Acanza In Fayetteville, AR – Dispensary Review

About Dispensary: Acanza Health Group

“Acanza Health Group Is Located In Fayetteville, Arkansas.  Acanza Is A Majority Woman Owned State Of The Art Medical Marijuana Dispensary With An In-House Cultivation And Processing Center. Acanza Sets The Standard For The Delivery Of Reliable, Safe, And Consistently High-Quality Cannabinoid-Based Medicine Professionally Integrated Within A Model Of Effective And Highly Compassionate Patient-Centered Care.”

Address: 2733 N McConnell Ave, Fayetteville, AR 72704

Phone# (479) 488-2071

Hours:

AR MMJ CARD RATING & REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acanza Health Group was the most difficult dispensary for me to review, yet. I really wanted to give Acanza a five star review, because their product storage is mostly really good, their prices are excellent, and they are in a really good location.

However, their staff members in the front are so unprofessional, and are just not helpful in any way. Yet, the bud tenders seem to be generally amazing. 

I felt torn, because I’ve always believed that product storage is the most important, followed by price. However, after being to this dispensary that has great prices and great storage, but terrible staff. I probably won’t go there again unless I’m in a bind. 

It only surprised me a little to learn, that the culture of a company and the attitude of the employees can really make that huge of a difference.

Product Storage Score:⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ideally, a dispensary will store their marijuana flower in a dimly lit, cool (not cold) environment, with minimal exposure to air. Acanza has very good product storage habits. 

Although the dispensary is brightly lit, you can see that the glass jars are kept in a dark cabinet behind the counter, where they are not exposed to the light. 

Acanza keeps their flower that is not in jars in one of two kinds of bags. The first is a thick, walled white, light proofed bag, which seals tightly. These bags are great for product storage. 

This particular plastic is a bit heavier duty, and appears to be lined with some kind of foil, when you cut it. This would protect the terpenes from any air passing through the bag, as well as keeping it safe from light exposure.

The second type of bag is a brown heavy-weight paper, dipped in plastic, with a plastic lining. In this particular bag, it was exceedingly easy to smell the bud through the bag. This tells me the bag is too porous to keep the bud fresh for an extended period of time. 

When you read the bag, there is a test date and a packaging date. The product is tested before it arrives at the dispensary, and is packaged after arrival. The packaging date should be the last time that nug was exposed before you purchased it. A few of the times I visited Acanza, I received product that was more than a month past the packaging date. 

Once, it was in one of those paper bags (and it was on sale), but the product was extremely dry, and it seemed to be less effective. However, that’s just subjective. I am skeptical that the brown bags keep the products as well as the others do. 

Overall, however, Acanza Health group practices great product storage. 

Pricing Score :⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acanza’s product pricing system is really good, in comparison with a lot of other Arkansas medical marijuana dispensaries. First, their bud increments begin in grams, which they sell for as little as $10, $12, and $15.

I’m particular about dispensaries selling in grams, because there’s an option if you’re just looking to pick up a little, or if you want to sample several. Not everyone wants to spend a lot at once, and a lot of new patients want to sample a variety to find what they like. 

Acanza is a good place to do that. 

Additionally, Acanza offers a discount of 10%, and 20% on Sundays, to patients below a specific income level. On your first visit there, they offer you a sheet to fill out to enroll in the program. 

A lot of patients write to us asking about lowering bud prices. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot we can do to make it less expensive in our state, short of having a lot more cultivators flood the market with available inexpensive, wholesale product. However, a few dispensaries, like Acanza, have programs like this one to make the burden a little less for lower income households.

Wait & Staff Score :⭐⭐

It was extremely difficult for me to review Acanza on this category because I kept having such polarity in my experiences with them. I just kept going back, trying to have a different kind of experience, but kept running into the same issue.

Finally, I landed on how to rate their staff and wait time, and I feel that two stars is very fair for the type of experience you can expect from Acanza, if you were to go there on a regular basis.

The wait is pretty long in proportion to how many people are there. It look me 10 minutes with only 1 person in line in front of me, and 32 minutes with 14 in line in front of my outside. Their line moves very, very slowly. If there’s only a few people there, its okay, but you’ll still wait.

The front staff is pretty aggressive, and aren’t very helpful. They treat the patients like its their own fault for not knowing how Acanza’s check in works. 

The bud tenders are extremely kind, and helpful. All of them that I’ve encountered are radiating positivity. The difference between the front and back is night and day.

