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How Better Conversations Lead To Better Customer Experiences

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Working in cannabis retail means navigating a wide range of conversations every day. Budtenders speak with curious first-timers, experienced consumers, tourists, and people who are stressed, anxious, rushed, and unsure of what they want. Add lineups, regulations, or product shortages, and communication can get tense—fast.

This is why Non-Violent Communication is a powerful tool on the sales floor. Non-Violent Communication isn’t about avoiding conflict or being overly nice. It’s about communicating clearly, respectfully, and empathetically, especially when customer expectations don’t match reality. When applied in retail, NVC helps budtenders de-escalate situations, build trust, and protect their own emotional energy. Let’s break down how NVC works and how you can use it in real cannabis retail scenarios.

What Is Non-Violent Communication?

Non-Violent Communication is a framework that focuses on understanding rather than reacting. At its core, it helps people express needs without blame and listen without judgment. In retail, this translates to fewer confrontations, more productive conversations, and customers who feel heard… even when the answer is “no”.

NVC has four basic components: Observation, Feelings, Needs, and Requests. You don’t need to say these steps out loud in a robotic way. They’re more of a mental checklist that guides how you respond.

1. Start With Observation, Not Assumptions

In high-pressure retail moments, it’s easy to jump to conclusions:
“This customer is rude.”
“They don’t know what they’re talking about.”
“They’re just trying to get a discount.”

NVC asks you to pause and stick to what you can observe, not what you assume.

❌ Instead of: “You’re being impatient.”
✅  Try: “I notice you’ve been waiting a while and checking the time.”

This keeps the conversation grounded in facts rather than accusations and immediately lowers defensiveness.

Retail example: A customer is visibly frustrated about a product being out of stock.
✅ “I hear you were looking for a specific brand that isn’t available today.”

2. Acknowledge Feelings (Without Taking the Blame)

You don’t need to agree with someone to acknowledge how they feel. In fact, simply naming emotions often defuses tension. Common customer feelings in cannabis retail include:

  • Confusion
  • Disappointment
  • Anxiety
  • Frustration
  • Overwhelm

Helpful phrases budtenders can use:
✅  “That sounds frustrating.”
✅  “I can understand why that would be disappointing.”
✅  “It makes sense you’d feel unsure with so many options.”

This isn’t about apologizing for policies or taking responsibility for things outside your control. It’s about recognizing the experience.

Retail example: A customer is upset about purchase limits.
✅ “I get that it’s frustrating when there are limits on how much you can buy. A lot of people feel caught off guard by that.”

3. Identify the Need Behind the Request

Most conflict happens when a need isn’t being met, not because someone wants to be difficult. When you identify the need, you can redirect the conversation productively.

Retail Example: Customer says, “This weed doesn’t hit like it used to.” Instead of defending the product, observe the need. The customer is expressing they want consistency and effect. Now collaborate on a solution!
✅  “It sounds like you’re looking for something that gives you a stronger or more noticeable effect.”

4. Make Clear, Respectful Requests

NVC encourages clear requests instead of vague or defensive language. In retail, this often looks like explaining calmly and offering alternatives to protect both the customer experience and the budtender’s boundaries.

❌ Instead of: “There’s nothing I can do.”
✅  Try: “What I can do is show you a similar option that fits what you’re looking for.”

❌ Instead of: “That’s store policy.”
✅  Try: “Our policy requires ID for every purchase, but once we check it, I can help you find exactly what you want.”

NVC in Common Cannabis Retail Scenarios

When a Customer Is Upset About Price
Observation: “You’re noticing the price is higher than expected.”
Feeling: “That can feel frustrating.”
Need: Value and fairness
Response: “If you’d like, I can show you options in a lower price range that still meet your needs.”

When a Customer Feels Overwhelmed
Observation: “There are a lot of choices here.”
Feeling: “That can feel overwhelming.”
Need: Guidance
Response: “Would it help if I narrowed it down to two or three options based on how you want to feel?”

When a Customer Pushes Back on Regulations
Observation: “You were hoping to purchase more than the limit allows.”
Feeling: “I get why that’s frustrating.”
Need: Autonomy
Response: “I can’t override the limit, but I can help you choose products that give you the most value within it.”

Why This Matters for Budtenders

Non-Violent Communication isn’t just about customer satisfaction. It’s about budtender well-being. Using NVC can help reduces emotional burnout, creates professional distance without coldness, helps you stay calm under pressure, and builds confidence in difficult conversations.

