Don’t Buy Cannabis Until You Read This Guide

As cannabis access expands across the country, hundreds and thousands of brands have emerged, claiming to have the best quality cannabis and cannabis products. 

Many of these brands rely on THC percentages, brand names, marketing or pricing to support their claims, but those metrics don’t always tell the full story.

As a trusted dispensary in New Jersey, we feel strongly about making sure our customers know exactly what they’re getting and why. Wherever you are in the US, not all strains and cannabis products are the same, with a lot of similar products having different effects on different people. 

If you know what to look for and what your cannabis needs are, you can consistently choose products that taste and feel better while delivering a more reliable experience. On that note, here are four things you should look for when buying cannabis in NJ. 

Freshness: The Most Overlooked Factor

Cannabis is an agricultural product; like any plant, it degrades over time in the same way your broccoli or kale wilts and loses freshness. Your cannabis flower is impacted by when it’s harvested and how well it’s preserved after. 

Older cannabis products either lose flavor or have harsher flavor profiles. Their aroma is more muted, the taste can sometimes be off-putting, while potency usually dips and the overall experience suffers. 

Fresh products taste better, smell stronger, and often provide a more enjoyable and balanced experience. This means you’re getting more value for your money because fresher products last longer. Fresher products also burn better, have better flavor while having less wastage.

How to Evaluate Freshness

To evaluate freshness, you need to look beyond just THC percentage. Look for when the cannabis flower was harvested and when it was packaged to gauge whether the product is fresh. 

How well your cannabis is packaged plays a huge role in how fresh your product is after extended periods of time. Flower can stay fresh for 6+ months if kept in a vacuum-sealed bag or glass container and stored in a cool and dry place. 

Prioritize trusted brands with good reviews and avoid flower with an overly dry texture or muted smell. This can be difficult to determine depending on state regulations, so if you’re still unsure, just ask a trusted budtender about the quality of the bud! At Blue Violets Dispensary in Hoboken, the staff knows our menu inside and out, and can guide you about flower or pre-rolls in case you have any questions. 

Terpene Visibility: Knowing What You’ll Feel

Terpenes are the aroma compounds found in plants and some insects. Terpenes influence the flavor, aroma and how smooth and aromatic your cannabis strain feels. 

When terpenes interact with cannabinoids, the combined therapeutic effect of the two is greater than the effect of terpenes and cannabinoids individually. This is called the entourage effect. 

There are various combinations of terpenes and cannabinoid profiles that will change the way you experience cannabis products. It’s why two products with the same percentage of THC can have a completely different feel; some can feel relaxing while others can feel energizing, for example.

Terpenes also possess many potential medicinal properties, with terpenes like Caryophyllene known to possess anti-inflammatory properties, while linalool helps reduce anxiety and improve mood. 

Terpenes play an underrated and important role in shaping one’s cannabis experience. It’s the main reason behind why Blue Violets Dispensary has terpene profiles specifically mentioned in our NJ dispensary menu. 

What to Look for on a Menu

When shopping at a cannabis dispensary in NJ, there's a few things you should look for on the menu. For one, check out the total terpene percentage. 

This gives you the amount of total terpenes present in the strain, with individual terpenes being color coded in our Blue Violets Dispensary. Higher terpene content gives a strain its distinctive and rich flavor and a more defined effect profile compared to strains with lower terpene percentages. 

You should also look for flavor profiles, strain type and name, potency, weight and size of the cannabis product and pricing. 

Red Flags to look out for

Some red flags for cannabis menus include a lack of terpene data at all. Strains with generic descriptions that give no supporting information while only emphasising THC percentages are dispensaries to avoid. 

As a micro dispensary in Hoboken, Blue Violets has small batches of cannabis products with a fast product rotation, which allows us to maintain fresh inventory all year round. Being a micro dispensary also allows us to curate cannabis menus more carefully and cultivate more personal relationships with our customers. 

Lab Testing: What It Really Tells You

Lab testing is one of the most important factors in ensuring that your cannabis products are safe, pure and potent. It's also an important measure to establish public trust and the quality of the product. 

