Peak: A Denver Cannabis Shop for Adult Use Consumers - Legal Marijuana Retail Sales w/ MMJ Sales

Peak: A medical and 'Adult Use Market' store in Denver, CO

Peak MJ
260 Broadway
Denver, CO 80203

The Stoner Living field team stumbled upon Peak while strolling down Broadway through the mix of vintage clothing stores, tattoo parlors, cafes and used book stores. Their door had a small, slightly abstracted green cross logo and text saying they were now offering non-medical marijuana sales.

Although Peak opened as a medical marijuana dispensary in early 2014, this was their first week participating in the 'recreational' - or as they like to call it in Colorado, the 'Adult Use Market'. The laws in Colorado are different for 'medical' marijuana patients (sometimes called MMJ) versus 'Adult Use' marijuana consumers - allowing more potent serving sizes, larger quantities and lower tax rates for 'medical' users.

Kindman Brand Cannabis - 1g of 'Grape Ape'

At Peak, unlike some of the other marijuana stores we visited, it was easy to tell which products were intended for 'Adult Use' (ie - the 'non MMJ' products out-of-staters are eligible to purchase.) After a standard ID check to verify that we were over the age of 21 we were allowed into a spacious back room with display cases with boxed marijuana ready to go in single gram or 1/8 oz packages. There were extracts, concentrates, candies, medical salves and suckers. There was a separate counter for in-state medical marijuana patients.

The well lit environs kept any creepy adult video store vibes at bay. It was clean and smelled nice. Our budtender Jon, the General Manager, was extremely helpful in product selection and was helpful all around. Most of the pre-packaged flower in their display cabinets came from the brand 'Kindman'.

Child Proof Packaging for Kindman's Retail

Child Proofing - It's Not the Budtender's Fault
Due to legislation based on child-safety paranoia, child-safe, tamper-proof packaging is required. The 1g of Grape Ape flower came in a small pill bottle with wadded up paper to fill the excess space and keep the flower from rattling around. On the up side, the paper looked like it could be used as rolling paper in a pinch. This was sealed with a tamper-evident seal and a child-proof lid. This was then placed into a box which was neatly stacked up in jewelers display cabinets for sale.

There are nice glass "presentation" jars where the consumer can smell (but not touch) the flowers. But buyer beware - what you see is not necessarily what you get. All of the flowers in the "presentation" jars looked like the top colas (ie - the prime pieces) from each plant.

Opaque packaging does provide optimal product protection, but  it prevents the consumer from seeing what they are purchasing. The reality of what any particular boxed gram or 1/8 oz. (3.5g) package can vary and may be completely non representative of what was in the "presentation" jars. The classic bait-and-switch.

Bait & Switch? Or should I just be happy to have retail cannabis available?

After browsing for a while, my consideration set included a nice looking hybrid called the Spirit of 76, but I ended up going with Grape Ape which a friend said he once sampled and it was like a 'party in your mouth'. Legendary stories tell of a strain with concord grape juice super-grape flavor. The Grape Ape did have some classic purple flavor reminiscent of other classic purple strains like Grandaddy Purple, Purple Urkle, The Purp.

At this point I should have inquired about the large glass jars of cannabis sitting deli style behind the counter, but I was only buying one gram - and we were chatting up the bud-tender about the cannabis conference we were attending and he was offering us Kindman at a discounted price of $20 for a gram - including all taxes (which are substantial and vary by locality).

Here's What 20$ of Retail Legal Cannabis Looks Like in Denver, Colorado

Maybe my expectations were too high - the Grape Ape didn't have the magic I was hoping for in a $20 gram of cannabis. 

But I shouldn't complain. After all, I just flew into a new city and purchased cannabis at a clean, safe and downright pleasant retail store. 

If you are interested in cannabis, are over the age of 21 and are in the Denver area, you may visit Peak's retail location at the address below:

Peak MJ
260 Broadway
Denver, CO 80203

Note: Peak MJ is in no way associated with Stoner Living Blog and does not endorse or have anything to do with the content of this blog or this article.


(C) 2014 Stoner Living

National Cannabis Industry Association Meeting - Denver

The Infused Product and Extraction Symposium
Denver, Colorado
October 27-29, 2014

NCIA Infused Product & Extraction Symposium Meeting, October 27-29, 2014, Denver CO

The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) held a 2 day workshop, symposium and vendor fair in Denber, Colorado - America's poster child for the somewhat successful launch of the legitimate legal cannabis industry. The NCIA is the legal Cannabis Trade Association its meetings are eerily similar to any other trade meetings - for instance, the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting and trade show I attend annually to stay in contact with graduate school and professional friends.

Colorado legitimized medical cannabis and quite a robust industry including flowers, edible products and extracts blossomed in Colorado. Colorado's approach to legitimizing the recreational side of the market was to give the exiting medical cannabis industry the first chance at licenses under the new recreational system.

NCIA Symposium Registration - Just like any other trade show

Differences in 'medical' versus 'recreational' in Colorado have implications beyond taxation (which are severe). New emergency legislation has capped the extracted/edible serving size of THC at 10 mg per serving. Many 'medical' products have deliver in the 50mg - 100 mg/serving size.This led to a flurry of products such as the Dixie Elixer one series of ultra-low dose products intended for the legal recreational marktet.
 Editors note: future articles will cover the product development and marking implications of the new emergency regulations in Colradao. 

The vendor fair was filled with a mixture of extraction product makers (like Apecks and Eden Labs, product manufacturers (like Dixie Brands) and so many more. Many entrepreneurs were swapping business cards and discussing opportunities and shared interests. Apeks supercritical CO2 extraction systems had a good booth with knowledgeable sales people and relevant samples of processed samples made from hops (the only member of the family Cannabaceae other than Cannabis).