My First Visit

My first time visiting Acanza was the best experience of them all. When I arrived, there was one person sitting on the bench in front of the dispensary. I approached the door, and began to reach for the handle, when the door swung open, somewhat abruptly. A very severe looking security guard asked me if I’d received a text confirming my order was ready for pick up. 

I explained that this was my first time, and I hadn’t ordered yet. He told me to go online and place an order, and went back inside. I sat down on the bench outside to place an order on Leafly, when the door opened again. A different, much more polite and somewhat chipper, well dressed staff member came out holding a clipboard. He introduced himself as a staff member, and asked me to fill out my information on the clipboard once I’d finished ordering online. 

I placed my ordered and filled out my information on the clipboard, when the security guard popped his head back out and asked me if I wanted to wait inside. I indicated I would, and came inside to sit down. I wasn’t sitting down for more than a few seconds, when a woman from the window directly across from me, looked up and said “Um, hello?”

I looked around, saw I was one of two people in there, then looked back at her and said “Hello, me?”

She said, “Yes. Do you have a medical card?”

I said, “Yes, I do.”

She said, “Okay, do you want to bring it up here?” 

I brought my card up to her, at which point she asked me for the clipboard too. I handed them to her, and stood there. 

She looked back up at me and said “Can I help you with something?”

Realizing our interchange must have been over, I said no thank you and sat back down. A few minutes later, a door to the back opened, and a staff member invited me to the back. 

The bud tender was just about the nicest person you could hope for. He excitedly told me he noticed it was my first time, showed me their sheet for how to get a 10-20% discount if you’re under a specific income, and briefly went over some other products they sell, which were similar to those in my purchase.

The entire experience took about 15 minutes start to finish. 

My Second Noteworthy Experience

Another time I visited Acanza, I placed an order online and arrived in the middle of the afternoon. At the time the there wasn’t anyone in line outside and I was let right in. Being familiar with the process, I went straight to the window and dropped off my medical card.

Inside there were about 5 people in front of me. I was sitting there for about 7 minutes, and a small line had formed outside. The security guard was standing outside with his foot propping the door widely open, while he was answering a woman’s question. During this interchange, a man parked right in front of the dispensary, got out of his car, and walked inside, headed toward the glass window to give his card. 

He was already inside and half way to the counter, when the security guard began yelling at him to stop from the door. The man stopped suddenly, seeming startled. He turned to the security guard and explained he’d received a text saying his order was ready. The guard, in a still raised voice, but now with a condescending tone, replied “Yeah? So do all of them!”, pointing at the line outside.

The man apologize and said he didn’t know, to which the security guard replied “Why did you think they were standing out there, to socialize?” 

The man, then went outside, got in his car and left. Someone came from the back and asked the security guard what had happened. There in front of me, and all of the other patients/customers in the room, the security guard retold the story, while mocking the patient in a dumbing tone. The other staff member cracked up laughing, and they both joked that he was probably lying and probably wasn’t even a patient. They chuckled and continued to talk about it there in the lobby for several minutes.

I was so uncomfortable, I didn’t want to make eye contact with anyone in the room. I could not believe staff members were that comfortable joking about patients in front of other patients. It was nearly the most unprofessional thing I’d ever seen in a dispensary.

However, once again, when I got to the back, the bud tender was super polite, super helpful, and just a great end to an awkward experience.

Final Most Recent Noteworthy Experience

My most recent experience with Acanza was the only one, in which I had to wait an exceedingly long time. I was there for 32 minutes. When I arrived, there were 14 people there in line. 

I had my daughter with me, so I parked up front, and my friend came to sit in my car with my daughter while I was in line. They were directly in front of the Dispensary with the windows down, where you could clearly see both of them in the car. Regardless, I let the security guard know my friend was sitting with my kid, an jumped in the back of the line. 

I was in line for 13 minutes, when this blonde woman, who was moving very odly and appeared disholved, walked up. She walked the length of the line twice, then cut in line in front of a different patient. This woman appeared to be on hard drugs, so I didn’t say anything to her, and that’s probably why no one else in line did either. 

After three more minutes went by, (I’ve been standing outside for 16 minutes at this point), this woman decided to jump the line again. This time, she cut in front of the second person in line, making herself next in line. The security guard was actually outside during the second time she cut the line, but didn’t say anything to her about it.

