Medical Cannabis Budtender

Transcript for this episode is found below the pic:

On this episode of PodcastDx we get the dope on medical cannabis from Budtender Alex. A Budtender can help guide customers through the hazy world of medical marijuana.  Feel free to ask them any questions you have, alot extra time for your first visit so you can get the "420" on product lines, methods of delivery and strain specifics. This cash only business is not yet covered by insurance.

 

 

Episode 14 Budtender.wav

 

Ron [00:00:16] Hello and welcome to PodcastDX the show that brings you interviews with people just like you whose lives were forever changed by a diagnosis. This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast.

 

Lita [00:00:54] I'm Lia and Jean is still not with us due to that pesky migraines, but we will be covering migraines on a podcast coming up soon.

 

Ron [00:01:05] And I am Ron. Collectively we are the host of PodcastDX. Allow me to introduce today's guest with us in studio. Today is Alex a local bud-tender in suburban Chicago. Welcome Alex.

 

Alex [00:01:20] how's it going?. Thanks for having me guys.

 

Ron [00:01:22] Thank you for coming in.

 

Lita [00:01:23] Yes welcome. Alex it's, I'm glad you got back from Alaska OK. And we're good to have you here in the studio.

 

Ron [00:01:29] Yeah. The last time we tried this it didn't work on our Skype but hopefully we'll get it up and going soon. But we're glad to have you here and be able get firsthand knowledge from you especially coming from where you just came as well. So if we can jump in to the segment where we're talking about what the dispensaries right now they may be legal in this state but it can still feel intimidating for someone to step inside it and not know what to do. Which questions to ask and how to find the products that they want. Can you tell us a little bit about that.

 

Alex [00:02:12] Yeah no definitely. When we see this was probably more so when we first opened. We've been open for two and a half years now. There's a it's still kind of taboo. No one really they weren't. I guess there was an access to information about it first of all so when they were coming in you know they had no idea unless they were a frequent user before. So there was a lot to tackle. You know there's a lot of oils that were not around for people in and certainly their dealer if you will. And it wasn't medically legal didn't have it. There's a lot of different edibles. You know if there's you're finally getting to choose what strains work best for you not having to rely on the shady transaction that worked or didn't work if you will.

 

Ron [00:03:02] So there's still that taboo with people coming in.

 

Alex [00:03:07] Sometimes. You know we've seen it a lot more in older patients or if they're not. And I want to say minor. Usually the minors will say like 10 and under those parents are very accepting and that's why they're there. That's kind of their last resort. But. There's a couple you know patients I guess that are probably in that range of 14 to 18 and at 18 you can actually use smokeable products in Illinois. If you're under the age of 18 you can't. You can only use edibles or sublingual oils or lotions like transdermal patches stuff like that which is very good because you know there's no reason to exactly expose yourself to smoking that early when you don't have to.

 

Lita [00:03:58] Right. I think our most important question is do the staff members at the dispensary like yourself being a staff member a bud-tender. Do they actually assist each patient or client in the purchase. And do you have to be trained for their job.

 

Alex [00:04:15] Yeah. So every bud tender and even if you work you know up at the front desk you know the job is to communicate to the patients you know maybe what's new what's working you know we're not exactly giving names and sensitive information if you will about patients we're just saying hey you know we've heard seven out of 10 patients say this strain works best for migraines and stuff like that.

 

Lita [00:04:40] Oh migraines. We got to get Jean over there.

 

Alex [00:04:42] Yeah. Dr. Who, great strain.

 

Lita [00:04:45] OK.

 

Alex [00:04:46] So with that being said I guess yeah we definitely are very hands on and. It comes from experience I guess if you will.

 

Ron [00:04:57] Did you see before you went to school.

 

Alex [00:04:59] No not exactly school in training. I did a hemp staff certification class. It was like a five hour class you took a test. You got a nice laminated piece of paper saying that you were qualified to be a budtender, if you will but it didn't. It didn't really mean much. It's just something to put on your resume if you will. I mean we did training at Windy City that was substantial enough to get you by you know a lot of that information comes from homework if you will you know whether it's at work or at home. You know most people that are in the industry they love it. You know it's it's. Not hard to get into but if you're in there and you don't want to be there you don't think it's going to really work out. Well it's very you know you get tied up in it you know what. You never thought you could remember all these patients names and faces and symptoms but you do you know it it goes.

 

Ron [00:05:54] From your job.

 

Alex [00:05:56] Yeah. You know and it goes from the 45 minute maybe first transaction not transaction but interaction and goes to something 20 minutes maybe 30 minutes the next time. Sometimes even like five minutes. I came in and out. I gotta go somewhere. I just want to grab my usual.

 

Lita [00:06:15] But this is really very personalized.

 

Alex [00:06:17] Yeah yeah. Oh definitely. You know there are personal interactions that are taking you out of your comfort zone definitely. I mean there are you know tons of times where you're like I never thought I'd find myself in this situation or talking about this with someone or or you know you disagree with patients sometimes you know it's a safe place really. We get a lot of things that are said we definitely don't allow any negative we'll say energy or you know. Actions in the dispensary but every once in a while you disagree with what a patient has to say but it's not about cannabis. It's about something you tangent off or something so which is nice do you really get to understand where they're coming from. You know it's it's not always they're, You know someone's very standoffish or I don't say aggressive but they seem rude. It's not them it's their it's their symptoms it's their pain it's the fact that their medications that they were taking weren't working and now they're trying this and it might be new to them and it's frustrating because it's trial and error but it's there's no negative side effects you know. So even though they haven't found what's right for them they're reassured by well at least I'm not vomiting or I'm. Not more suicidal or something you know.

