How to Find the Perfect Cannabis Gifts for Your Stoners Friends and Family
By Morgan Worley
Giving the perfect cannabis gift isn’t always easy – let us help! We’ll give you insights into judging your stoners’ tolerance level, provide product suggestions, and more!
Let’s face it – buying cannabis for someone else (who’s 21 or older, of course) is often a challenging experience. Will they like it? Will they actually use it?
Don’t you worry. We’re here to help. We’ve got enough suggestions to make the dispensary your one-stop shop no matter the occasion. We’ll help you estimate your gift recipients’ cannabis tolerance level, give you product suggestions from the Washington State market and give you some best practices for purchasing weed for someone else. We even have cannabis gift suggestions for generic gift giving!
First and for most! Cannabis tolerance level
Understanding your gift recipients’ tolerance for cannabis will help you find them the best gift(s) because their tolerance level speaks to:
- How much cannabis can get them too high - you can’t overdose on weed, but you can get uncomfortable or nauseous if you consume too much
- What types of products they’re likely to buy for themselves, and
- When to purchase high-end cannabis or if it’s okay to stick to a budget for your gift
We’ll break down tolerance levels into a simple gradient:
- Low-tolerance
- Mid-tolerance
- And high-tolerance.
This simple gradient requires you to know a little about your recipients’ cannabis consumption habits, like how often they consume weed. When in doubt, it’s always best to ask your gift recipient a couple of clarifying questions to help you narrow down your options.
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Low-tolerance cannabis users are those who have never tried cannabis, only consume cannabis on rare or special occasions and those who appreciate the medicinal qualities of cannabis without the euphoric and psychedelic experience of cannabis. If your gift recipient has a low tolerance, make sure to give them low doses of THC (2-10mg), the psychedelic component of cannabis.
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Mid-tolerance cannabis users consume weed on a somewhat regular basis - about once or twice a week, they can handle themselves well in a group smoke sesh and will likely know the quality of the cannabis you gift to them. Most mid-tolerance stoners will also know their tolerance limit, giving you a full range of products to choose from.
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High-tolerance cannabis users smoke weed everyday, or close to it. Those with a high tolerance will have a good understanding of the science behind cannabis and probably have an Instagram dedicated to showing off their weed purchases. These stoners will need gifts with high doses of THC, but what they really want is top quality.
Now that you can identify the three tolerance levels and you’ve figured out which one your gift recipient likely has, we can move to the fun part - shopping!
Second: Picking out your cannabis gifts at the dispensary
We’ve broken the shopping experience down into the three tolerance levels and gave you product suggestions for the most common recipients found in each category. Our product suggestions are from Washington State and may not be available in other states, but they'll still give you excellent examples for products that are best for your stoner.
- First up on our shopping list - Gifts for the low tolerance stoners:
Stoners with a low tolerance can be the most fun to shop for, and the cheapest. The most common person in this category is Mom. Most of the time, Mom’s don’t want to smoke their weed. Bath bombs, lotions and edibles are your way to go.
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Topicals/lotions: If your Mom has localized pain, lotions will keep her skin hydrated and assist with her pain. You can also reassure her that weed in a lotion won’t get her high.
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Bath bombs: Maybe your Mom isn’t in pain, but just as stressed as the rest of us. Get her some infused bath bombs and candles for a relaxed soak. If you’re her oldest kid, you may want to include baby-sitting with this present.
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Edibles: Is your Mom game to actually get high? Get her some low dose (2-10mg THC/piece) edibles she’ll have to exercise self-control with, like melt-in-your-mouth chocolate truffles or stick-to-your-teeth caramels. Whatever treats she hides around the house, try to find the infused version! Either way you go, your Mom will thank you for being so thoughtful.
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Joints: If the low tolerance stoner on your shopping list isn’t Mom, shy away from high dose edibles or concentrates. Joints are convenient for low tolerance stoners because they don’t need a bong or pipe to get lit, but consider avoiding the infused joints so they don’t get too lit.
- Gifts for the mid tolerance stoners:
As the cannabis culture grows, the mid tolerance category is increasing and diversifying. The person in this category that will likely be high on your priority list is your love interest. Whether you’re dating, hooking up or married, cannabis can spice things up for you both. Drink mixers, infused joints, lubricants and massage oils are all phenomenal ways to make any occasion memorable.
