As long as there is any stigma attached to cannabis, the black market will exist. Some dealer will always a find a market for product even where cannabis is legal. Many consumers populate places in California, Colorado, and other legal states where cannabis dispensaries are inconvenient. And, some dispensaries are bound to offer unsatisfying shopping experiences for some.

But, the record on performance at cannabis dispensaries with some history in Colorado, Washington, and Oregon offers proof that dispensaries offer more than your local dealer.

10 Reasons Cannabis from Dispensaries is Better Than from Dealers:

1. Trust — It’s easy and comfortable to develop trusting relationships with your local cannabis dispensary. You may think you know your dealer well, but the dealer is motivated by the profit transaction, not the business motive to sustain quality customer service relationships.

The dealer needs you when there is product to move, and you need the dealer to fill your demand. That demand and supply, not some large value, fixes the price on the deal. That illegal deal in the moment distances you from the dark side of the matter. It does not build trust.

2. Safety — Dealers don’t grow their product. They can offer no assurance on cannabis purity, cultivation methods, or harvesting processes. They have no clue to the nutrients, pesticides, and chemicals used in farming.

Your licensed cannabis dispensary — medical or adult-use dispensary — has a business reputation to sustain and state regulations to fulfill. If the dispensary wants to succeed, it must secure best-of-class products and staff with well-trained budtenders. Those dispensaries track and document seed-to-sale quality assurance.

3. Selection — Only the “best” dealers have more than one strain at a time. They don’t have a product inventory to speak of. They may not know their product strain let alone its THC and CBD percentage. Without that info, you cannot select product to produce the recreational or medical affects you want. You take what you can get.

State regulations on cannabis dispensaries audit procedures and business flow. To comply and compete, the stores must carry a selection of correctly labeled cannabis strains and cannabis-derived products. They routinely stock and sell edibles, beverages, tinctures, and concentrates where legal, and they offer cannabis apparatus and apparel, too.

4. Variety — Cannabis dispensaries offer a variety of strains from different plant families with a range of THC or CBD percentages. Variety allows customers to match product with their sought-after experience or treat their medical problems.

As important, the variety of product lets customers shop by price as well as quality and product potency. The variety invites newcomers and veterans to choose what they need and how to administer it. And, you can select quantity as well as quality.

5. Stash — With a reliable cannabis dispensary at hand, you have product when you want it. If the store is convenient, you have no reason to build up your personal stash and no worry about running out.

Your stash no longer depends on the availability of your dealer and confidence in the product offered. You don’t have to worry about storage, freshness, or variety. There’s enough inventory there to keep you happy and to stock up for a social event. With an accessible cannabis dispensary, you have more control.

6. Adult – Because customers must show identification, they must be 21 years old. It lets you share in keeping weed out of the hands of teens, but it also creates an adult business. To stay competitive, the dispensaries must serve you as adults and respect the medical and recreational needs you describe.

According to Priceonomics.com, “The government of Colorado (the U.S. state with the most developed recreational marijuana market) estimates that only 60% of marijuana consumed in the state was purchased legally.” Dealers will continue to serve stoners on college campuses and inner-city streets. But, licenses cannabis dispensaries are in the business of serving adults as adults. They want to transform the shopping experience for buyers who want to get away from the shadows.

7. Expense — State and local taxes will increase the cost of cannabis products. But, the only value in your purchase from a dealer is the market price at the time. Supply and demand determine the cost which may have little or no connection with the product quality.

Aware of the price disadvantage imposed by taxes, cannabis dispensaries manage prices in other ways. They buy in volume and secure local deals to take advantage of economies of scale.

8. Choice — Relying on a dealer keeps you from shopping around. Few customers have more than one or two dealers, a first call and a backup. But, that reduces your control and choice. As an increasing number of states legitimize cannabis sales and possession, cannabis dispensaries will multiply.

Like any other business, some will succeed, and others fail. Regulations will evolve and change. Supply chains will grow, and dispensary experience will offer shopping experiences and customer-centric environments. All their efforts will improve your ability to choose, or you will move your buying power.

9. Fear — The typical deal goes down in the dark, in the shadows of the law. The typical dealer works in fear of being caught. And, your local dealer must answer to perhaps even more unsavory characters. Even if you have been buying from a dealer for some time, you must admit you make the transaction in some fear of the law and social stigma.

Cannabis dispensaries, on the other hand, offer a clean well-lighted place for you to shop, select, and buy with no fear. It takes the anxiety out of the deal, and it lets you stick to the rules.

10. Relief — Some cannabis strains have offered relief from many health conditions. And, increased research has verified the application and results. A system of licensed cannabis dispensaries provides safer designated care to patients suffering from scores of physical, emotional, and neurological problems.

A final look

There are at least 10 reasons cannabis from dispensaries is better than from dealers. They should make your choice easier in those states where cannabis is legal. Where it is legal, these businesses will improve the market and the customer experience over time, changes you can’t expect from your dealer.