 

Lita [00:07:38] I have a umm, I have  new. Respect for your profession and what you just said because I mean seriously you are you're not really trained. Specifically in how to handle all of these different things but you do it. Out of your heart and out of your gut and because you. You believe in the product. And you want to help people and it's it's really tough. Hey Ron doesn't it make you feel like old time medicine like you know back in the 50s when doctors used to make house calls and you're not that old. I'm sorry.

 

Ron [00:08:20] She brought it up again.

 

Lita [00:08:24] Laughing.

 

Ron [00:08:24] But no I'm listening and I do agree with you Lita. I do have this newfound respect because I don't know if we're gonna keep this in the podcast. I'm not a big fan of marijuana or legalization however I am a fan of the medical marijuana just for the purposes you're talking about.

 

Lita [00:08:45] And that's all we're discussing. So don't worry about it. It can stay in here.

 

Ron [00:08:50] I do have a question though. A few of them because of the industry and all of that and these questions are cost related. Is any of this covered by insurance or is it all out of pocket. Do you guys take credit card or anything like that. And how much can somebody expect to pay when they come in to to buy some new products.

 

Alex [00:09:13] So the insurance definitely doesn't cover it. There is a non for profit out there. Educated alternative or alternative education. One of those is Jose Gonzalez is is the man's name and he is a wonderful individual. What he's trying to do right now is actually get funding so that say you are less fortunate and you come in there and all you can provide is your last tax return in your most recent paycheck. He will do everything he can to either pay for the doctor visit the fingerprinting and a card or maybe one of those three or two of those three and then. He's reaching out to the cultivators and saying hey I want X amount of product that these dispensaries where these patients can go next week, and not have to pay for it if you will. Because it is all out of pocket in the way that it's set up is. I would say can get to be difficult you know not everyone. Not everyone has money and a lot of our patients are on disability so they're getting paid once a month. And you know it's we see it all the time. It doesn't exactly work. You know if some some patients are able to make it work in everyone's circumstances are different. And that's a huge thing. You know where someone might not have some issues that are costing them in life if you will the next patient has it. So there definitely needs to know about a price drop. I mean I don't want to see a price drop but I think paying for the card should be cheaper because when you go when you're spending upwards of 100 dollars easily.

 

Ron [00:11:04] You know that was my question. So it's not a typical, or it's typical for somebody to spend one hundred dollars or more during a visit.

 

Alex [00:11:14] Yeah definitely.

 

Lita [00:11:15] And I mean it's every two weeks.

 

Alex [00:11:19] No I mean. So your card says every two weeks you get two and a half ounces which is 70 grams which is a lot. It really is. But not everyone uses cannabis the same way where someone might use oils. You know someone want to use flower in now this person that's using oils. They don't just use it under the tongue. Maybe they're cooking with it. Right. So really the other person that's fine bulk flower you know half ounces two ounces 14 grams or 28 grams. You know they're using that to cook with and it's you know we try to. Tell them what's cost effective. So we would always tell them hey you know you might want to look at option A you know a which would be the oils because. It's only 60 dollars for a thousand milligrams of oil opposed to let's say 1/2 ounces on sale for 140. But generally they're 175. So you just saved yourself. One hundred and ten dollars or eighty dollars and got something that's. Just as potent if not more usually more potent. So you can do more with it if you will but not like I said. Not everyone wants to do that and it's maybe it's because they're used to what they have been doing. And that's fine. You know we're also not here to push a product on someone that they don't want. If you will.

 

Ron [00:12:46] After hearing you talk it makes me wish I would've spent more time paying attention in class when we were talking about the metric system. (Laughing)  What you're talking about with the gram is in all of that makes me come up with another question. Say they come in for the first time maybe they're brand new to all of this. Especially hearing you talk about again the different dosages in all of that. How much time would somebody expect to spend the first time they come in there because it's got to be a lot of information you're sharing with them.

 

Alex [00:13:22] There is and it comes down to their personality. I think really some people are it's new to them so they're scared and they they don't want to not necessarily be there for too long but they're just nervous about the whole thing so they don't really ask all the questions they have right because they're timid and we get it you know we tried to break the ice if you will you know general questions like hey you know have you ever been to a dispensary before you know a lot of people before Illinois that we're living there they would go to Michigan or Colorado and they would if they were forced to go other places and get relief if that's how they were seeking it. But now that they have it here it's still that taboo a little bit less now. So you know we have they get justice maybe over 300 patients or so probably more than that. But it's we don't see that as much but that's because it's like the will say the original hundred two hundred people that they've gotten their friends and family on board so that they're eracing the taboo if you will you know we're just helping by providing that safe spot to come in. I mean share whatever share whatever you want. You know we we've heard a lot we've heard it all I would say and sometimes like I said you know it puts you in a uncomfortable zone if you will but you deal with it and it gives you life experience because you wouldn't know how to you wouldn't know that person's experience without them telling you you know.

 

Lita [00:14:57] And the patients would return to you regularly then they wouldn't go from space to like from dispensary to dispensary.

 

Alex [00:15:05] So in Illinois you once you register somewhere and that's where you have to go until you register somewhere else so they don't say you can't do that. But it takes at least two days to register or to reregister somewhere. So what sucks is windy city has four locations if you're registered at one you can't go to another even though we're the same.

 

Lita [00:15:28] But you might not want to.

 

Alex [00:15:30] umm true true.

 

Lita [00:15:30] Because what you're saying you know you might want to like you have a rapport with the person that...