In some states, prepackaged cannabis flower is required. In Oklahoma, it is not, at least not at the time of this post. If it isn’t required, then why would a grower choose to pre-package flower given the extra cost, time and effort? Here’s a list of reasons as to why we prepackage our flower.
Truly clean cannabis
As you may already know by now, we go great lengths to grow the cleanest cannabis possible. That’s a bold statement because it is true. That isn’t to say there aren’t other growers out there who share our standards but the majority do not. The primary reason we prepackage our flower is because we want the patient to receive a clean, unaltered product. From the grow room to the dry room to the trim and packaging room all the way to the dispensary shelf and ultimately to the hands of the patient – we need to ensure our flowers aren’t contaminated.
Once, we visited a dispensary to talk about our products. As we approached the sales counter, a budtender with a trash bag full of flower was rolling joints without gloves, openly on the sales floor. To some this may be no big deal but to us this is a total deal breaker. We treat our flowers like food and think others should too.
On another occasion at a different dispensary, a budtender handed us a huge cvault to stick our nose into. What if we would have sneezed all over that flower? Yuck.
Bulk flower often is sold out of large jars, whether glass or Cvaults and those jars get reused once emptied. Something as simple as putting a new batch of flower in a previously contaminated jar that hadn’t been cleaned puts our name at risk.
Packaging preserves the best qualities of the plant
We opted for clear, glass child resistant jars because the static of plastic can pull away trichomes and the clear glass allows patients to view the product before purchasing. Each jar is tucked into a recycled kraft box to avoid light exposure which has been shown to degrade cannabinoids and terpenes over time.
“Exposure to light (not direct sunlight) was shown to be the greatest single factos in loss of cannabinoids.“ The stability of cannabis and its preparations on storage, J Pharm Pharmacol. 1976 Jan;28(1):1-7.
As mentioned before, we include 2- way Boveda humidity packs in each jar. Humidity packs are shown to preserve terpenes which are what provide aroma, flavor and research lends to believe; therapeutic effects of cannabis.
“The levels of terpenes and cannabinoids present in the buds protected with Boveda 62 were approximately 15% higher than the measured levels without Boveda 62 present at the end of 5 six weeks.” Boveda Terpene Study.
Effective inventory control for dispensaries
Any retailer will tell you shrinkage is a problem in the industry whether it is cannabis or clothing. According to 2019 National Retail Security Survey conducted by National Retail Federation, FY2018 shrink rates were 1.4%. This may not sound like a lot but assume a dispensary sells $500,000 a year, 1.4% of theft equates to $7,000 in lost product. It is much easier to account for missing product when it’s been weighed and packaged. It makes inventory counting and reporting much quicker and more accurate.
Fully compliant packaging for the dispensary and patient
Our products meet the ever-changing OMMA packaging requirements. We stay abreast of all packaging requirements which helps take a load off the dispensary having to do so. Even going so far as to include a QR code which links to our full laboratory reports. A patient once told me a dispensary refused to share lab results with her. That’s absurd! Obviously not all dispensaries operate in this manner and the good, honest shops are the ones who will prevail. Still, it’s important for us to ensure patients can easily access our entire lab reports, including the back page no one ever seems to show.
Prepackaged flower is a better value
When buying flower in bulk, growers typically sell the big and small buds along with the shake that falls off the flowers. Therefore the dispensaries are paying the same price for shake as they would for top buds. Unless the dispensary has a processing license, there’s nothing they can do with the leftover shake other than sell it at a discount, despite having paid a flower price for it.
As flower is sold from the grower to the dispensary, it is weighed. That weight changes over time as the flowers become dryer. When flower dries, it weighs less resulting in less volume for the dispensary to sell, further reducing the margin per gram. Humidity packs help to preserve the moisture levels, cannabinoids and terpenes which is why we include them in our jars.
At Flower Of Life we hand select our best flowers and weigh and package each jar by hand. We always fill a little over, rather than under, as any good budtender would do. We reserve all of the shake, trim and “popcorn” sized flowers and turn those into processed products.
Don’t be afraid to try prepackaged flower
Hopefully you’ll be willing to give prepackaged marijuana a try if you haven’t already. Most dispensaries carrying our product have a sample jar out for smelling, which is important for selecting a flower you like. Still not convinced about the benefits of prepackaged cannabis flower? Head on over to our Weedmaps brand page to read our reviews.