Most importantly, it reminds us that cannabis retail is still people work. Every interaction is a chance to educate, support, and do your job without sacrificing your own mental health.

You don’t need to be perfect or follow a script. Even small shifts, like replacing assumptions with observations or validating a feeling before offering a solution, can transform the tone of an interaction. In a regulated, fast-paced industry like cannabis retail, how we communicate is just as important as what we sell.

10 Things to Shake off the Gloomies (none of them are “go for a walk”)

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Sometimes you are not depressed, broken, or in need of a major life overhaul. You’re just in a funk. It is that low-level fog where nothing feels terrible… but nothing feels good either. A funk is not a crisis. You don’t need a full emotional excavation. You just need movement, novelty, and tiny sparks. We’re not going to tell you to “go for a walk” and there’s no pressure to “fix” yourself or turn it into a whole thing. Just small shifts that remind you you’re alive.

The first thing to do when you are in a funk is get a beverage. It sounds weird. Maybe even dumb. But there is something about getting a beverage you’ve never tried that helps shift your mood. A fancy coffee, a Shirley Temple, try a new soda, or maybe matcha. The novelty alone can shift any bad mood. It works.

Bake something. Keep it simple and make a box cake. Or make it complicated and go all out if that’s your thing. Literally just bake something.

Do nothing. On purpose. Make a list of your comfort shows and emotional support movies (mine’s Titanic). When the funk hits, put something on and watch it for as long as you want. Just lie down, press play, and turn your brain off.

Start putting names to the faces you see every day. Micro-interactions can make a huge difference in your day. Start in your neighbourhood. If you walk the same route every day, go to the same coffee shop, bus stop, or store, and pass the same people regularly, begin to acknowledge them. Make eye contact. Smile and say “good morning.” Ask how their day’s going.  Over time, introduce yourself and ask their name. These small interactions build a sense of community and belonging in the place where you already exist. You are not moving through the world alone.

Doomscroll a place you have always wanted to go. Spend a few hours watching travel videos, reading blogs, and looking at pictures of somewhere you’ve never been. A city you want to visit. A country you’re curious about. Let yourself casually explore a future beyond today.

Go to the dollar store. You don’t need a reason. Grab candles, stickers, or a shitty little craft kit. Get something small that feels nice. Little treats can counteract a funk more than we admit.

Take a shower. Not a full “everything” shower. Just get in and touch water. Then put on a robe, wrap your hair in a towel, and lie in bed. A shower resets a lot more than we give it credit for.

Develop a skill in something you always wanted to do. Something outside your career. Something that doesn’t need to be productive or profitable. Crochet. Painting. Weight lifting. Running a mile. Running a marathon. Learn how to swim. Swim in the ocean. Take a skiing lesson. Learn how to skateboard, or roller blade, or screen print. Cook one really impressive dish. Start learning a new language. Take a class. Watching yourself get better at something you’ve never done changes how you see yourself. This is just for you. You don’t need to be good. You just need to start.

Start a photo album on your phone filled only with photos that make you happy. Memes. Happy moments. Your best friend. Your favourite tree. No photos from a trip with your ex. No emotional landmines. No jump scares. Just photos that instantly make you smile. Main character energy only.

Add flair to your outfit. It’s not shallow or frivolous. When everything feels flat, self-expression is empowering. Show up in what you wear. Express your inner self on the outside. A favourite bracelet. A band t-shirt. Your favourite colour. You don’t need a new identity, just put something on your body that says something about who you are for the world to see.

Funks shrink your world. Expand it gently. I promise, you don’t need to overhaul your life. You just need a little motion, connection, and novelty. Trying out these small shifts can bring you back into your body, your environment, and your dynamic self.

Cannabis, Feelings, and the Power of Naming What’s Really Going On

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Most cannabis consumers can describe how a product makes them feel physically: relaxed, uplifted, heavy, creative. But far fewer can clearly describe what’s happening emotionally during or after a session. That’s not a failure. Emotional language isn’t something most of us were taught. And when life feels busy, stressful, or overwhelming, it’s easy to collapse everything into one vague feeling: fine, burnt out, anxious, or over it.

When used with intention, cannabis can slow things down just enough to notice what’s underneath. Paired with a simple emotional-mapping tool, such as a Feelings Wheel, it can turn a routine session into an opportunity for insight.

Why Cannabis Can Make Emotions More Noticeable

Cannabis doesn’t create emotions out of thin air. What it often does is reduce background noise, mental multitasking, constant stimulation, or internal pressure enough that emotional signals become easier to hear.

