store that satisfies your requirements, you might have luck by doing some of the following things. 



Picture: Glenn Carstens-Peters 

Find Out What’s Available In Your Area
For you to be able to choose a dispensary that has everything you need, you first need to know what your options are. Search ‘dispensary near me’ on the internet, and your search engine will pre populate a list of dispensaries in your geographical area. You can also talk to friends, family members, and acquaintances who use cannabis products to find out where they shop. 

Performing extensive research on cannabis stores in your area might seem time-consuming and arduous, but it can be an essential task for finding out what’s available before seeing which store stands out for the right reasons. After you have a list of options, you can narrow them down based on their product offerings, customer service, reputation, and other factors. 

Read Reviews
A cannabis dispensary might have the most attractive physical location, the most professional website, and the broadest range of products, but that doesn’t mean they’re a store you can trust or one that will provide you with a satisfactory shopping experience. 

Reading reviews can often help you gain insight into just how highly regarded they are in your community so that you can make an informed choice about whether you shop with them. 

Once you type their business name into a search engine, you can typically see Google Reviews and review websites with customer feedback. Pay attention to the balance of good and bad reviews and see if there are any recurring themes in the negative reviews. While poor reviews don’t always mean you shouldn’t shop with a particular business, they can often shed light on what many customers have experienced, which might mean your experience could be similar. 

Talk to Friends and Family
If your friends and family purchase cannabis products, don’t be afraid to ask for their recommendations based on where they shop. They might be satisfied with the quality and safety of the products, the customer service they receive, and the convenience of the website or physical location. There are no guarantees that you’ll have the same experience as them, but you can at least narrow down your list of potential options with their feedback. 

Consider What You Like
What you like to use with cannabis can sometimes dictate where you shop. Not all dispensaries stock all cannabis products, which means it makes sense for you to shop with a business that offers what you’re looking for. 

Think about what you like to buy, such as cookies, vape products, pre-rolled joints, and gummies. When you find a business that offers an expansive selection of such goods, you might have more confidence to shop with them. However, if you like the look of a store but can’t find the products you’re looking for, don’t be afraid to ask. Sometimes, they might simply be temporarily out of stock or are trying to find a high-quality supplier and will stock what you need in the future. 

Think About Safety
While the majority of cannabis stores in North America are safe with high-quality products, not all of them are. There are a number of unlicensed dispensaries operating without permits, which officials warn might be selling products that haven’t undergone state testing. 

If you want to be sure that your products have been tested and come from reputable sources, ensure the business you shop with has a permit. You can typically visit online licensing websites to find this information, but some of the best dispensaries provide their business registration and product origin information on their websites. 

Check Lab Information
Testing is a legal requirement for all cannabis products being sold to the general public, with sampling and testing guidelines varying from state to state. Before you shop with what you believe to be a trusted and reputable business, request lab reports for the products you intend to buy. This information should be readily available when you shop online, but you can also access it in most physical cannabis stores. These lab reports typically outline all ingredients and their volumes, along with any pollutants that might be present. 

Consider Conveniences
Sometimes, there can be so many standout dispensaries in your area that you have difficulty choosing which one you’d like to shop with and be loyal to. While you can certainly select one at random, there’s no harm in considering the conveniences associated with shopping with a particular business. 

For example, one dispensary might have better parking outside their physical location than others, or a particular store’s website might be easier to purchase online from. You might even find that the delivery service and click-and-collect options are more convenient for some businesses than others, making you more inclined to shop with that dispensary. When you’re having difficulty choosing the best cannabis store for your needs, these convenience factors might be worth considering to help you make your decision. 

Factor In Customer Service
Some cannabis business owners think high-quality products are the best way to welcome new customers through their doors. While it’s true that desirable cannabis goods do attract purchasers, they don’t always help to make them loyal customers who come back time and time again — customer service matters in that regard. 

The average shopper wants to feel like they’re being well taken care of and can rely on shop assistants to have their questions answered and concerns alleviated. If you haven’t had the best customer service experience with particular dispensaries, you might be more inclined to shop around until you find a business that prioritizes customer service as much as high-quality products. 

It’s only natural to want to purchase cannabis goods from a business you trust, but not everyone knows how to narrow down their options. Taking some of the actions above might put you one step closer to choosing a cannabis dispensary that satisfies your requirements.