Dispensary Review: Natural Alternative Medicine

Natural Alternative Medicine is located in a little office at 5370 Manhattan Circle suite 104 off of South Boulder road. They are open M-f 11-7 and 12-5 on Saturdays, they are closed on Sunday.

Quality: I was pleasantly surprised to find that NAM has some very nice strains. The Chocolope was superb with a nice melon flavor and uplifting high. The MK Ultra and the Headband also looked really nice. All together they had some very nice strains that are mostly grown by the owners.

Prices: NAM goes by a member and non-member pricing system which I am not a fan of, however, frequent buyers can bypass the member system allowing them to pay member prices. NAM has two price scales, top shelf, and economy; The economy runs $20/g, $50/1/8 and $335/oz for non members and for the top shelf it runs $22/g, $55/1/8 and $335/oz. For members you can expect to pay $5/g, $45/1/8 and $315/oz and for top shelf you will find $17/g, $50/1/8 and $325/0z.


Quantity: NAM carries about 20-25 different strains and they sell as much as you can legally carry. Price breaks make it a very good place to go for larger needs.


Extras: NAM was a little short on extras. They have a pretty good edible supply but I did not see any hash, I do believe they were out so I can't discredit them too much.

Overall: The friendly staff and high quality nugs make this a great place to visit. The non-member prices are a little steep but the price cuts on larger purchases are nice. This place certainly has the mom and pop shop type of feel and they seem to take a very personal approach to helping people.

Rating: Natural Alternative Medicine gets 7.25 green thumbs.

Dispensary Review: Medicine on the Hill

The newest dispensary on the hill, often dubbed "the new one,' is none other than Medicine on the Hill. They are in the old flatiron theater which is oddly right across the street from the police station on the hill. They are open from 11-7 everyday except Mondays. Hopefully this schedule will catch on and people will realize Sunday is the worst day to be closed.

quality: The marijuana at M on the H is very nice. everyone of the buds I saw was fantastic even when they were down in the $10/g range. The Recon and the Jackie White really stood out. They get a lot of their stuff from a vendor known for providing great marijuana.

Prices: All of the prices here are including tax (much respect). They have four price slots where they carry a variety of $18/g, $16/g, $14/g and $10/g strains. I really couldn't tell the difference between the $18/g and the $16/g and the 10/g looked really nice. I am pretty confident no matter what you spend you will find something you like especially since the price includes tax. For $51 you can get a very nice eighth (3.5/g).

Quantity: They have plenty of marijuana to handle large needs and they also do price breaks so ask what kind of deals they will give you. As I have said before feel free to barter.

Extras: They have tons of edibles and an assortment of fine hashish. They have unpressed kif, which is kind of rare, amongst four very different kinds of hash. The first I saw was a very nice $20/g blonde bubble hash, the last that I saw was a crazy concoctuion of a dank little nug completely saturated in full melt bubble hash. This little devil which they call an atomic raisin goes for $90/g. If I had to choose I would have said the bubble hash is much more powerful per gram and obviously much cheaper but I don't run the store so I don't get to make the prices. All of the hash they had looked out of this world and I would strongly encourage anyone to browse what they have because they seem committed to supplying dank hash.

Overall: This is a pretty interesting open space that seems to be swarming with employees (some of which you might find attractive). I really like the vibe of the place and the staff is friendly and very prompt in helping you; with all those employees you won't have to wait. I loved the hash selection and the collection of nice nugs, check em' out.

Rating: Medicine on the Hill gets 8 green thumbs.

Dispensary Review: High Grade Alternatives

High Grade alternatives is very easy to find at 3370 Arapahoe on the south side of Arapahoe in Boulder. They are open M-F 11-7 and Sat 1-5, closed Sunday.

Quality: HG alternatives has a huge inventory full of unique, high quality marijuana. The Bubba Kush, Chernobyl and Hindu Kush were just some of the names on lids of the vast sea of jars that contained conniseur grade marijuana. They had at least fifteen jars of trichomed goodness all with unique smells and textures; definitely the largest collection of not only good meds but fair prices.

Prices: HG essentially has two top shelves, one priced $16/g and one $15/g. The difference in quality is pretty marginal between the two, the only real differences are that the $15/g strains are the ones that HG grows and the $16/g are vendor grown. They also have a $13/g and $10/g section which where both pretty nice and also a good deal. If you like to purchase high quantities of very good buds then High Grade Alternatives is a good place to go to meet your needs. They have a ton of marijuana and their ounces range from $350-$250 if you bargain a little. Bargaining is a good way to keep prices fair and should be attempted frequently as I see no problem with it.