For some, cannabis creates calm. For others, it highlights sudden awareness: irritation you didn’t realize you were carrying, sadness you’ve been avoiding, or relief you didn’t know you needed. This is why intention matters for regular and new cannabis consumers. Without it, cannabis can become a way to mute emotional discomfort. With it, cannabis can support awareness and help you notice what your nervous system has been trying to communicate.rt.

The Role of an Emotions Wheel

An emotions wheel is simply a visual map of feelings from broad emotional states at the center to more specific ones at the edges. Its value isn’t in being “right,” but in offering visual cues and language.

Instead of stopping at:
“I’m stressed.”
“I feel off.”
“I’m in a weird mood.”

You can explore:
Is this stress actually pressure?
Is this heaviness disappointment, grief, or exhaustion?
Is this restlessness anticipation, anxiety, or boredom?

For cannabis consumers, this matters because cannabis can either blur or sharpen emotional clarity, depending on dose, strain, and mindset. The wheel grounds your awareness and provides language to work through your emotions. Once you name a feeling, it’s easier to address.

Choosing Cannabis for Emotional Awareness

Not all cannabis experiences support reflection. High-THC products can amplify emotions too quickly, making it harder to stay present.  If your goal is emotional insight rather than intensity, consider:

Micro-dosing THC to avoid emotional overload
Balanced THC:CBD products for steadier awareness
CBD-dominant options if you’re feeling anxious or emotionally sensitive

A Cannabis-Centred Emotional Check-In

This practice can take 10 to 30 minutes.

1. Set your reason for consuming
Before you light up or take an edible, ask: What am I hoping to get from this session?
Relaxation, clarity, grounding, and curiosity are all valid, but naming it matters.

2. Consume slowly
Especially if you’re checking in emotionally. Give yourself time to feel the shift instead of rushing past it.

3. Notice your internal state
As the effects settle in, scan your body and mind:
Is your jaw tight?
Is your chest heavy or open?
Are your thoughts racing or slowing?

4. Use emotional language, not judgment
Instead of asking What’s wrong with me?
Ask “What emotion fits this feeling best right now?”
Start broad, then get more specific.

5. Sit with it briefly
You don’t need to analyze or solve anything. Often, simply naming an emotion reduces its intensity.

6. Capture patterns
If you journal or reflect regularly, you may start noticing trends:

  • Certain strains are linked to irritability or calmness
  • Emotional shifts tied to time of day or stress levels
  • Reasons you reach for cannabis emotionally, not just habitually

What This Practice Can Teach Regular Cannabis Consumers

Over time, emotional check-ins can reveal important insights:
Are you using cannabis to avoid discomfort — or to understand it?
Does cannabis help you unwind or postpone emotional processing?
Which emotions tend to surface most often when you slow down?

This isn’t about quitting or cutting back. It’s about your relationship with the plant. A healthier relationship with cannabis often starts with a more honest relationship with your emotional state.

Emotional Awareness ≠ Emotional Fixing

Cannabis doesn’t need to resolve your feelings to be useful. Awareness alone can change how emotions move through you.

When you can say:
“This is frustration, not anger.”
“This is loneliness, not boredom.”
“This is relief mixed with grief.”

You gain choice. Choice in how you respond. Choice in whether cannabis supports the moment, or recognition that something else might serve you better.

A More Intentional Way to Consume

Some sessions will feel light and easy. Others may surface uncomfortable truths. Both are part of mindful consumption and benefit maximization with cannabis. Used thoughtfully, cannabis helps you listen to your inner world.  Naming what you feel is a first step toward feeling grounded, more regulated, and more in control of your experience.

Using cannabis with emotional awareness tools isn’t about turning every session into therapy.  It’s about building a habit of checking in instead of checking out. Not every session will be profound, and not every emotion will be easy to face. That’s normal. But it might transform how you approach cannabis and support unexpected personal growth. Try it yourself:

Cannabis as a Lens into Mood and Stress

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Many people use cannabis as a way to decompress after a long day. But did you know it does something deeper? Something more subtle and fascinating? Maybe you’ve noticed that a song hits differently, a sunset feels more profound, or a huge worry suddenly feels small after smoking a joint? It’s actually your brain’s emotional circuitry in action, and emerging research is suggesting that cannabis isn’t changing your mood. It’s making you more aware of it by heightening the emotions that are already there.

