How to Purchase and Use Cannabis – For Beginners

Step One: Getting a Medical Marijuana Card

Before you can purchase marijuana in Missouri, you must have a medical marijuana patient card that proves you are approved by a physician as well as the state to purchase. We explained in more depth how you can receive a marijuana card here.

Step Two: Choosing a Dispensary

There isn’t a specific dispensary you need to purchase marijuana from if you are a cardholder, except for the requirement of purchasing in Missouri. Unlike a doctor calling a prescription into the pharmacy, your doctor is simply recommending cannabis for you to try. The choice of what product to purchase and where to purchase it is ultimately your decision. Medical marijuana dispensaries operate more like a high-security vitamin and supplement retail store rather than a pharmacy.

That being said, not all dispensaries are the same and it is important that your dispensary of choice meets some criteria before you give them your business.

We would love to see you at North when our dispensaries open this Spring. You can find our dispensaries in Pevely and Hillsboro.

Check the Location of the Dispensary

North, and several other dispensaries will be offering delivery services to their patients, but make sure you are within their delivery zone. If you are picking it up yourself, verify that it is a reasonable distance from your home for you to visit frequently.

Make Sure the Dispensary is Sharing Knowledge and Educating Their Patients

Look on the dispensary’s website – are there online resources for you to pull from? Are they easily able to be contacted? If so, contact them and ask how they plan to help navigate a new marijuana user through the process of purchasing and using it. Your dispensary should always be willing to guide you every step of the way as you learn this information! Check out North’s resource blog for all of your unanswered questions!

Step Three: Brainstorm With Your Budtender and Do Some Research

There are many choices that go into making a decision to purchase a medical marijuana product. The first would be identifying the kind of marijuana you need – either indica or sativa.

The Indica Strain

Indica varieties are usually shorter in size and have shorter growing cycles than their counterpart, sativa. This doesn’t really matter to patients purchasing at the dispensary, but it’s nice to know anyway.

Indica strains are great for people with a need for full-body relaxation. They are great at nighttime and help the user sleep. They usually offer a lot of anti-inflammatory properties and are favored by people who experience pain or other inflammatory conditions like digestive disorders.

The Sativa Strain

Sativa cannabis plants are taller than indicas and they have a longer growing season. People typically use sativa strains when they want to feel uplifted or to stimulate their minds. Sativa strains are great for daytime and morning use because of their energetic effects. A lot of people use a sativa strain before their morning exercise routine or in place of coffee. Sativa strains would be the right choice for someone looking to improve their focus, spark creativity, or energize their spirits!

Selecting the strain you want is only one piece of the puzzle. Now you need to decide how to consume it:

Smoking

Many people are turned off by the idea of smoking. There is conflicting data when it comes to smoking marijuana and the negative effects it can have on your lungs. The reason so many are drawn to it is because it is instantaneous. As soon as you smoke, you begin to feel relief. If you have a condition that causes extreme nausea and you can’t hold anything down in the mornings, smoking might work for you because of its ability to stop nausea in its tracks the moment you use it.

Vaping

Thanks to cool technology, vaping cannabis is an option. It still provides instantaneous relief without combusting the cannabis and creating potentially harmful chemicals. Vaping cannabis still heats it up and allows you to inhale, but it doesn’t burn it.

Edibles + Tinctures

Edibles can be good choices for people looking to seamlessly blend their cannabis consumption into their daily routine without having to take too many extra steps. Edibles can come in a variety of different foods, such as brownies, breakfast bars, and cookies. Different dispensaries will carry different products, so browse around to find one that meets your needs. You can also use a cannabis tincture in your morning coffee or tea.