Once I got inside, I dropped off my card up front, sat down and continued waiting for a long time. I’m not sure what minute it was by the time I was called to the back, but I was in a hurry by that point, so I paid an left, and checked the time once I’d exited the dispensary. It was 32 total minutes from the time I began waiting in line.

I went back to my car and got in, said thank you to my friend, she stepped out and I started driving away. I hadn’t drove one minute, when my friend called me, and said the security guard stopped her on her way to her car and was questioning her about what she was doing there. 

She was quite taken aback, as was I, because not only had we told the security guard what was happening, but they were parked there in front of him with the windows down for over 30 minutes. I encourage you all to look at the parking spots from the door of Acanza, there is no way you could miss a kid and a woman playing in a car directly in front of you for 30 minutes. 

He told her that he had to question her as part of his job, because of all of the “sketchy types that roam the parking lot.” But my friend is a well-dressed small business owner in her late 30s. She doesn’t look sketchy, nor did he have any reason to be confused about why she was there.

All in all, Acanza’s front staff members need to go through whatever politeness training their giving their bud tenders. It’s very unpleasant to interact with their staff members in the front, and they badly need someone to be explaining their check in process to new visitors. Every dispensary is different, and it really isn’t okay to treat patients like they should just already know. 

There is a feeling of mutual respect that humans should both expect and project to individuals they’ve never encountered. Politeness is just an extension of respect for another person. To treat someone with such rudeness, and even mockery in some cases, is to allow everyone else to know that you seem them as less than you. 

If Acanza could retrain it’s staff on how to interact with the public, their dispensary would be a real destination. 

REQUIRED: AR MMJ CERTIFICATION

Before purchasing cannabis from a medical marijuana dispensary, like This One, Arkansas patients must first qualify for a medical marijuana certification; AR MMJ Cards can provide qualified patients with the state-required recommendation to complete this process.

CALL ARMMJ CARDS: (479) 308-5000

See Our List Of Arkansas Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Leave Your Own Review Of This Dispensary Below

Medical Marijuana Doctor and Medical Cannabis Basics

Sometimes information about medical marijuana card certifications can be confusing and we at AR MMJ Cards like things simple, so we wanted to walk through some of the basics of medical marijuana* including general cannabis-related definitions, medical marijuana doctors, qualifying conditions, MMJ Cards, and dispensaries. Within the article, there are several resources linked to help ensure your medical cannabis journey is more simplified. 

What is medical marijuana?  What conditions are medical cannabis recommended for in Arkansas?

According to WebMD, “Medical marijuana uses the marijuana plant or chemicals in it to treat diseases or conditions.  The marijuana plant contains more than 100 different chemicals called cannabinoids. Each one has a different effect on the body.”  Medical Marijuana can be used in Arkansas for 18 Qualifying Conditions including:

• Cancer
• Glaucoma
• Positive status for human immunodeficiency virus/ acquired immune deficiency syndrome
• Hepatitis C
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Tourette’s syndrome
• Crohn’s disease
• Ulcerative colitis
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Severe arthritis
• Fibromyalgia
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Cachexia or wasting syndrome
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Intractable pain which is pain that has not responded to ordinary medications, treatment or surgical measures for more than six (6) months
• Severe nausea
• Seizures including without limitation those characteristic of epilepsy
• Severe and persistent muscle spasms including without limitation those characteristic of multiple sclerosis
• And any other medical condition or its treatment approved by the Department of Health.

Medical cannabis is most often used for the treatment of pain, nausea, insomnia, mood disorders, and inflammation.  According to Harvard Health, “the most common use for medical marijuana in the United States in for pain control. While marijuana isn’t strong enough for severe pain (for example, post-surgical pain or a broken bone), it is quite effective for the chronic pain that plagues millions of Americans, especially as they age. Part of its allure is that it is clearly safer than opiates (it is impossible to overdose on and far less addictive) and it can take the place of NSAIDs such as Advil or Aleve, if people can’t take them due to problems with their kidneys or ulcers or GERD.”

What is a MMJ or Medical Marijuana Card?

According to Leafly, “a medical marijuana card (also known as “MMID” or “cannabis card”) is an identification card used by patients to enter medical dispensaries (or “cannabis clubs”) and purchase the plant to treat their corresponding health ailment or symptoms.”

A qualifying patient in Arkansas uses a Medical Marijuana Card at a dispensary to purchase medical marijuana products.