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Drink mixers: drink mixers like Quench Its are great for couples who drink and party together. THC and alcohol can be a fun combo at low doses and extra-disorienting at high doses.
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Infused joints: Infused joints can make your favorite date-night movies even funnier. Infused sativa joints are ideal because they’re more likely to keep you both awake, but be warned they could give you anxiety if you’re not accustomed to the strain or the potency of infused joints. Infused indica joints are more relaxed, but may make you or your love interest eat all the food in the house or nap through a good movie.
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Intimate topicals: Lubricants and massage oils are a great way to intensify your bedroom time (for obvious reasons). Oh, and don’t forget to order the lingerie if it’s date night.
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Concentrates/dabs: If the mid tolerance stoner on your shopping list isn’t a love interest, infused joints are great for one night celebrations and won’t break the bank. If you want to invest more in their gift, a mid-shelf terpy dab or live resin cartridge are flavorful and potent options that could last them a few days to a week or two. Just make sure they have the equipment needed to enjoy your dab or cartridge gift.
- Gifts for the high tolerance stoners
To develop a high tolerance, these lucky gift recipients likely follow Snoop’s advice and smoke weed everyday. These are your cannaseur friends who can smoke you under the table and they’re going to be picky about their weed. For your cannaseur, don’t go cheap. They’ll know. Stick to mid-shelf products or better and pay attention to the details. Here are a few things to look for:
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Flower: look for frosty buds littered with trichomes (those white hairs house your psychedelic THC), make sure you don’t see any big stems, don’t fall for the popcorn bud bargain, and try to find buds with purple or orange hairs. This is why most budtenders come equipped with magnifying glasses!
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Joints: go infused, but keep in mind that some forms of concentrate can be really harsh to smoke. The smoothest infused joints will be made with ice extracted rosin, as this process preserves the tasty terpenes and doesn’t use any chemicals for extraction. Going this route will earn you respect and appreciation with your cannaseur.
- Dabs: for your cannaseur, go for some diamonds or high terp counts (terpenes give you flavor and more intense hits). Don’t get your cannaseur something dark and saucy, trust us. Everyone wants diamonds. If you follow these simple guidelines, your cannaseur is sure to be impressed and excited.
One last final thought, here is how to buy weed for anonymous gift exchanges
Have you considered cannabis for your white elephant, secret santa or other anonymous gift exchanges? Medicinal cannabis products are one of the most popular purchases right now due to the stress of the pandemic. Bath bombs, lotions, tinctures and edible treats are likely to be the top prize in an anonymous gift exchange.
- Topicals: both bath bombs and lotions can assist with stress relief and promote self-care.
- Tinctures: tinctures with high CBD contents can be gifted as a sleep aid, stress reliever, or pain reducer. Tinctures with high THC contents can be gifted as drink mixers, liquid edibles or even food enhancers (like this Sriracha tincture!)
- Edibles: like tinctures, edible treats can be recreational or medicinal (pay attention to CBD and THC content). One of the most popular infused edibles is infused coffee. Who doesn’t love coffee?
- Though anonymous gift exchanges are intended to be anonymous, make sure you never alter the packaging so your recipient always understands the potency of your gift.
Conclusion
By now, you might be ready to check out your local dispensary's website or head out to the store to buy some cannabis. Giving cannabis as a gift, when it's legal, can be a fun and satisfying experience.
No matter who you're shopping for, you should have the information you need to find the perfect cannabis gift, even if they don't know much about it or have different preferences. And the best part is, you can buy cannabis for someone else, even if you don't use it yourself. Let us know in the comments what cannabis goodies we helped you find!
About the author
Morgan Worley is a business development professional with a passion for the cannabis industry. After seeing the medicinal benefits cannabinoids can have, she decided to transition from opening new restaurants and coffee shops to working in the cannabis industry. Since 2018, Morgan has gained experience in the industry as a medical consultant, dispensary manager, cannabis trade show producer and traceability software saleswoman. Outside of the workplace, Morgan strives to live a healthy lifestyle modeled after Blue Zones.
