Pot-tering in Oregon

Never in my wildest hippie dreams did I imagine shopping in a gourmet marijuana store.

Now that legal marijuana is on the market, the market has gone upmarket.

Oregon has been a pioneer state in this business. It’s always been an emancipated place.

Look at its attitude towards voluntary euthanasia.

So Oregon's a state where you come to shop for pot.

So we did, with Oregon being on our route.

Here in lovely Ashland, set in a very conservative building, Breeze Botanicals sells both medical and recreational marijuana.

A male receptionist sits behind a tall counter in what turns out to be the very salubrious shop-cum-waiting room. It offers nice alternative herbs and incenses and pleasant hippie domestic things.

The real shop, is behind a door marked PRIVATE.

Before being admitted, one has to show photo ID. This business is Adults Only. Even grey hair is not proof of age around here.

With our antiquity approved, we are escorted into the inner sanctum.

Therein, dense buds sit in glass jars in showcases and fancy glass pipes and chilums are arrayed in illuminated glass cabinets.

It’s very slick, classy, highly specialist - and mind-blowing. There are so many variations on the theme. Where to begin?

There’s waxy stuff that is a bit like hashish, but it is not hashish.  It’s some modern variation.

There is dope for every mood and every time of day.

A customer with a particularly strident voice is telling the shop assistant how much she really, really loves this shop. And she really, really loves this assistant. She has come a long way to do her shopping and this is just the best, best place ever. She would never shop for her pot elsewhere. Truly. Hand on heart. Oh, it has done her so much good. Thanks so much. She really feels centred now. And she really loves you people so much. In fact, come to think of it, she loves everyone.

Now that’s customer satisfaction.

I bet they get a lot of that.

We’re a bit shy. The young male proprietor, who actually comes from Georgia, is leading Bruce through the products, explaining how chic it has become to grow top weed, what pride the growers take, how they like to create specialist product, how pure and powerful it all is, how they’re always looking for new growers, how fastidiously tested and inspected all the products are...

Here, smell this.

There are lots of statistics. It’s all very scientific. Pure and organic. Scientist Bruce is impressed by the levels of analysis.

Indica indicators are all over the place.

And their product descriptions are lyrical cousins to the rhapsodies on wine labels.

THC is 12.31 per cent in the CBD God. It is sungrown. “Earthy and sweet, this strain is known to lean towards a relaxing yet creative high…”

THC 16.67 per cent in LA Confidential, also sungrown. “a well-rounded strain that delivers a fast-approachig sensation…"

There’s Big Wreck, Mango Tango, Old School Purple, Critical Cure, Lemon Cannabull, Swiss Tsunami, Strawberry Diesel, Jaego Kush…all sun grown.

Then there are indoor cultivars - Sativas such as Dark Star, Cheesy Dick and Candyland.

There are blends.

There are extracts.

There are concentrates.

There’s a whole Vape section.

There are oils and tinctures. Edibles.

More wild names. Sour Diesel. Skunk Dawg, Dream Lotus.

You gotta be stoned to think of these names.

Average price is about $12 a gram. Oh, and Oregon has a State Tax for recreational users.

It’s all a bit overwhelming.

Problem is, there is no sampling.

The building is smoke free.