To receive a medical marijuana card in the state of Arkansas, a patient must receive a medical marijuana card certification from a licensed Medical Marijuana Doctor.  The patient will be age 18 or over (or have parental consent), be diagnosed with a qualifying condition (link to other question below), have written certification from a Medical Cannabis Doctor, be an Arkansas Resident, and not be a member of the Arkansas National Guard or United States Military (due to state law regulations). 

Once the patient receives medical marijuana card certification from an Arkansas Medical Marijuana Doctor, the patient can apply to the state to receive their dispensary card.  For a detailed walk through of how to apply to the State of Arkansas for your medical marijuana card, check out our video on YouTube.

Arkansas does offer medical marijuana for visiting patients, there is an application that must be competed and approved.  Visit the State of Arkansas’ FAQs page for the application for medical marijuana patients in other states who are visiting Arkansas.

What is a medical marijuana doctor? How do I qualify for a dispensary card? 

A medical marijuana doctor in the state of Arkansas is a licensed Medical Doctor (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) with a current DEA number.  At AR MMJ Cards, our founder is a MD, Dr. Daniel Whitelocke is an experienced medical doctor, who has worked as a surgeon or in family medical clinics prior to founding AR MMJ Cards.  He passionately studies and researches information and data on cannabis to ensure he is educated about all aspects of medical marijuana and is able to provide accurate information to his patients. Some topics of his studies include qualifying conditions, medical marijuana benefits by condition, medical marijuana potency, possible side effects from cannabis, marijuana terpenes, cannabinoids, THC, and CBD.  To read more of Dr. Daniel and team’s blogs, check out AR MMJ Card’s Blog.

At AR MMJ Cards, we charge $100 for cannabis card certifications and $99 for renewals.  Our medical marijuana card certifications are conducted using telemedicine.  Telemedicine visits are completed virtually with a Medical Marijuana Doctor and patient. To see if a patient qualifies for a cannabis card certification, the patient will complete paperwork through a secure portal. The customer care team will reach out to patients that qualify to schedule an appointment with a doctor at AR MMJ Cards.

Patients only pay for telemedicine visits where a medical marijuana certification is recommended! To start your cannabis certification with one of our card certification doctors, visit our site. Once certification has been received, a patient can apply to the state of Arkansas for their MMJ card.

What are medical marijuana dispensaries and how do I find one?

According to High Times, “Marijuana Dispensaries exist because federal law prohibits cannabis from being prescribed and filled at pharmacies. What is a dispensary without the marijuana? A place that specializes in carrying and selling a specific type of product. So, a marijuana dispensary is where you want to go when you need any type of cannabis product.” Dispensaries vary in their medical marijuana offerings, but usually carry high quality and lab tested medical marijuana products including flower, vape cartridges, edibles, and wax concentrate. 

The products have a label that lists THC and CBD strength, medical marijuana type (indica, sativa, or hybrid), strain name, price, and weight.  Depending on a medical marijuana patient’s condition, specific terpenes, type, and strength of the cannabis product can impact a condition positively.  When Dr. Whitelocke or another Medical Marijuana Doctor at AR MMJ Cards meets with a patient, the specifics will be discussed as to which cannabis strains or terpenes may be a good fit for the patient’s condition. At AR MMJ Cards, we are dedicated to helping patients and ensuring that marijuana medicine is a good fit – we aren’t your average Medical Cannabis Doctor (Read more about us)! 

AR MMJ Cards has reviewed several Cannabis Dispensaries in the Arkansas area including The Releaf Center, Acanza, Purspirit and others.  To read our Medical Marijuana Dispensary Reviews, click here.  For a full list of dispensaries, review the list on Arkansas.gov.

Resources:

For more information about the State of Arkansas and Medical Marijuana, make sure to check out their website – https://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/programs-services/topics/medical-marijuana

For more information on MMJ card certification, medical marijuana doctors, and blogs related to cannabis, check out our site – https://www.armmjcards.com.

*Cannabis as medicine is not right for all patients, please consult your medical marijuana doctor for more information to determine if medical marijuana is right for you.

Reason for Reviewing Dispensaries / Criteria for Reviews

As my husband (Dr. Daniel) and I built AR MMJ Cards, it was always our intention to provide medical marijuana patients in Arkansas two things; a simple, cost-effective certification service and plenty of accessible information to aid in making informed decisions about their individual cannabis journey.

