Meet Your Budtender: Brandi Wiese

Why did you decide to become a budtender?

I decided to become a budtender after working with hemp and CBD products for a few years. It sparked my interest in other cannabinoids and how they can be beneficial in our everyday lives. I witnessed a lot of people have their life changed by adding CBD into their daily routines, seeing the difference in peoples' quality of life made me want to keep educating our communities.

What's your favorite part of the job?

My favorite part of my job is working with our local community on finding products that help each individual with whatever it is they want to use cannabis for.

What sort of things have you learned on the job?

I learn something new every day! I love learning about terpenes, cannabinoids and how they all affect us differently.

How do you help a customer who is new to cannabis or returning after years away?

I would first start off with asking what they are wanting results in after consumption and their intention for including cannabis in their routine. Followed by the basics of how everyone effects very differently to each product and dose, start low, go slow until you find your comfort zone! From there, we can find what category of products would be the best fit.

What's the biggest challenge in your job?

I would say for me personally, the biggest challenge is the stigma on cannabis versus alcohol. I feel we should be able to educate openly to the public about cannabis, we are all born with an endocannabinoid receptor system, not an alcohol receptor system.

What's your most memorable job experience?

I would say my most memorable job experience happens every day at my job, it's hard to just choose one good memory on the job when I help so many great customers who bring back honest feedback on products they tried. This job is truly fulfilling.

What's your personal favorite product among those you sell?

My favorite product we carry is Dablicators from Frog Mountain CO2 extractions. We exclusively have our in-house strains in Frog Mountain oil. I love the quality, clean oil that I am able to smoke, eat and use topically! I use it daily by infusing prerolls, bowls, infusing any munchies that I have, dabbing it, and mixing the oil with my favorite lotion creating my own highly potent topical.

How long have you been in Alaska, and if from somewhere else, where?

I have lived in Alaska for 12 years. I grew up in Washington State, but Alaska is my forever home. I spent 3 years in Anchorage and the other 9 here in Ketchikan.

If you could share a bowl with one famous person in the world, who would it be and why?

I have already had the pleasure of smoking with a classic well-known celebrity in our cannabis industry, Afroman, which was an amazing life experience lived. If I had an opportunity to smoke with another celebrity I would have to go with another OG to our industry, Snoop Dogg. I could only imagine the quality blunts we would smoke and the laughs we could share after hearing some stories from his experiences in life. Maybe one day he will make his way to Alaska!

What are your interests outside of work?

I enjoy drives on our small island, soaking in all the beauty that can be found here. I enjoy going to the beach with my family and spending quality time with my kids outdoors.