In most states (including New Jersey), lab testing is mandatory and conducted by third party and independent laboratories that have no connection to the brand or grower. This is done to ensure no bias in testing and results.

In New Jersey, testing results are also provided to you in a QR code per package to ensure transparency and that no product tests are tampered with. 

Additionally, cannabis products in NJ verify potency, cannabinoid and terpene profile and safety, making sure that no products have contaminants and excess pesticides. 

What to Look for in Lab Results

Cannabis product lab results should have clearly marked and displayed:

• THC percentages

• CBD percentages

• Cannabinoids and Cannabinoid percentages

• Terpene data (when available)

• Testing from reputable, independent and licensed labs

• Contaminants, residual solvents and pesticide disclaimers and information

• Moisture content

Red flags in cannabis product testing include:

• Missing or vague testing information

• Inconsistent potency between batches

• Brands that don’t include information with transparency

Sourcing: Where Your Products Come From

Disclosing how a brand’s cannabis is sourced is a crucial step in providing information transparently and establishing authenticity. Importantly, not all growers and manufacturers operate at the same standard or process, and knowing the sourcing standards and process allows brands and customers to understand what kind of product they’re purchasing.

The method in which cannabis is cultivated, processed, and stored all have an impact on its quality. Better sourcing methods for cannabis usually means a better product, and how a grower processes, stores and transports their product makes a big difference towards maintaining the quality of flower. 

Micro dispensaries like Blue Violets focus on carefully vetted brands that provide high-quality cannabis. Our dispensary also sources cannabis with unique strain profiles and balanced cannabinoid options. We only sell cannabis products we genuinely believe in and would personally recommend to family and friends.

What to Look For

When purchasing cannabis, look for brands known for quality cultivation practices without any compromise on quality or cost. Terpene preservation is often overlooked, especially by brands that machine-cut their bud to reduce costs. Hand-trimming flower allows you to manoeuvre across crystals and terpene formations, keeping them intact. If you’re shopping for a brand you’re not too familiar with but are keen on trying, take a look at multiple items in the same SKU and ensure their batches are consistent by checking their THC, CBD and terpene profiles and percentages. 

At Blue Violets, we’ve thoughtfully curated our menu for a variety of tastes. We rotate products frequently and avoid overstocking inventory to ensure you’re always getting the best quality and freshest cannabis products in New Jersey.

How to Identify a Trusted Dispensary

Depending on where you live, finding a trusted dispensary with high-quality and fresh products can be a tedious process. For reference, a high-quality dispensary always prioritizes freshness and frequent rotation of inventory to ensure that no products are on the shelves for weeks or months. 

Good, trustable dispensaries also provide terpene and cannabinoid information clearly and transparently, along with providing lab testing and certificates of analysis (COA). At Blue Violets, we also curate our menus and product lines carefully and intentionally, including only fresh and high quality cannabis.

Dispensaries with budtenders that educate customers on what to look for and guide them towards understanding their preferences, goals/needs and tolerance are the dispensaries to go to. As a cannabis customer, you should feel empowered, confident and educated when making your choices. Budtenders that focus on selling many or expensive products, focus on THC% and avoid providing details about a product are dispensaries you should avoid.

When you choose the right dispensary with the right products, your cannabis has better flavor, aroma and more predictable effects that work well for your needs. Finding such a dispensary allows you to walk out the door feeling like you’ve wasted less money and had a more enjoyable experience, and if you’re in the Hoboken area, Blue Violets Dispensary is the place to be!

Find Fresh, Curated Products at Blue Violets

You don’t need to be a cannabis expert to choose the best or perfect products. You just need to know what to look for and trust that your go-to Hoboken dispensary has your back.

Remember to look for freshness, terpene data, lab testing, and cannabis sourcing. You should ask questions based on these parameters and your preferences. 

Be intentional with your cannabis choices and stop by our charming Hoboken dispensary. Explore the Blue Violets Dispensary menu and consult with our friendly and knowledgeable budtenders and team members; we’re here to help you find what actually works for you and empower you to purchase products you’ll love!