Dr. Daniel spends countless hours immersing himself in the science behind the utility of medical cannabis and then translates that information into a medium that anyone can understand. However, from a patient standpoint, knowledge of the science behind the high is only one side of the coin; it’s also crucially important to know where to get your medicine.

We won’t tell you where to go buy your MMJ but we’ll let you know what you can expect from all of the dispensaries we’ve visited. Furthermore, as you read our criteria for reviews, you’re likely find that you could just as easily review these dispensaries yourself. The aim of this post not only informs the patient as to what we are looking for in a dispensary and why, but also gives patients some things to think about the next time they’re in their local dispensary.

Choosing Criteria for Dispensary Reviews

Product Storage

The first and most important thing I look for in a dispensary is how they store their product. The reason product storage is the most important is quite basic: the storage determines the quality of the product and the life of quality viability, i.e. how long it will remain at that quality.

We operate under the assumption that the most important thing to a patient is receiving the highest quality product for their dollar, which is why product storage is the most heavily weighted criteria. Product storage is worth exactly twice as much as the other two criteria when determining our overall rating for a dispensary.

As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, ideally cannabis flower (including CBD flower) should be stored in a cool, dark location, lacking exposure to air.

From a practical standpoint, I am primarily checking for an overall lack of light, heat, and air. Some dispensaries use vacuum-sealed, heavy-weight bags with a zip closure, and those are really excellent for storage. Personally, I seek out strains that come in those bags.

When you read a label on the product you buy from a dispensary, there is usually a percentage for THC and sometimes CBD. A few places include percentages of other compounds like terpenes, but THC and CBD are most commonly found on the package. These products are tested and labelled before the dispensary receives them. That means, that was the percentage of THC and CBD before it arrived at the dispensary.

Even when stored correctly, terpenes deteriorate over time, and the quality of the product will decline. If you notice a dispensary runs out of strains periodically, and won’t have it for a few days, this is actually a good sign. It may indicate that they have good product turnover and are able to sellout before things sit on the shelf for too long.

Dispensaries that bulk order products and hold on to them for too long, may end up selling a much lower quality product with a label that no longer represents the product’s accurate percentages. Be sure to check the packaged and tested dates to ensure the product isn’t old before you buy it.

Problems with Deli-Style

Deli-Style dispensaries keep the bulk flower products in a large containers separated by cultivar. If a patient wants to inspect the product closer, the budtender will open the container and the patient can look at and smell the product. The patient can select the amount they desire and the tender will measure out that amount on the scale and seal package it there on the spot.

Deli-style dispensaries are going to have an uphill battle against prepackaged products for a number of reasons. The perpetual burping (opening and releasing terpenes) that naturally comes with deli-style dispensaries will inevitably lead to oxidation of the flower. Furthermore, the repeated physical manipulation of flower disturbs the delicate and prized trichomes on their marijuana flower bract. To put it simply, oxidized marijuana flower is less effective at all of its function. Oxidation only requires the presence of oxygen to occur and doesn’t require any additional heat (which would be combustion). This is why deli-style dispensaries automatically receive a reduced product storage score.

In deli-style dispensaries, I’d next look to see where they’re storing their product. If it’s a deli-dispensary that stores its flower in an amber glass jars, they’re protecting the terpenes from the light which would help slow the deterioration. If their jars are clear glass (which is less ideal), I’d check to see if they’re stored in a dark area behind the counter or if they’re exposed to plenty of light, which would burn up scenery experience.

Lastly, I check for the temperature of the room. It’s better if the room where the bud-tenders and product are stored is kept cool.

Personally, I’d never recommend visiting a deli-style dispensary because there really isn’t any way to calculate what you are getting. The bud in those jars deteriorates at all kinds of different rates, and there isn’t an effective way to track that. When you have a big jar of weed, there are too many unknowns for the customer. For example; When was that jar filled? Do they empty the jar before refilling it, or add new flower to what’s already in the jar? How many times a day do they open it? How much time does it spend open?

There are so many more unknowable questions that come with this type of dispensary. I think one of the greatest things about buying bud from a dispensary is the regulation. Regulated growing, regulated drying, regulated burping, and measured THC content. If you buy that carefully cultivated bud from someone who cannot guarantee good care for their product to ensure quality longevity, then what was the point of even printing that cultivar’s testing label and sticking it on the product?