Quantity: High Grade Alternatives had a whopping 46 different strains in all. A very commendable effort but it remains to be seen whether carrying that much medicine will effect freshness and overall quality. As of right now they have plenty of very good buds that are pretty fresh and can be purchased in grams, eighths and ounces.

Extras: High Grade has plenty of extras from tinctures to all kinds of edibles. Their hash looked really nice and it is well priced at $20-$25/g. HG alternatives is the place to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays because every week they are their special deal days. They offer a selection from their $15 and $16 section for a discounted price of $13/g, $45/3.5g and $325/ounce.

Overall: This is a pretty simple operation with a no frills, no bullshit approach. They give their patients what they want and that is high quality marijuana. They carry a ton of stuff and all of it well priced and nicely grown and managed. This is definitely one to put on your list if you haven't checked them out all ready.

Review: Boulder Wellness Center

The Boulder Wellness Center is all the way over on 5420 arapahoe which is 55th and arapahoe in Boulder speak. On the South side of Arapahoe behind the auto shop you will find suite F; the home of the Wellness Center. You can find the store open for business from 11-7 seven days a week and starting soon they will be open from 9-9 every day.


Quality: Superior Marijuana can be found in great abundance at the wellness center. I saw quite a few strains including: Blowfish, G-13, durban poison, northern lights, white russian, and AK-47. All of them were fantastic as the buds possessed pungent scents and aromas. All of the different strains had their own unique look and smell. All of these nugs sparkled in the light as each of the strains above were completely covered in trichomes. Boulder WC has the best collection of top shelf buds I have seen out in the Boulder market place. Other dispensaries are lucky to have one or two jars of connoisseur grade marijuana. The wellness center has about ten jars of what I consider connoisseur grade marijuana.

Prices: All of their buds are a very fair $15/g. They sell strain specific shake bags for 10/g and they also had some hash that looked quite nice and was a very nice $20/g. Prices are straight up with no price cut on larger purchases but they do take credit card which is nice for larger purchases.

Quantity: They have large amounts on most of their strains but just like most places they have a limited supply of a lot of their stuff.

Extras: Boulder WC takes great pride in their edibles and they looked delicious. They serve all different types of desserts, including cookies, brownies and truffles. Their edibles are said to be potent but if you need extra potency they carry a $10 chocolate bar that is supposedly very strong. The rest of their edibles are the standard $6 and they have a banana loaf for $10.

Overall: The Boulder Wellness center has a nice holistic lobby and their buds are simply delightful. There is really nothing to complain about and I have to go ahead and say that the Boulder Wellness Center is my favorite dispensary in Boulder thus far.

Rankings: Boulder Wellness Center gets 9.25 green thumbs.

Review: The Bud

The Bud is located at 2500 broadway in Boulder and they are open from 11-7 M-F and 11-4 on Sat.


Quality: The buds at the Bud are of OK quality. Some were pretty good but they did not have one or two strains that knocked my socks off. The AK-47, maui and Blackberry Blue were all good but they were not top shelf meds. A little dry a little old and just not covered in trichomes. Some of them smelled OK, but when I am smelling a strain I don't care what it smells like as long as the smell is extremely strong and potent. Usually the buds have to be pretty fresh for this to occur. One very interesting thing they did have was preserved colas. They vaccum sealed jars with colas in them. You have to but the whole jar no exception and you can't open the jar until you buy it. The colas were very nice and some of them did have top shelf appeal.

Prices: The prices are a nice 15/g or their higher grade buds and the lower grade go for 12/g all in all very reasonable prices. The colas go for 16/g but you have to buy the whole thing, but I think they are worth it, considering how tough it is to purchase a cola at a dispensary.

Quantity: The Bud had 18 strains as they usually strive for 5 sativa, 5 indica and five crosses. Their buds are not only Colorado grown but most are from Boulder and the surrounding mountains. You can pretty much purchase any quantity but the prices are straight up the line.

Extras: Tinctures and edibles, including frozen ganja pizzas, can be purchased at the Bud. They also have some nice looking hash that ranges from $25-$35 per gram.

Overall: The Bud is a small operation and resembles many of the other dispensaries I have been to. The space reminds me of a chiropractors office in a good way and the folks that work there are very nice. They play good music and have some cool features like the cola jars. Overall this is not a bad place to check out, you never know what they might have and you do know it will cost $15/g.

Rating: The Bud gets 6.5 green thumbs.