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Trees
1234 NE 102nd Ave., 503-384-2959, treesmarijuana.com.
Trees is the future of dispensaries. In addition to being almost entirely women-run, it's one of the few shops constructed after an April law that eliminated the rule requiring a waiting room. As a result, Trees feels more like a neighborhood bodega than a heavily regulated, sterilized place to buy a schedule I drug. No longer will you wait while the receptionist types the entire contents of your ID into a computer system or sit awkwardly on that velvet couch wondering how many pieces of candy you can take. Trees gives you a sense of autonomy, a place where the budtenders will hold your hand only if you'd like them to. The center of the room even has glass counters with petri dishes of nugs with a magnifying glass you can use to examine them. You'll need the extra time to browse: There's a strong selection of about 25 strains, daily pre-roll deals of $5 to $8 and a case full of goodies like CBD teas and THC-infused soaking salts and gummies. SOPHIA JUNE.
Roseway Organics
7420 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-477-4368, facebook.com/pg/Rosewayorganics.
The brand-new Roseway Organics lies in an idyllic setting, out on the elbow of Northeast Sandy, near where the most interesting street in the city bends back south. In the parking lot, there are two food carts, including one with big ol' tortas and two-ply tacos. Across the street is a divey pirate-themed strip club shaped like a jug of grog. There's also a late-night doughnut shop, a century-old pharmacy with a soda fountain, and a second-run movie theater. Roseway is a very nice neighborhood dispensary—still a little sparse, but with a balanced selection that ranges from Grön chocolate to $5 pre-rolls and a jar of really nice Jack Herer. It also has a case full of glass stocked by Mary Jane's, so you can purchase a pipe without venturing too far out of this magical little bubble. MARTIN CIZMAR.
Oregon Valley Cannabis
5230 SE 52nd Ave., 503-206-8634, oregonvalleycannabis.com.
Oregon Valley Cannabis caters to the stoner kid in all of us, finally giving customers what they really need: coloring books. For $9, you can pick up a 24-pack of colored pencils and a psychedelic adult coloring book, which are kept in glass cases right alongside the top-shelf strains. The pot shop, full of warm woods, white space and crystals from the owner's extensive rock collection, regards playfulness and creativity as integral parts of getting high, which all at once makes it one of the goofier but smarter dispensaries. It also has a neighborhood feel, is owned by the same person as Toast cafe next door, and showcases wood carvings by a local artist, who also crafted wood stands for vape pens that sell for just $10. The shop carries only 15 strains right now, priced from $8 to $24 a gram, with more coming soon. In the meantime, there's a new discount every day, so try to visit on a Monday for select $4 grams or Tuesday for select $2 pre-rolls. SOPHIA JUNE.
Rip City Delivery
Deliveries in Southwest, to the 97201, 97205, 97219 and 97221 ZIP codes;
ripcitydelivery.com.
I placed my first order with Rip City Delivery at 11 am on a Thursday. A few minutes later, an email arrives from Dave Fuegy. "We don't open until 2, but would you like your order now?" Sure, I reply, if it's not too much trouble. "I'll be there in 20," he writes. He's there in 15. Dave is jovial and professional and more buttoned-down than your standard flowerista. He grew up in his own delivery zone—four ZIP codes covering the suburb-lite neighborhoods of Southwest—before getting his start delivering pizzas in Newport Beach during college. Rip City covers most of Southwest Portland, though, sadly, not hotels or dorms. I paid with cash, though personal checks and CanPay are also options. Dave cheerily turns down my tip before jetting off again. The store's inventory is concentrate-focused. The edibles are currently limited to Periodic Caramels. The flower I ordered, a crumbly Blue Magoo, smoked a little harsh. These are easy problems to fix, however, and there are already plans to expand. "I just created something I wished existed," Dave explains. "I'm my own ideal customer." WM. WILLARD GREENE.
Tetra
4011 SE Belmont St., 503-206-7559, tetrapdx.com.
To get to Tetra Cannabis at Southeast 40th and Belmont, you'll probably have to pass another dispensary on your way. Down the block to the west is Serra, a stylish destination shop with top-notch flower. If you're coming from the north, you might cross the Green Mile. From parts south, you'll pass the evenly distributed shops that populate neighborhoods in Southeast—a competitive market where dispensaries fight for their share of the lucre by way of deals, deals and deals. Tetra has many of the big names in edibles and extracts, knowledgeable budtenders, and flower from some of my favorite producers, like East Fork Cultivars, which specializes in quality CBD strains, and Workingman's Bud, which does a great job expressing the essence of various classic and new-school cultivars. What I'm really excited about, though, is Tetra's new farm, which was recently licensed to produce an upcoming line of in-house flowers. Judging by the quality producers already on tap, it's an exciting prospect and an indication of where the market is headed: With so many neighborhood shops competing for business, bringing unique products to the shelf is the newest and best way to stand out. Here's to hoping more shops follow suit. MATT STANGEL.