If you’re a dispensary that wants to let customers open and smell all of the products before they choose, then you should really have a small amount of each strain set aside for smelling purposes only, and not for sale. I personally do not want to pay for something that 30 strangers have stuck their nose in and inhaled the terpenes and trichomes that I wanted to smoke.

Pricing

NOTE: Medical Marijuana in Arkansas has a 12% sales tax. That 12% goes directly to the state of Arkansas. The dispensaries get to keep the amount that is listed before tax. If you order online, add an additional 12% to your total to get a very close approximation to your actual price.

The pricing score is really straight forward. I look at the strains they have, and compare what they are selling a particular strain from a particular cultivar for, with what other dispensaries are selling that same strain from that same cultivar.

For example, I love mimosa, so I might try Osage Creek’s Mimosa from 5 different dispensaries and see what each dispensary is selling it for. This is how I create my baseline for product price.

I’d then check for product variety. Some places have strains from extremely high prices to extremely low, while other places don’t. I like to see a variety. I know some patients that want to immerse themselves in cannabis culture and try every bit of “designer” bud ever cultivated, while others may just want a reliable source for their medicine at a price they can afford. Ideally, a dispensary would have an option for each type of patient.

Next, I check to see what increments are sold. A lot of places start at an eighth and go up from there, but I prefer a dispensary to have grams available. If someone were in a pinch and just wanted a little bit, or if someone wanted to test out a small amount of many strains, it would be nice to have a gram option.

The one major advantage that a deli-style dispensary has in the pricing section is that they can measure out any amount, so you could potentially spend less at one time.

Pricing wasn’t difficult to decide how to score, but it has caused a small amount of confusion with some of our patients. I score these prices on how they compare with the Arkansas market for medical marijuana. We had one patient write us because we gave the ReLeaf Center four stars for pricing, but he felt that $30 – $40 (after taxes) for an eighth was a lot and wanted to know why we scored them that way.

I love math, so naturally I worked out my calculation to show him how you get more for what you pay when you purchase more at once. We compared the price for an eighth ounce of Gorilla Glue from a deli-dispensary that he’d been to with the price The ReLeaf Center was selling at, and we saved a little more than $5/gram.

I always caution people to look at what you bought and then what you paid, not just what you paid. If you spend $15 three times on a gram, then you’ve spent $45 on 3 grams. If you buy an eighth for $35, then you’ve spent $35 on 3.5 grams. You get a half gram more, for $10 less.

Sometimes I’ll hear things like, “I always spend more when I go to…” wherever vs. wherever. I always have to ask what they mean when they say that because a lot of the time the case is actually that they bought a $15 gram from one place and a $40 eighth from somewhere else, which made the person feel like they spent more. In fact, $40 for 3.5 grams comes out to a little less than $11.50/gram.

Dispensaries that sell eighths or more at once will very likely give you a better value for what you buy, but you’ll be unlikely to be able to get something for less than $30 – $40 out the door.

Wait & Staff

Our final criteria is meant to rate the feel of a dispensary. The first part of this is wait time. If you’re ready to get your medicine and you drive to a dispensary geared up and excited, then have to wait hours, it’s highly unpleasant.

You can end up waiting a very long time if dispensaries are understaffed or their staff isn’t efficient at getting people in and out. As far as the wait, I generally try to arrive at a dispensary at their peak volume hours and see how long it takes me to get in and out.

The second part of this criteria is the staff. The staff at a dispensary can really make or break the experience. The member of the staff I am most heavily judging is the security guard.

This is because the security guard is the first person you see when you arrive at a dispensary. They’ll be responsible for informing you about their dispensary practices, and they generally carry a gun. If this person is aggressive or rude, they can really dampen the experience.

Security staff should always be positive and friendly. They should greet you before you greet them, and they should offer helpful information or instruction right away. If it’s your first time to a dispensary, you should be able to step out of your vehicle and be pleasantly walked through what to do next by a kind personality. Security guards set the feel for the entire dispensary because they are the gate keepers.

Next, I’m looking at the staff inside. I like to ask questions and get a feel for their general knowledge. I generally visit each dispensary a few times, and try to talk to all of the staff members I can. It’s a nice touch when they know what they are talking about, but far more than that, I am checking to see what kind of attitude they have.

Are they friendly? Are they happy to help? Are they annoyed? Are they in a rush? Can they recommend strains? Can they recommend new products for you?

Some dispensaries take time and effort to ensure their staff is helpful to the customers, while other dispensaries are just trying to fill their dispensary with bodies so they can get them in and out.

