Uplift Botanicals | Oregon

Dispensary/Collective Name: Uplift Botanicals

Dispensary/Collective Address: 5421 North East 33rd Ave., Portland, 97211.

Phone Number: (971) 319-6118

Website URL: www.upliftbotanicals.com

Interviewed: Andrew, Jimmy and Kevin (Owners)

Top-Selling Strains: Bubba Headband, Obama, Black Cherry Soda and Girl Scout Cookies.

Top-Selling Concentrate: CO2 Oil.

Top-Selling Edible: Auntie Hannah’s Caramels.

How and when did your dispensary start up?

August 4, 2014 was day one. For us, it was actually a pretty short and relatively painless process. Everything really fell into place pretty quickly, so we know that our dispensary was definitely meant to open up to be successful here.

What’s the story behind the name of your dispensary?

We wanted a name that wasn’t just calling ourselves a collective or a dispensary, it was just the name of our business. We didn’t want it to be all about weed or dank, we just wanted a respectful name that was kind of neutral, that reflects that smoking pot is more than just medicine, that it can be truly uplifting.

What does your dispensary offer patients that they can’t find anywhere else? 

We have a wide variety of house products that are only found here at Uplift. At any given time, we have between 10-30 strains that are house-grown on the shelf. Also, we have a wide variety of concentrates that are also made from those flowers. So we have probably 20-30 concentrates that are found uniquely at Uplift.

How has the cannabis industry changed since you have been in the business? Where would you like to see it go?

Well, we’ve personally been growing here in Oregon for more than 10 years, and there were no dispensaries at that time. Growing was still something that there was a lot of caution around for fear of robbery or potential police retaliation, even though we were operating under legal protection.

We would like to see the industry stay grassroots more than anything else, to support small-scale farmers. It’s their hard work that’s made this industry successful since the beginning and we think that a lot of lawmakers and people who are planning this are overlooking the hard work that’s been done by Oregonians.

What are the biggest challenges you face in this industry as a dispensary? . . .  Biggest joys?

One of the biggest challenges that a lot of people have been facing is just dealing with constantly changing laws and regulations as we approach recreational. Just as far as testing, labeling, packaging and proper displaying.

We’ve got two favorite parts of this job. First, we like helping people and seeing people get relief, and second, we like standing in front of people who have 20 different strains of Chronic in front of them. They’re just baffled about what to get because there’s so many awesome choices.

What is the one thing you want patients to know about your dispensary?

The one thing we want people to know about our store is that everybody is welcome here and that there are no bad questions; and we want everyone coming here and taking the time to find the product that’s right for them.

If someone wanted to open a dispensary and get their feet wet in the industry, what advice or counsel would you give them?

Be prepared for a lot of hard work, it isn’t easy. There’s no “get rich quick” in this industry. Don’t plan on taking very many days off for the next portion of your life if you want to be serious about getting into it.

What is the most important thing you hope to accomplish while in the MJ/MMJ community?

It’s maintaining the message that cannabis is more than just a medicine or a way to get high on the recreational side, that it’s actually a way of life for us and a lot of people who live in Oregon, and throughout the country. It’s more than just medicine, it’s a way of being uplifted on a day-to-day basis.