THC and CBD are Emotional Amplifiers

THC, aside from being the compound that brings the high, can heighten the intensity of your feelings. It binds to the receptors in the brain’s endocannabinoid system which is the area of the brain that regulates stress, reward, and mood. On the other hand, CBD, the non-intoxicating counterpart, works more subtly. It can help to calm overactive stress circuits in the amygdala (your brain’s alarm center) without dulling your cognition, and bring clarity to your emotional or mental state. These major cannabinoids aren’t switching emotions on or off. They’re emotional amplifiers.

The Science of Awareness

Emotional granularity is the ability to notice and accurately label subtle feelings. Higher granularity is linked to better stress management, emotional regulation, and decision-making. Cannabis, when used mindfully, can temporarily enhance this awareness, allowing you to notice small emotional shifts that often go ignored in day-to-day life.

It’s like turning up the contrast on a photo. Things you might not have seen clearly before suddenly stand out: a fleeting moment of happiness, a trace of anxiety, or a tension you didn’t realize you were carrying.

Approach cannabis with intention because this heightened awareness isn’t always comfortable. Cannabis can intensify negative feelings, especially in stressful moments. That’s why context and setting matter. Your mindset, your environment, and even the strain you choose can all influence your overall experience. When cannabis is not as an escape but as a tool for observation, it will maximize the plants’ potential to help you connect with your emotional inner landscape.

Mindfulness and Cannabis

There’s a reason people recommend using cannabis to elevate mindfulness practices. Both invite you to observe your thoughts and emotions without immediately reacting. In fact, many mental health researchers are sharing ways to pair low-dose or CBD-rich cannabis with journaling, guided reflection, or mindful breath work. The goal is to unmask emotions so you can see, understand, and engage them to respond more thoughtfully.

Why This Matters for Cannabis Consumers

In a fast-paced world where so much of our emotional life goes unnoticed, cannabis can offer a rare opportunity to see and understand your feelings more clearly, to recognize patterns, and to reflect on the root of what truly affects you. This approach is less about chasing a high or dulling a potentially negative experience, and more about cultivating awareness to understand the feelings behind it.

When used thoughtfully, cannabis isn’t altering your mood. It’s acting as a mirror, magnifying joy, clarifying stress, and revealing the subtle emotional currents that shape our daily experience. If you’re willing to try, why not approach your next decompression sesh with curiosity and mindfulness? It may be the most meaningful tool for managing stress and understanding your mood.

Understanding Dry Flower Pricing

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Often in dispensaries, I hear consumers dismiss their budtender digging for information; “It’s all the same, I just want the cheapest” they claim! Budtenders are in the unique position to show these clients a better experience by explaining what can drive the price between these products up!

Production Methods Matter!

It all comes down to the method of production, and how much production went into your product. Dry flower can come as whole flower, pre-ground, or pre-rolled; Pre-Rolls generally at an elevated cost due to needing to be rolled, and pre-ground at a lesser cost as it (often) utilizes dry cannabis that wouldn’t be well-received in a jar! 

Starting with rare genetics may elevate some costs, especially if there are inherent difficulties with that phenotype; such as Blueberry’s notorious PM issues.

Human hands & eyes are the most effective tools for producing amazing buds, and that means these folks need to be paid! The more people in the facility nurturing your cannabis, the better; they all bring expertise that will change every element of the flower inside – from how it looks to how it smokes!

A Master Grower can identify what their crops need to grow healthy and potent while a machine just gauging the moisture and feeding on a schedule cannot. A trained trimmer can perfectly manicure your flower, while a machine will remove trichome heads and leaves indiscriminately. 

So What Do We Do?

To uncover why the price is elevated, encourage your budtenders to browse the brand’s website and the website of your provincial wholesaler, which contain most of the pertinent information. Another amazing source of information is the brand’s territory manager, who will be happy to answer any questions your budtenders may have.

The Brands Winning Today Treat Budtenders and Consumers as Partners

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The results are in: Cannabis brand loyalty isn’t dead. But it is conditional.

The BTA surveyed its community on brand familiarity, trust, purchasing behaviour, and perceptions to capture insights on what actually builds trust and loyalty in the cannabis space.

We surveyed the BTA community to understand how brand trust is built, broken, and earned in today’s market and the answers are clear: brands winning right now aren’t the loudest or flashiest. They’re the most consistent, transparent, and respectful of the people selling and buying their products.

What is disappearing? Blind loyalty. In its place is a more informed, more skeptical, and more demanding audience: budtenders and consumers who know the market, track quality, compare batches, and remember how brands show up when things go wrong.

