When you walk into a dispensary, how often do you think about what the dispensary and its owner(s) care about? The answer is probably not often, if at all, and that’s fair. You go into the dispensary on a mission—get the goods, go home, get high—who cares about what the owner(s) think about. Well, you should. The cannabis industry is ever-evolving, and those changes affect you as a customer, so it may be time to consider what your dispensary owner(s) care about. Don’t believe me? Cannabis On Time owner, Louis Segarra, cares about cannabis on so many levels, and you benefit from it.
It has been known that Cannabis On Time is focused on making and keeping cannabis affordable and accessible, but it’s not just the cost of the cannabis when you look at the big picture. I chatted with Louis to learn more about his story and how Cannabis On Time came to be, and in one word, it is passion. Passion for making cannabis accessible for everyone, passion for more research on cannabis, and passion for a customer-driven dispensary.
Louis’ passions around cannabis are ingrained in Cannabis On Time in numerous ways. “We are customer-driven; our bottom line is our customers,” shared Louis. The customer focus of Cannabis On Time is more than just being knowledgeable; it is about prioritizing customer service and creating a fun atmosphere for everyone. The atmosphere that is created at Cannabis On Time is multi-purpose. The fun matters, but the music playing on the TVs also helps create a sense of privacy for customers when talking with the budtenders. “Music helps to keep the conversations private with budtenders,” explained Louis.
The privacy that the atmosphere supports also aligns with the focus on cannabis accessibility. Many customers use cannabis for medicinal and pain reasons, and by creating an atmosphere where customers feel comfortable sharing their personal information and experiences with budtenders, make it even more accessible.
Though Louis is passionate about cannabis now, that is not what brought him to the industry. About 10 years ago, Louis came to Oregon for a work trip while working in a different industry and fell in love with the weather. He loved it so much that he decided to move to Oregon, drawn by the financial possibilities in the cannabis industry. After getting into the industry he realized that cannabis wasn’t the quick and easy money maker that everyone thought. This realization also led Louis to understand that “It’s not just about the money, it’s about the folks who need and want cannabis for medical uses and needs.”
Louis’ recognition of the number of people who use cannabis for medical reasons helped encourage his passion for cannabis research. “Cannabis is still in the early stages of medical [research],” Louis shared, “and Oregon state needs to support cannabis a lot more, on the medical side.” Coming from a business background, Louis understands the complexities of business ownership, especially in cannabis, in ways the state of Oregon doesn’t. “The state of Oregon legalized cannabis without knowing the business side of it,” exclaimed Louis. We can see this in the continual changes of laws and the impacts that they have on cannabis customers. “With rescheduling, there are going to be a lot of changes over the next three years. The state can change the rules whenever it wants and on a whim.” Despite the way the government continually changes the game in ways that impact access for customers, Cannabis On Time will always be committed to keeping cannabis accessible for its customers, and that is not changing anytime soon. A second Cannabis On Time location is opening in Salem in the coming months, further demonstrating that when owners care about more than just getting rich, they can expand, grow, and achieve great things in this industry.
If you want to put your money behind people who care, consider stopping by Cannabis On Time, where the customer matters and access is important.