Opening day arrives for SWADE dispensary in St. Peters
St. Peters’ first dispensary, SWADE, opened on Friday, November 6 – the location is the first of 5 the vertical operator will open to retail sales for Missouri patients. SWADE’s parent company, BeLeaf, will feature their own SINSE cannabis brand flower, and visitors will have seven strains to choose from.
The product menu features prepackaged flower in both 1/4 oz and 1/8 ounce sizes, or, for those who want to experiment with multiple strains without breaking the bank, patients can choose to purchase multiple “prepacks.” Prepacks are a .5 g pre-packed glass bowl which can also be reused as a one-hitter. In terms of strains, there’s a SINSE product to fit patients’ preferences for a range of THC content, as well as indica/sativa/hybrid choices.
SINSE will be the third brand of flower offered for sale in Missouri, grown in-house at BeLeaf. Dispensaries thus far have sold products from cultivators Archimedes and C4.
Once you’ve parked and see the exterior of the building, you’ve gotten your first glimpse of the SWADE theme with frosted windows and a design that is echoed throughout inside. Visitors should definitely take advantage of the view inside, as the artwork is beautifully done and ties directly to the SWADE branded educational materials. For those who aren’t aware, one of the stipulations in the MOMMJ program is that dispensaries must provide specific patient educational materials. While the state doesn’t have any requirements for branding, theoretically, a dispensary could choose to print on white typing paper and make it available easily and affordably. SWADE took it a step further and all of its educational materials are in line with the brand and printed on quality materials that are full color.
The dispensary itself has a clean decor and design and the way the store is merchandised, patients can take advantage of a number of products that don’t contain THC. Among other items, SWADE offers a number of different kinds of devices, including dry herb vapes in varying price ranges, storage solutions, and CBD health and wellness products. Venture into the portion of the dispensary where product is ordered/shown and you’ll find the Bud Bar where patients can view the flower their considering, as well as talk to budtenders at length about their needs. SWADE offers private consultation rooms, giving patients privacy if they prefer and the layout is such that once inside foot traffic should flow efficiently. Pro tip? Be sure and check out the wallpaper in the restroom – it’s worth it!
For the pre-opening event, about 200 people were in attendance, celebrating Missouri’s progress in becoming operational after such a long time and lots of sweat equity and sleepless nights. Among attendees were press, friends, family, employees, and refreshingly, operators of other dispensaries, like Brad Goette of N’Bliss – refreshing because Goette and others weren’t there to scope out the competition, they were supporting Missouri’s industry and the BeLeaf team – and know firsthand the level of effort it takes to pull off a dispensary opening. That’s a side of the cannabis industry in Missouri that I’m not sure is obvious to patients, but there’s a lot of support for each other that doesn’t consider competition, but the success of the program – that although has been bumpy in the midst of a pandemic – is set to thrive.
Patients planning to visit SWADE should keep in mind that the opening day on Friday WILL be crowded and you might have to wait in line. We’re confident the team has learned from seeing traffic at other dispensaries that they’ll help those in line have questions answered, and patients waiting will be given materials to talk more about what will be available once they get inside. The Cannabis Care Team‘s nurses will be on-site on Friday and can help with clinical questions patients might have.