Across the survey, the brands praised most consistently shared the same behaviours. These brands don’t treat retail or consumers as a channel. They treat them as collaborators. They engage directly with budtenders instead of speaking at them. They respond publicly and transparently when questions or issues arise. And they resist the temptation to over-market, inflate claims, or rely on hype to carry the product.


1. Today’s Strongest Brands Aren’t Selling Products. They’re Building Partnerships.

The cannabis industry is a brand-literate audience. One of the strongest signals in the survey was just how familiar respondents are with cannabis brands in their province.

68% of respondents say they are very familiar with available brands and actively compare them
26% say they are somewhat familiar and can still name specific trusted brands
Only 6% report low or no brand familiarity

That means 94% of respondents are brand-aware and most are making intentional, informed choices. Budtenders and experienced consumers are not discovering brands for the first time. They’re validating claims, cross-checking terpene profiles, remembering past batches, and sharing feedback with peers.

This has major implications for marketing and sales. Cannabis brands are not marketing to beginners. They’re marketing to people who remember everything.

2. Brand Power In Cannabis Is Conditional.

When asked how much a brand name influences purchasing decisions, responses showed a clear middle ground:

24% say brand name influences them very strongly
52% say brand influence is moderate
24% say brand influence is low or minimal

Very few respondents said brand name doesn’t matter at all — but very few said it overrides everything else either. This tells us something critical: A recognizable name may earn attention on a menu or shelf, but it does not guarantee a sale or a second chance. Brand names open the door. Trust decides whether it stays open.

What actually builds trust?

When respondents were asked what makes them trust a cannabis brand, the answers were strikingly consistent and the takeaway is unmistakable: Consistency and transparency are not “nice to have.” They are the foundation of trust.

The top trust drivers from our multi-select question:

88% cite consistent product quality
63% point to positive past experience
58% value transparency around terpenes, sourcing, cultivation, and potency
41% trust brands with responsible or sustainable practices
39% rely on budtender or peer recommendations

In contrast, traditionally “strong” marketing signals ranked far lower:

22% said brand story or authenticity alone builds trust
18% cited packaging or visual identity

When asked what causes them to lose trust in a brand, respondents were clear (multi-select):

76% say inconsistent quality between batches
61% cite lack of transparency (THC, terpenes, sourcing)
54% mention poor customer or retail support
49% point to price increases without clear quality improvement
38% say product recalls or compliance issues
31% are turned off by overly aggressive or misleading marketing

Beyond the numbers, strong emotional reactions appeared repeatedly in open responses when retailers were ignored or “ghosted” and quality issues weren’t acknowledged. The take-away? One bad batch can undo years of brand equity especially when accountability is missing.

3. Loyalty Is Real. But It’s Fragile.

When asked what they associate most with brands they love, the hierarchy was clear: the strongest brands feel reliable and honest.

82% associate favourite brands with quality and reliability
44% associate them with innovation — but only when quality is stable
41% value education and transparency
36% connect with alignment to values (sustainability, honesty, community)

Most people operate within a small rotation of trusted brands, experimenting occasionally but returning to what has proven reliable with 62% of respondents often repurchasing the same brands. This behaviour was especially strong among more experienced respondents, many of whom selected “always stick to brands I trust.”

Even among those who claim low loyalty, quality signals still guide purchasing decisions. The data points to a clear, unavoidable conclusion: the brands winning today are the ones treating budtenders and consumers as partners, not targets. In a market this saturated and this informed, trust is not something that can be manufactured through louder messaging or flashier branding. It has to be earned, batch by batch, interaction by interaction.

What would increase loyalty the most?

When asked what would make them more loyal to a brand, the same themes surfaced again and again. The top brand loyalty builders (in order):

1. Consistent quality across batches
2. Better product education
3. Sampling or trial opportunities
4. Product innovation (after quality is locked)
5. Budtender training and engagement
6. Real sustainability and social responsibility
7. Rewards or loyalty programs

What budtenders and consumers are asking for isn’t complicated: it’s education, access, and reliability. Not discounts and swag.

4. Cannabis Loyalty Is Flexible And Easily Disrupted By Inconsistency.

Trust in cannabis is built through fundamentals that cannot be faked: consistent product quality, honest transparency around what’s in the jar, genuine respect for retail staff, and accountability when things go wrong. These are not “nice-to-haves” — they are the baseline expectations of a brand-literate audience.

