n 2018, I left home for the road. This piece is the fourth in my “Leaving Home for The Road” series. So far, I’ve shared my preparation for the journey, how I enjoyed my vegan/plant-based diet while traveling, and 10 vegan restaurants/restaurants with vegan options that I visited while on my journey.

Not shared is how I enjoyed legal weed while on my journey. I am dedicating this piece to the dispensaries that I visited while on my journey. I traveled from the midwest to the west coast and had a ball walking into dispensaries and buying cannabis, and not just flower!

I had the pleasure of experiencing so many different brands, strains, and products. I shopped in Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

I know, something looks strange right? How can I travel the west coast and not shop in California?! Well, for reasons that won’t be discussed in the piece, I did not make a purchase in California because I didn’t have a need. But I still have you covered!

I knew exactly who to chat with about cannabis dispensaries in Cali: Chrissy Calain, CEO of CannaChrissy, LLC! Chrissy helps companies grow their brands with a focus on health and wellness pertaining to cannabis; but also creates content for swim, beauty, and hospitality brands!

What It’s Like Buying Legal Cannabis/ Weed/ Marijuana

Back in May, I published a piece discussing weed forms, and shared a visual that I believe is important to share here:

Picture it, Oregon, summer 2019. You are walking through the streets of a small downtown city when suddenly, you set your eyes on a cannabis store. You walk in and find yourself in shock! Well, there are sales associates, organized merchandise, and informative information everywhere. Heck- they even have the recreational merchandise separate from the medicinal merchandise.

The sales associate greets you, checks your I.D, and asks how he/she may assist. There’s a section with everything sativa- separated by form: flower, topical, edible, and ingestible. There’s another section labeled “Indica” with the same set up as sativa. The sales associate is so much more available to you than any Walgreens associate ever has been; any Pharmacist for that matter.

The sales associate helps you with your purchase, places it in a bag, provides you with safety and other informative content, and thanks you for coming in. You walk out with legal weed- having received more information and service than any liquor store you’ve ever visited. You walk out of the weed store the same way you walk out of Wal-Mart, Walgreens, and Target. Not the basement, not the garage, not an alley, nothing unprofessional like you may have imagined.

Things You Should Know About Legal Recreational Cannabis/ Weed/ Marijuana

Did you know that just because cannabis is legal in legal states, doesn’t mean that you can consume publicly? When you purchase legal marijuana, it is to remain sealed and not consumed until you get home. You cannot light one up outside of the dispensary.

Did you know that just because weed sales are legal in legal states, doesn’t mean that you can buy as much as you want? Many legal states have a purchase restriction of 1 ounce or less.

Did you know that just because cannabis sales are legal in legal states, doesn’t mean that you can buy weed grown in any state? Let me clarify, if you are in Washington, you will not have an option to buy Nevada grown weed. Each state grows and sells cannabis grown in that specific state- no crossing state lines.

Dispensaries Visited on My Journey Through the West Coast

(I am listing the first dispensary- the first legal weed purchase in each state that I visited on my journey. The California listing is a recommendation from Chrissy Calain as mentioned above.)