Amberlight
2407 SE 49th Ave., 503-233-0420, amberlightcannabis.com.
A few weeks back, I stopped by Amberlight Cannabis House, a 3-month-old shop tucked off Southeast Division Street in the Richmond neighborhood. Considering it was a sleepy Tuesday morning, the staff was exceptionally bright-eyed—friendly, attentive and refreshingly excited to answer the laundry list of small questions I'd prepared. When I asked what unique products they offered, I was shown limited-edition Lief Goods spiced chocolate, CBD dog treats and an infused water that I'd never before seen. The flower selection included a lot of the usual suspects, but I was also handed a jar of a small-batch release of Doc OG from the shop's vertically integrated farm, Amberlight Gardens. "It's our budget strain right now," the budtender told me, explaining it was an early release from their new garden. "Five bucks a gram." My eyes lit up. It rivaled or upstaged the third-party flowers three times its price, had THC content above 20 percent and smelled fantastic. To boot, once I got my sample home, I found it to be tasty and potent and wished I'd picked up more, despite having bought 4 grams for $20, tax included. This is all to say, I'll be happily following up with Amberlight's proprietary flower offerings—which it will roll out in full in the coming months, rendering the store a useful neighborhood dispensary with a lot of potential. MATT STANGEL.
Virtue Supply Company
510 NW 11th Ave., 971-940-6624, virtuesupplycompany.com.
The newest pot shop near downtown, Virtue occupies the former Tea Zone space right across from the Blick art supply shop in the Pearl. You'll find the entrance by spotting the tourists who've stopped to photograph the large sign that reads "Gluten-Free Marijuana."
Once inside, the reception area is decorated with shelves of minerals and crystals that add a bit of sparkle to the bright, naturally lit space. The décor is amped up another degree in the budroom, where Sun God tinctures and Wyld gummies are displayed on hollowed tree rings, and where LED projections flash color-changing patterns on the counter. There's an impressive selection for such a new shop, with strains from top-notch growers like Nelson & Company Organics, Higher Minds Horticulture and Resin Ranchers. LAUREN TERRY.
Slabtown Cannabis Proprietors
2507 NW Nicolai St., 503-477-6759, slabtowncp.com.
Slabtown is a new neighborhood of luxury light-fixture stores and warehouses on the industrial fringe of Northwest. Slabtown the shop has an old-school feel and the essentials. The large budroom doubles as a yoga studio on some Sunday mornings, and as a venue for bring-your-own-cannabis painting classes called Puff, Pass and Paint events. Along with a glass selection, clones and seeds, it also carries useful accessories like protective vape cartridge cases and Clear Eyes. The owners come from Southern Oregon, and take care to find vendors with cultivation experience. They carry flower from Lucky Lion Farms and Mountain Sun Botanicals out of the Applegate Valley, who have 20 years breeding experience, and vape cartridges from Green Dragon Extracts that are made of high-quality materials with glass fiber wicks. LAUREN TERRY.
Electric Lettuce
203 NE Weidler St.; 1450 SW Marlow Ave.; 1279 Molalla Ave., Oregon City; electriclettuce.com.
Serra knew its high-end approach wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. That's why it created the chilled-out sister brand Electric Lettuce, which leans into classic stoner culture with a polished touch. You'll see the same products you see at Serra, like Pruf Cultivar flower, Woodblock Chocolate and Mr. Moxey's Mints. But the bubble letters and psychedelic paint job embody marijuana's golden age in American culture.
Electric Lettuce wants people to come in to buy weed, but also to get lost in nostalgia, listen to records, and look at the old posters and cannabis memorabilia. The little lobby area looks like your stoner uncle's house—the one you visited for really strong brownies and stories from his days as a Deadhead, complete with a '60s-era TV set and a frayed copy of The Old Man and the Sea. LAUREN TERRY.
Welcome to the Harvest Issue 2017
Nine Of Our Favorite New Portland Weed Hookups—Including One Delivery Service
The Story of Portland Cannabis As Told Through the Iconic Cultivars of the Pacific Northwest
The 17 Cannabis-Centric Events We're Most Excited About This Fall
Here's Why You Can't Get High Just By Eating Weed Flowers or Throwing Them in Brownie Mix
One Oregon Cannabis Farm Is Setting Out To Be Entirely Carbon-Neutral
How Oregon's Cannabis Industry Plans To Keep Wealth Here, and Help Right the Wrongs of the Drug War
Here's a List of Some of Our Favorite Cannabis Bargains
How To Make Pot Chips Using the Leftover Leaves From Your Marijuana Harvest