Marketing may still spark initial interest. But loyalty is decided after the sale. When the product performs as promised, when questions are answered instead of ignored, and when brands stand behind their offerings instead of disappearing.

What makes these findings significant is not just what people said, but how consistently they said it. Budtenders and consumers are aligned. They are paying attention. And they are quietly rewarding the brands that treat them like partners in the process.

Source: BTA Brand Trust & Loyalty Survey, January 2025

Do Brands Actually Understand Their Audience?

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Why 36% of Budtenders and Consumers Feel Disconnected and What That Means for the Industry

If there’s one finding from the BTA Brand Trust & Loyalty survey that should make brands pause, it’s this one. When asked whether cannabis brands truly understand them, the responses revealed a widening gap between intention and impact:

18% feel brands understand them very well
46% say somewhat
28% say not much
8% say not at all

That means 36% of respondents feel largely disconnected from the brands they’re expected to sell, recommend, or buy from. In an industry built on relationships between brand, retailer, and consumer, that number is both a warning sign and an opportunity.

A Market That’s Listening, But Not Being Heard

The cannabis marketplace has evolved faster than many brand strategies. Budtenders and consumers today are highly informed, brand-literate, and deeply aware of how products perform over time. They notice inconsistencies. They remember which brands show up when there’s an issue and which ones disappear.

Our survey results suggest that while many brands believe they are engaging their audience, a significant portion of that audience doesn’t feel understood in return.

“Somewhat understood” isn’t the same as understood.
Which often means brands are talking, but not listening closely enough.

What Works: When Brands Get It Right

Brands that scored highest in perceived understanding shared clear, repeatable behaviours across the survey:

✔️ They engage directly with budtenders.
Not just through sales pitches, but through real conversations, education, and feedback loops.

✔️ They respond publicly and transparently.
When issues arise (from quality questions to recalls) these brands acknowledge them clearly instead of avoiding them.

✔️ They don’t over-market.
Measured messaging, honest claims, and realistic potency expectations go further than hype ever could.

✔️ They treat retail as a partner, not a channel.
Budtenders aren’t a distribution point. They’re the most trusted voice in the room.

These brands don’t try to control the narrative. They participate in it.

What Doesn’t Work: Why Disconnection Happens

On the flip side, the brands most often associated with disconnection tend to fall into familiar traps:

✖️ Broadcasting marketing messages without room for dialogue
✖️ Inflated THC claims that don’t match real-world experience
✖️ Inconsistent batches with no acknowledgment
✖️ Poor or slow retail support
✖️ Pop-in, sell, disappear rep behaviour

For budtenders especially, nothing erodes trust faster than being expected to stand behind a product without support, education, or accountability from the brand itself. Disconnection isn’t caused by silence. It’s caused by one-sided communication.

Why This Matters

What makes this result especially significant is who is saying it. This isn’t casual or disengaged consumers. This is a highly brand-aware audience where:

68% are very familiar with brands
62% regularly repurchase trusted brands
39% rely on budtender recommendations to build trust

When over a third of that group feels misunderstood, it signals a structural issue. Not a marketing one and the brands winning tomorrow will be the ones that close this gap today.

How Budtenders Can Feel Less Disconnected from Brands

While much of this responsibility sits with brands, budtenders aren’t powerless in the relationship. Here are practical ways budtenders can reduce brand disconnect:

1. Prioritize brands that show up consistently
Engage more deeply with brands that provide training, respond to questions, and follow through after launches.

2. Ask better questions and notice who answers
Transparency reveals itself quickly when brands are asked about sourcing, terpenes, or batch variation.

3. Share feedback openly
Brands that listen improve. Brands that don’t, reveal themselves early.

4. Support brands that support retail
Long-term trust grows when budtenders consciously reward accountability and consistency with shelf presence and recommendations.

5. Talk to peers
Peer-to-peer insight remains one of the strongest trust signals in the entire survey.

This is an invitation for brands.

With 36% of budtenders feeling disconnected, there is enormous room for brands willing to listen more than they speak, respond more than they promote, and collaborate instead of dictate. In today’s cannabis market, understanding your audience isn’t a branding exercise. It’s a relationship.

Source: BTA Brand Trust & Loyalty Survey

The Potential of Strain-Specific Cannabis Infusions in Recipes

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Understanding Terpenes 

Terpenes are important to cannabis. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) percentages might give you a better high but not without interactions with terpenes, known as the ‘entourage effect’. Terpenes and cannabinoids work together to give you whichever high you experience from any given strain. Kelsey Cannabis posted a great article about terpenes earlier this year where they explain ‘the entourage effect’ in further detail (IG: @kelseycannabis) as well as snapshots of common terpenes found in cannabis.