The wait & staff score is by far the most subjective, but important nonetheless. A bad bud tender is a little unpleasant, but a bad security guard could make you never want to come again. The wait seems universal to me however; no one wants to wait a long time once they’re ready to make a purchase.

Final Thoughts

I intend to help patients know what they can expect wherever they go. I believe that the process of obtaining medical marijuana should be a pleasant, streamlined process. We continuously strive to make our end (medical certifications) easier and more streamlined, and I hope that by reviewing these dispensaries, we can help make the other end a little easier and pleasant too.

Be sure to stay tune this summer for our coming dispensary review tour! Dr. Daniel and I will be traveling around to visit all of the dispensaries in Arkansas, one area at a time, and reviewing them for our patients’ convenience!

The Source In Bentonville, AR – Dispensary Review

About Dispensary The Source

“The Source is the premier medical cannabis destination in Arkansas. We offer deli style flower service with over 50 strains available, as well as a selection of edibles, concentrates, topicals and cannabis accessories.”

Address: 406 Razorback Dr, Bentonville, AR 72712

Phone# (479) 330-9333

Hours:

AR MMJ CARD RATING & REVIEW ⭐⭐

The regrettable thing about the Source is that they are in the best possible location, but the quality of product, purchasing experience and timeliness are just not there.

Product Storage Score:⭐

Ideally, a dispensary will store their marijuana flower in a dimly lit, cool (not cold) environment, with minimal exposure to air.

Deli-style dispensaries in general will be unlikely to receive a high product storage score from AR MMJ Cards, because it’s the worst possible way to store your product, from a scientific standpoint.

As many MMJ users know, the terpenes in Medical marijuana are largely responsible for your high. However, terpenes are very delicate, and easily degraded by heat and light. Once MMJ flower has been prepared for use, the best thing for the longevity of the product at that point, is to seal it in an air-tight container and store it away from heat and light.

At The Source in Bentonville, their product is stored in large, clear glass jars on high shelves near the light. 

Every time the jar is opened for someone to smell, or for the attendant to measure out your bud, that cannabis flower is being oxidized. i.e. deteriorating, and becoming less effective at all of it’s functions. Every time that jar gets opened, and every minute it sits there next to the light, the CBN is increasing.

“CBN, No Beuno” says Dr. Daniel. “That’s the measure of the oxidative age of the flower. You could get mimosa from a place with good product storage, and mimosa from a place with deli-style storage, you could be getting two completely different experience because the CBN is so much higher in the deli-style product storage method.”

Deli-style storage is the fastest way to destroy the terpenes in your product.

Pricing Score :⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Source has excellent product prices in a range that serve everyone. Also, due to their ability to measure on demand, they can sell in small increments like portions of a gram. This can be important if you’ve only got a couple extra bucks and you don’t want to have to pull out another $20.

Wait & Staff Score :⭐⭐

The wait is a huge problem. This dispensary is in an excellent location, so they are often packed, and due to nothing being pre-measured, the line takes a very long time to progress.

The first time I visited was in February 2020 and I arrived about 10 minutes after they opened. There was one other person there, who went in before me, and I waited in the waiting area for 17 minutes before being allowed back. The young man I spoke to was polite, and as helpful as he could be, but didn’t know a lot about the bud.

My second visit was a few weeks later, and I made the mistake of going in the middle of the afternoon. The place was packed and I waited over an hour and a half to get in. I generally time how long the wait is the first few times, but I was there so long, I ended up talking on the phone after the first hour or so, and lost track of the time after that.

By the time I got in there, the staff had clearly had a long day, and seemed annoyed at seeing another person there to purchase product. I actually wanted to ask some questions about what they had and perhaps try something new, but not wanting to be a bother, I just picked something I knew and purchased a little less.

All in all, the buying experience is just sub par in comparison with the environments some of the other dispensaries have created.

REQUIRED: AR MMJ CERTIFICATION

Before purchasing cannabis from a medical marijuana dispensary, like This One, Arkansas patients must first qualify for a medical marijuana certification; AR MMJ Cards can provide qualified patients with the state-required recommendation to complete this process.

