High! Canada Magazine Welcomes Legalization with a Look Back at the Best of Prohibition
With legalization here at last, it only seems fair to give a few nods to some of the cool brands, businesses, services, products that have led the way over the last few years. Some are still around, some are best kept secrets, others have already transitioned to a more regulated role within the Canadian cannabis space. Some will continue to fight the good fight and many will find a way to do it within the new legal regulatory framework and some will not. Prohibition in Canada put a lot of people in jail and that did not stop very many from believing in the plant anyways. One of the most important things we can remember as Canadians right now during this historic time is that it is not true legalization without decriminalization. Its just not and if its going to be truly legal we need cannabis amnesty and we need it retroactively applied. I hope you enjoy our best of lists as much as we did creating them.
We have seen some amazing brands come out of Canada the last few years, whether it's because of great product, superior packaging and market saturating branding like Grizzlers or because of a steady commitment to craft quality like Grassroots Essentials or because of the variety or amazing-ness of Marys Wellness teas or because they have the best hardware to "vape on the go with" like Shatterizer.
The Shatterizer is the best and newest vaporizer pen to hit the market over prohibition and has shattered expectations. The people who produce the Shatterizer are always so excited and pleased to introduce the Shatterizer to those who are new to, or very experienced with vaping technology, vape pens and portable vaporizers. The Shatterizer delivers perfect clouds, every time! The entire High! Canada Magazine team loves, endorses and supports this uniquely Canadian brand. The Shatterizer is a dream staple in your life if you love concentrates.
Period.
We would be remiss if we did not mention the I am Cannadian clothing line, Medtainer, Curved Papers, ThermoDynamix, TokerPoker and Pure Hemp rolling papers as well to round out our top ten. Nods to both Miss Envy and Pixie Drinks as well.
Dispensary culture was such a big part of prohibition in Canada over the last few years and such an interesting subculture has risen out of this. That of the savvy cannabis consumer. A brand new, ever growing, consumer group becoming hyper aware of things like how a store looked and represented itself with its customer base and with it’s own community and municipality. Inside the store things like engaging and educated budtenders, packaging and proper labeling, selection and consistency became very very important to Canadian cannabis consumers. Unregulated market or not - a standard was being set. Over the last five years we have seen countless cannabis based storefronts start and thrive and some failed and some were amazing and others were not. A select few however, really stood out to us here at High! Canada Magazine and we would like to take a moment to shout out some of the better shops we have encountered in our travels. Narrowing it down to our top 10 was too difficult so we whittled it down to our top 15 instead. These are the opinions of High! Canada Magazine and based on the fact that we have toured a phenomenal number of dispensaries over the last four years. They are not ranked in any particular order but they do represent some of the best dispensaries we have had the pleasure of visiting pre-legalization.
Some of the very best dispensaries we have encountered:
1. MMJ Canada 2. BC Pain Society 3. Bud Remedy 4. Canndo 5. Toronto Dispensary 6. Martin Medical Services 7. Toronto Holistic Cannabinoids 8. Eggs Canna 9. Okanagan Cannabinoid Therapies 10. Lotusland 11. Weeds Glass & Gifts 12. Barrie Dispensary 13. Canada Bliss Herbals 14. Shadow Mountain Society 15. Medicine Wheel