What’s Cooking?

My interest in cannabis eventually led me to create a blog on Instagram where I share my edible infusions, called StonePetal Edibles (@stonepetaledibles). Stone – as in the trichomes on buds, and Petal – as in the flower buds themselves. I started by seeing how well I could use my existing cooking skills to start making cannabis edibles that were more than just cookies or brownies. I’ve had success infusing different foods but I always felt that there was more to it than just getting high. 

This got me thinking – imagine edibles infused with specific quantities of specific strains to actually produce a distinct taste. Cannabis is a produce, a plant–like basil – so why not use it as an ingredient? Terpenes can be preserved and experienced when smoking cannabis through our endocannabinoid system, but can that same experience be had through homemade edibles? 

Consumers, currently, can choose whatever strains they want for infusions – a “build your high” opportunity. A stepping stone to this ‘build your high/flower’ concept can be seen with Leafly’s Strain Finder – where you can plug in a handful of pre-set terpenes to discover strains closest to what you’re looking for. I use this all the time to find new strains and ‘strain hunt’ for new recipe ideas.

Strain-Specific Cannabis Recipes

A recent idea my partner and I had was a “Mac ‘n’ Cheese” infusion: MAC 1 (Alien Cookies x Colombian Gold x Starfighter) from Citizen Stash, and Franco’s Lemon Cheese (Super Lemon Haze x UK Cheese) from 48 North, both in pre-rolls. This infusion focuses on two main terpenes: limonene and humulene. Giving the infusion a zesty, tangy finish, which was then incorporated into a 5-cheese macaroni recipe. It turned out well – and gave quite a zip!

By no means an expert. I’m an enthusiast. There is so much potential for edibles to have a place with cuisine. I hope more people share more of their edibles recipes and that cannabis continues to normalize. It’s up to us budtenders and cannabis connoisseurs to come up with the next wave of food infusions. Share yours with me on StonePetal! And bon appetite!

The New BTA Member Experience

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Learn and Earn™

After four years of building a strong budtender community, we know that our members don’t just want to watch the cannabis industry grow —they want to shape it. We also know your time and expertise are valuable. That’s why the Budtender Association (BTA) created Learn & Earn, the first cannabis insights rewards platform!

It’s time to see your preferences and opinions reflected in the broader market.

For the first time in Canada, budtenders and consumers are at the center of a research platform that shows how cannabis brands are really performing. Not just which products sell, but why people choose them, trust them, and recommend them.

Until now, there hasn’t been a formal way to track sentiments and put them on equal footing with sales data. The BTA Learn and Earn platform changes that. Built entirely around what budtenders and consumers actually think, it’s designed to capture real perceptions of cannabis brand performance from the voices that matter most, because your insights and experiences are what drive this industry forward.

Whether you’re a Budtender, Retail Manager, or Cannabis Shopper, your voice matters.  

Budtenders know this better than anyone. You’re the frontline experts guiding people through menus, making recommendations, and setting the tone for the consumer experience. In fact, studies show 70% of consumers rely on budtender recommendations when purchasing cannabis products.

Consumers, you’re just as important! Every purchase you make, your preferences, and experiences shape which brands stick around.

Together, your feedback forms a collective resource that benefits brands, retailers, educators, and policymakers in need of actionable data from the people who represent the cannabis marketplace.

How Learn & Earn Works

Powered by a points-based rewards program, BTA’s Learn & Earn website makes every action count towards rewards. Members can earn points by contributing to surveys, exploring content, sharing feedback, and engaging with the three core areas of our platform:

The Research Lab – This is where members participate in surveys that directly inform the future of cannabis. Every survey you complete contributes to the broader understanding of how brands, retailers, policymakers, and the industry are perceived. Plus, you earn points for your time and feedback.

Market Leaders – Explore the cannabis landscape. Here you’ll find curated category pages for flower, vapes, pre-rolls, edibles, and brands. It’s also where you can discover new products, take quizzes, and earn points while learning something new.

The Growth Hub – A curated resource for articles, news, trend updates, and educational content to stay informed and connected to broader industry conversations.

Rewards That Recognize Your Time

Every survey on the Learn & Earn platform earns you points that can be redeemed in the Reward Marketplace through ballot entries for large monthly prize draws, gift cards, products, and exclusive experiences.