The tour of the Dixie Elixers processing facility was full, but I hear it is like a brew-pub set up where product can be observed during processing from behind a sanintary glass wall. 

The "Science and Sale of Extraction" workshop on Wednesday was disappointingly low on science, but did instill the sense of a need for a disciplined but fun corporate structure approach for the nascent cannabis industry. The representatives from O-Pen Vape who led the symposium avoided all technical questions and at one point said he had "nothing to say" about terpenes or "temperature + pressures" during processing. Unfortunately, this is what I specifically came to Denver to learn, So I was disappointed.

Fortunately  I am in the process of reviewing a surprisingly thorough treatment of extracted products from Ed Rosenthal - perhaps my upcoming review of his newest effort will provide uerful rules of thumb for use of these ever-more-popular formats of cannabis. His treatise will provide an invaluable guide for people who were seeking the kind of information I went to this conference seeking.

I took advantage of time between sessions to go on a 'market walk' of the new recreational stores available to out of town visitors. Although I am a medical patient in the state of Washignton, Coloroda does not have any reciprocity program. Each retail store visited will be discussed in future articles

Frosted Leaf - A VERY high-end cannabis retail store with well graded, quality merchandise!

 Editors note: future articles will cover the specific consumer experience of each of the retail cannabis stores in Denver that we had the opportunity to visit. 

I enjoyed the event and especially enjoyed to opportunity to meet fellow cannabis entrepreneurs from all over. Any attendees of the NCIA event want to weigh in? Please keep us posted.

Please stay in touch and follow me here - stonerlivingblog@gmail.com




(C) 2014 Stoner Living Blog

 

"QuickStiQ" - an Affordable, Simpler Way to Dab Hash Oil / BHO & Other Cannabis Extracts - Product Review

The QuickStiQ Hash Oil Pipe

The QuickStiQ is a nifty glass pipe design that simplifies the 'dabbing' process. Any number of cannabis extracts can be vaporized using the QuickStiQ - BHO, shatter, wax and even traditional hash.

As a connoisseur of cannabis in its many guises, I am a fan of well prepared extracts and the increasingly intricate devices used to enjoy them. But doing 'dabs' of hash oil - with the requisite glassware, blowtorch, 'nail' and dab-stick, is so complicated it can detract from the relaxation of the hash experience.

'Dabs' are tiny amounts of highly concentrated cannabis extract which are vaporized (not burned). The active ingredients are turned into a vapor which is inhaled and enjoyed - all without burning anything. Nothing is burned - so nothing is smoked - which is why 'dabbing' can occur indoors, at dispensaries and such, while outright smoking is generally prohibited.

QuickStiQ - Available from Peoplez Champz, NW Cannabis Market

How It Works:
The QuickStiQ is heated with a butane cigar lighter (or small blow torch) for about 5 seconds until hot. The glowing hot end of the QuickStiQ is then dabbed into the heat-proof Oil Slick container holding the cannabis extract. This is done quickly and gently - and the resulting vapor/smoke is inhaled through the mouth-end of the QuickStiQ.

The double bubble s-trap design protects against melted extract migrating into the mouth of the unsuspecting consumer.

The Oil Slick container is made with medical grade silicone that will not stick to the ooey-gooey gunky texture of even the stickiest hash oil extracts.

Oil Slick Container

Our Experience:
Learning the correct timing and technique of heating the end of the QuickStiQ took a little practice - and getting the temperature correct is vital for a consistent experience with extracts. The end result of this was that the same extract could taste floral and inhale smoothly at one temperature and be generally disagreeable at other temperatures (see note below).

A few dabs of the BHO extracts we sampled with the QuickStiQ were sufficiently potent for even the most medicated members of our tasting group. Smoking high quality marijuana is like drinking beer or wine - but doing dabs is more like doing shots. With up to 3x the concentration of active ingredients, these hash oil extracts pack a punch.

The glassware and especially the required blowtorch style lighter was off-putting to some members of our tasting group who likened the whole experience to smoking crack cocaine. Others disagreed, and pointed to the decorative colored designs on the side of the QuickStiQ.

Heating the QuickStiQ with Mini Blow Torch

A Note on Dabbing & Vaporizing Temperature:
Regardless of whether you are using a vape pen, a traditional dab set-up with nail, a vaporizer like the Volcano (R) or a QuickStiQ - the temperature of whatever is vaporizing the cannabis extract is of vital importance. Temperature will impact not only flavor and smoking quality (ie - harshness) but will impact the subjective quality of the 'high' by changing the chemistry of some of the numerous cannabinoid compounds in the cannabis extract.

THC vaporization temperature: ~ 365 degrees F (185 C).
Tip: a plausible range to aim for with the QuickStiQ is ~350-390 F
THC combustion temperature: ~445 degrees F [Anything higher and you are just smoking a pipe]

Overview:
Overall, the QuickStiQ is an innovative way to enjoy the increasingly broad array of cannabis extracts with minimal investment, good portability and functionality. Hash Oil Rigs can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars. This well designed product delivers an experience similar to far more complex (and expensive) systems.

The downside of the QuickStiQ is, well, the blowtorch. But as dabbing has gained popularity, an array of specialty style blow-torch lighters are widely available.

The QuickStiQ is available in a variety of colors from the Peoplez Champz booth at the Galaxy NW Cannabis Market. Note that NWCM is a medical marijuana access point that requires all visitors to be current Washington State Authorized Medical Marijuana patients.

(C) 2014 Stoner Living Blog