CALL ARMMJ CARDS: (479) 308-5000

Get Your Certification Started

See Our List Of Arkansas Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Leave Your Own Review Of This Dispensary Below

The ReLeaf Center In Bentonville, AR – Dispensary Review

About Dispensary The ReLeaf Center

“As the premier destination for medical cannabis dispensary products and services, it is the mission of ReLeaf Center to provide patients access to high quality, affordable alternative solutions to meet the needs of all of their qualifying conditions”

Address: 9400 E McNelly Rd, Bentonville, AR 72712

Phone# (479) 488-2071

Hours:

AR MMJ CARD RATING & REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

There are a few great dispensaries in Northwest Arkansas, but The ReLeaf Center takes the cake. Although it’s a bit of a drive to get there, the friendly staff, reasonable prices, and incredible selection makes it worth the trip. The ReLeaf Center is true to it’s name. From the moment you arrive to the moment you leave, you feel relieved. Everyone smiles, the atmosphere is pleasant, and the staff learns your name and asks you how you are doing. Above all their superior product storage practices, and routine discounted-sales of aged products, makes us rest assured in our decision to crown ReLeaf as AR MMJ Cards’ favorite dispensary in Northwest Arkansas. You will never get an inferior product or experience at The ReLeaf Center.

Product Storage Score:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ideally, a dispensary will store their marijuana flower in a dimly lit, cool (not cold) environment, with minimal exposure to air. ReLeaf storage checks all of those boxes. The lighting inside the entire dispensary is dim, and the temperature is moderately cool. 

The buds that live in glass containers, are stored in dark bins, which protect them from light. Their product is stored in individual containers, which means it is not exposed to air from the time it is packaged to the time you purchase it.

All of these measures serve to protect the terpenes and tricomes on the plant. That’s just the scientific way of saying it protects your high. When you hear about “old bud,” that’s referring to bud with deteriorated terpenes. 

Naturally weed will age, even when kept in ideal conditions, and ReLeaf runs specials to clear out all of their products that are beginning to get old. This is key, because you know you can ALWAYS get good quality from a dispensary with that sort of practice.

Pricing Score :⭐⭐⭐⭐

ReLeaf prices are good considering the amount, but they rarely sell in increments less than an eighth. If you only have a couple bucks to pick up a gram or so, you probably won’t be able to find anything at ReLeaf.

However, if you are fine with buying an eighth or more at once, The ReLeaf Center has strains in different “tier levels,” tier prices ranging from $25 to $55 an eighth for cannabis flower. 

There seems to be a choice for everyone, though. If you like edibles, wax, vapes, of even shake (which a lot of places don’t have), there is a variety of options in a wide range of prices.

Wait & Staff Score :⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Even when there is a line a ReLeaf there is never a wait. They are adequately staffed, and thus can get people in and out really quickly.

True to its name, The ReLeaf Center has created a buying experience that is pleasant and relaxing. I’ve met three of their security guards, each of whom was kind and helpful. The staff generally remembers your name after your second or third visit, and they are extremely helpful if you want to change it up or ask any kind of questions

The buying experience is positive whether it’s your first or hundredth time. Once you arrive, a smiling face greets you. Once you enter a smiling face asks how you are doing and welcomes you back. You never feel rushed to make a decision, or like they’re trying to get you out quickly. 

Once you’ve concluded your time, they wish you a nice day, and you pass a line of smiling employees on your way out. Not only are they never understaffed, but every one of their staff members is kind, helpful, and leaves you feeling positive. The environment of this dispensary is second to none.

REQUIRED: AR MMJ CERTIFICATION

Before purchasing cannabis from a medical marijuana dispensary, like This One, Arkansas patients must first qualify for a medical marijuana certification; AR MMJ Cards can provide qualified patients with the state-required recommendation to complete this process.

CALL ARMMJ CARDS: (479) 308-5000

Get Your Certification Started

See Our List Of Arkansas Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Leave Your Own Review Of This Dispensary Below

Coming Soon – Dispensary Review

About Dispensary Name​

Review Coming Soon 

AR MMJ CARD RATING & REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall Rating and Review By ARMMJCards.com

Product Storage Score:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Coming Soon

Pricing Score :⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Wait & Staff Score :⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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REQUIRED: AR MMJ CERTIFICATION LETTER

Before purchasing cannabis from a medical marijuana dispensary, like This One, Arkansas patients must first qualify for a medical marijuana certification; AR MMJ Cards can provide qualified patients with the state-required recommendation to complete this process.

CALL ARMMJ CARDS: (479) 308-500

Get Your Certification Started

See Our List Of Arkansas Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Leave Your Own Review Of This Dispensary Below