We Value Your Opinions

Let’s be honest: cannabis brands succeed because of the people who recommend them, buy them, and believe in them. And that’s you. By joining, contributing to, and engaging with the BTA Learn and Earn platform, your feedback and experiences will help shape the future of cannabis in Canada, and now, you’ll get rewarded for it.

Join the Budtenders Association today and start earning rewards! 

Introducing the BTA Brand Health Index

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A New Standard for Measuring Cannabis Brand Performance

The Budtenders Association (BTA) has established the first comprehensive, research-based benchmark for cannabis brand health, informed by survey data, trend tracking, and direct feedback from the voices that matter most: cannabis retail staff and consumers.  

Cannabis is one of the fastest-growing and heavily regulated industries in Canada, with market expansion and increasing competition demands requiring more dynamic evaluation metrics. Rather than relying solely on sales data or marketing reach, the BTA Brand Health Index (BHI) integrates consumer and budtender perspectives to provide a much-needed methodological shift for the sector to set a new standard for how cannabis brands are ranked, reviewed, and recognized.

Why Consumer and Budtender Perspective Matters

A product might spike in sales due to price or novelty, but without lasting budtender and consumer confidence, gains are difficult to maintain. Sales data provides information on which products are selling, but it doesn’t capture the “why” behind brand preference. Research consistently shows that consumer choice in cannabis is shaped by more than product availability.

Budtenders play a decisive role in purchasing behaviour. In Canada, studies indicate that approximately 70 percent of consumers rely on budtender recommendations when making purchasing decisions, underscoring the significant impact of frontline retail workers. Their influence, preferences, and brand perceptions at the point of sale are widely recognized as key factors in determining brand success, and ultimately, brands live or die by whether budtenders recommend them. The BHI captures whether a brand is trusted, recommended, and valued, by integrating sales performance and sentiment for actionable data on why certain products gain traction at the retail level.

Learning from Other Regulated Industries

In the alcohol and tobacco industries, brand trackers and health indices are standard research tools that deliver benchmarks to help brands understand how they’re perceived and identify areas for growth, not only in sales performance but also in perception, trust, and consumer loyalty.

Modelled on these industry best practices, the BTA Brand Health Index places cannabis on equal footing with other regulated industries by contributing to the broader professionalization of the cannabis sector and establishing a foundation for credible, research-driven evaluation that can inform strategy, product development, marketing, and investment.

Methodology and Structure

Combining the expertise of professional research with authentic community-driven feedback, the BHI offers something the cannabis industry has never had before: a trusted, dynamic health tracker for cannabis brands. Launching first in Canada in 2025, with expansion to the United States in 2026, the Brand Health Index was developed with leading market researchers, including experts from Ipsos and Nielsen, to ensure that the methodology is sound, unbiased, and scalable.

How It Works

The BHI is based on quarterly surveys conducted with a minimum sample of 500 participants drawn from our membership of cannabis consumers and retail workers. Each survey is designed to be efficient and engaging, with gamified rewards to encourage participation. Through our Learn and Earn Portal, our members are rewarded for their time and participation.

Brands are evaluated on a range of dimensions, including awareness, trust, loyalty, and recommendation frequency, to provide a comprehensive view of their positioning in the consumer marketplace. Results are released quarterly, with annual benchmarks highlighting long-term trends, growth trajectories, and shifts in consumer opinion.

For BTA Brand Partners, visual dashboards will make the data easy to navigate, with a clear breakdown of top brands, category leaders, and notable changes across the board. Spotlight features will showcase standout performers and emerging leaders.

The Benefits

For Brands, it provides a clear lens into their reputation and how they are perceived in the market, informing strategic adjustments that extend beyond short-term sales trends.

Retailers can gain access to data that reflects both consumer demand and budtender influence, helping align their inventory with trusted brands.

Educators and policymakers will gain a clearer understanding of the landscape with unbiased insights to inform their policies and programming.

And most importantly, budtenders and consumers shaping cannabis culture finally have a seat at the table.

Looking Ahead

The cannabis sector needs tools that can keep pace with its complexity. By placing budtender and consumer voices at the center of a research-driven framework, the BTA Brand Health Index sets a new standard for measuring brand performance.

It balances sales data with the perspectives of those directly involved in the purchasing process. Capturing trust, loyalty, and real influence at the counter, we’re unlocking new opportunities for direct market research to guide the industry’s next stage of growth.

If you would like to join as a Brand Partner, contact us for more information.