For those who have tried The Downtown Dispensary, there doesn’t seem to be any other choice.
That was certainly the case with now-General Manager Jay Zimmermann, who before seeking employment was one of the first 1,000 medical marijuana cardholding patients in the state.
While riding his bike, Zimmermann was the victim of a hit and run. He spent about a month in the hospital undergoing multiple surgeries, and endured a year of learning how to walk again. Suffering from chronic pain, and seeking an alternative to prescription medications, Zimmermann turned to medical marijuana—the results of which he says are unparalleled.
After trying a few shops, The Downtown Dispensary opened on Aug. 20, 2013, and Zimmermann gave it a test run.
“I had such a great experience here that I never went anywhere else again. The knowledge and customer service was the best I had seen,” said Zimmerman, 26.
In fact, Zimmermann was so impressed that he later decided to pursue employment with the company, one that now has about 4,000 patients.
As general manager, Zimmermann continues to implement the priorities that make The Downtown Dispensary so successful, among them of which are diligence, product knowledge and strong customer service.
“We have a genuine care for our patients here,” said Zimmermann. “We want to provide them with the best experience possible.”
In order to do so, the company follows all state laws, acquiring all of their marijuana flowers from a state-sponsored grower, as opposed to caregivers, and having all product lab-tested for mold and pesticides prior to sale.
“We try to be as diligent as possible with the medicine we bring in, and that we dot all of our i’s and cross all of our t’s,” said Zimmermann. “Aside from that, all but two of our employees are patients themselves, so we definitely have a lot of experience in how to go about treating and providing regimens and doses.”
That experience is particularly important since the industry is still finding its roots, Zimmerman added.
“If you go to a hospital, the nurses and doctors have been tested to make sure they are capable of doing their job,” he said. “There isn’t that standard in the medical marijuana industry. That means you could go to another facility and they could prescribe you something that is completely incorrect for your conditions. That’s a troubling aspect.”
The Downtown Dispensary offers a variety of medicinal options to best address each person’s unique needs. With an inventory of about 30 different strains, CBD and THC concentrates, as well as a number of edibles and tinctures, there is a solution for anyone who steps foot into the building.
“There’s a big generalization that medical marijuana is medical marijuana,” said Zimmermann. “There really is a wide variety of strains that do different things for patients, so it definitely takes someone who is knowledgeable on the other side of the counter.”
While Zimmermann says about 35 percent of users are treated for chronic pain, there are a number of other symptoms that medical marijuana is beneficial for, such as epilepsy, cancer, neuropathy, insomnia, migraine and more.
On Aug. 28, The Downtown Dispensary will be paying for medical marijuana cards for its first 30 qualified patients. It’s just another way of helping extend the benefits of medical marijuana to those in need, said Zimmermann.
“We want to help out our community,” said Zimmermann. “We want to be, and we already are, part of the culture of downtown.”
The Downtown Dispensary is located at 221 E. Sixth St., Ste. 105. For more information, visit www.thedowntowndispensary.com or call 838-0492.
This article appears in Aug 21-27, 2014.
Well thanks for the commercial Chris. Nice having unpaid distribution of a “HMMM” non-profit. I have been to the Downtown Dispensary it is not any different in my opinion than the others. I left purchasing the tincture of CBD as the other stock was purely in my opinion just high flavored THC. I believe situated so close to he college crowd it is their market. I remember free doctor recommendations on Saturdays, bonus points, specials on game day. I just don’t have the time or the desire to join a group that has me running across town for a gram special or 1/8. For some MMJ is a confirmation of allegiance with a self defined social group. The dispensaries market and cater to these groups have patients jotting all over town hoping to get a free high if they give a favorable review on rating sites. the average price for MMJ in 4 different states that I frequent is half that of what is being priced gouged here in Tucson. The MMJ patient is going under the bus, go to a medical professional get a support group dispensaries are not it.
The Downtown Dispensary offers zero discounts to students. Zero discounts on game-days. There is no point or reward system to enroll in.
Perhaps the parents that have suffered for years watching their children become debilitated by epileptic seizures or cancer have reached out to a medical professional already? And perhaps offering them a solution is reason enough to stick around and tolerate the stigma of just trying to get people “high”?
The current list of qualifying MEDICAL conditions in the state of AZ is as follows:
Cancer
Glaucoma
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
Hepatitis C
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Crohn’s disease
Agitation of Alzheimer’s disease
A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or the treatment for a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition that causes:
Cachexia or wasting syndrome;
Severe and chronic pain;
Severe nausea;
Seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy;
Severe or persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis