Early this summer, the Inlander chatted with "Squid" Schierman, a budtender at The Green Nugget in North Spokane, to get some perspective on the cannabis industry from the other side of the sales counter. Budtenders know the industry better than anyone, so why not get to know them a little bit better too?
INLANDER: What's your background in the cannabis industry?
SCHIERMAN: I originally had gotten in with The Green Nugget as my first cannabis job, but it was about eight years ago when this store was at a different location. I got in because I had a friend that started his own farm. So he was growing, and he had a good connection with the buying manager over at The Green Nugget. And really the choice to do it was finding relief for myself and for others that struggle with chronic pain. That's been the main reason that I use cannabis and all the different benefits that it has for me.
What are the biggest changes you've seen in the industry over the eight years that you've been working in it?
Selection has definitely become a lot wider with the amount of time people have had to experiment with different products and see what works and see what doesn't, and quality has definitely improved immensely with the amount of the science that they have discovered behind all the different chemicals in the compounds. I think it's all just grown in a really good way, especially with the amount of companies I've noticed that are becoming pesticide free. That's a huge plus.
Whether they're older people, first-time users, regular users, whatever, what are the most common questions people have when they come in and are trying to figure out what sort of product would be best for them?
It varies a lot depending on people's needs. I like to help people find things that are going to be good for pain relief. I have a lot of knowledge in that area, and I try a lot of different things myself for pain relief. So if somebody is coming in with issues with pain or sleep, I can definitely point them in the right direction in that regard. And I tend to give a lot more information about how the cannabinoids are different and what they're helping to aid people with. But I think the most common questions that I get are typically people that are less educated about the other cannabinoids — they're looking for just THC. ♦
