Twice a year, new students show up to Cal Poly Humboldt from all over the country and world and provide one of the few regular infusions of new blood into Humboldt County. Given Humboldt County’s storied past as the epicenter of the Emerald Triangle, many of these students find themselves deciding on a cannabis dispensary to grow attached to for their cannabis needs. There are several dispos in Arcata to choose from, but in my experience, only a handful are worth consideration as a new student. I wanted to take this opportunity to present an empirical assay to determine what the best dispensary in Arcata is for students like me or not like me.

Why should you listen to this particular Humboldt student’s best dispensary recommendations?

Like most readers: I’m not a Humboldt native, I’m just a guest passing through Goudi’ni aka Arcata. In my position as this site’s curator, I’ve read more cannabis related reviews than probably any other person in the world. When it comes to California’s legal cannabis market, I’ve seen enough of it as a writer, consultant, journalist, reviewer, researcher, and eternal student to have very strong opinions that I’m willing to share. Whether it’s commenting on the lack of diversity in the products stocked on shelves, finding out the abrasive way if California dispensaries do or do not abide by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), or just generally keeping an updated economic outlook on whether the average consumer is better served buying their weed from a trusted plug or a trusted dispensary.

In Humboldt County, there are dispensaries that I would recommend every student avoid at all costs. On the other hand, there are a handful of dispensaries that I would recommend as worthy of your trust.

How is this ‘Best Dispensary in Arcata List’ ranked?

This list is ranked by 10 factors that I believe are important for dispensaries located near public universities especially in California. Two of the most important factors, which ensure the student gets through the door legally to be able to even peruse the limited stock at most dispensaries, are as follows:

1. They need to be accommodating to never-before-seen forms of identification which are valid to the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC).
2. They need to have state-compliant established policies for dealing with privacy concerns.

It’s only so many miles to the north in Oregon that privacy laws are such that vast majority of METRC tracked POS sales are done as guest checkouts by default.

Those types of considerations ensure that students actually show up. What’s equally important though is what is offered within the dispensary doors. Is it an institution that wasted all of its money paying other middlemen to bring up the same ol’ boring and environmentally destructive products from down south? Or is it a community institution that stands by local farmers, and/or even is run by local farmers?

At the end of the day, this is a purely subjective list that highlights what I want to see when I walk into a dispensary.

The ten categories for this Best Dispensary in Arcata Guide are:

Each dispensary can accrue up to one point for each factor/category for a top score of 10/10. Each category is described below.

CCPA Compliant

Does the dispensary comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act: Specifically, do consumers at this location have the ability to opt out of data retention? 1 point if they are CCPA compliant, 0 points if they aren’t.

Visitor Policy

Does the dispensary have a visitor policy to accommodate those that are willing to comply with an age check verification of their valid identification but do not wish to have their identification numbers put into the system? 1 point if age checked visitors are allowed in the shop, 0 points if not.

Any flower that has meaningful percentages of CBD?

Self explanatory. 1 point if they have anything, 0 points if they don’t.

Any flower that has meaningful percentages of CBG?

Self explanatory. 1 point if they have anything, 0 points if they don’t.

Any flower that has meaningful percentages of CBC?

Self explanatory. 1 point if they have anything, 0 points if they don’t.

Any flower that has meaningful percentages of THCV?

Self explanatory. 1 point if they have anything, 0 points if they don’t.

Sells seeds?

Does the dispensary sell seeds? Corollary: Does the dispensary only sell one seed company’s seeds? 1 point if they sell seeds from multiple breeders, .5 points if they only sell one Seed Co.’s seeds, 0 points if they don’t sell seeds at all.

Is the majority of the selection sungrown?

1 point if over 51% of the selection is sungrown, 0 points if it’s under 51%.

Sells traditional hashish?

I don’t mean just dry sift, bubble hash is included whether in temple ball form or not. 1 point if there’s hash that isn’t just roz and 0 points if there isn’t.

Student discount?

Happy to report that every dispensary in Arcata has a student discount. Some of them allow students to get a discount every day of the week while others limit student discount days to Saturdays or Sundays. 1 point if the student discount is all day every day, .5 points if the student discount is temporally limited, 0 points if there is no student discount.

The Lumberjack has a handy dandy full list of local student discounts for Humboldt students.

Tallying up the Points: Calculating Arcata’s Best Dispensary

These ten categories largely stand as proxies for attitudes towards minor cannabinoids (genetic diversity), homegrow, sungrown, traditional hashish, and visitor and privacy policies. Each category is weighted the same, though I personally weigh certain categories higher than others in my personal calculus – I felt this was most fair to the empirical assay at hand.

All scores are based on phone and in person interviews with dispensary staff or owners conducted during the 2024 Fall Semester between classes and research at the Cannabis Studies Lab.

Additionally, The Highest Critic followed up with the Department of Cannabis Control to clarify:

1. What are acceptable forms of identification at a California Dispensary?
2. Are California dispensaries required to store customer information?

So, without further ado, let’s tally the points and give flowers to the best dispo in Arcata!

Best Dispensaries in Arcata, CA

1. Herb and Market – 9.5 points
2. Pacific Paradise – 6 points
3. The Fireplace – 5.5 points

Of the ten categories. I feel obliged to say that while Pacific Paradise has a visitor policy, their CCPA and DCC compliance is lacking when it comes to ID checks and of all the dispensaries in Arcata – I’m only comfortable entering Herb and Market and The Fireplace.

How many dispensaries are there in Arcata?

There are technically 7 dispensaries in Arcata, CA; however, only 6 of them are within walking distance of Cal Poly Humboldt.

The Best Dispensary in Arcata, CA for privacy conscious buyers: Herb and Market

1. Herb and Market

After visiting and talking with all the dispensaries in Arcata, I can confidently say that I’d recommend any newcomers go to Herb and Market because they have a fully thought out, CCPA and DCC compliant way, to make sure that customers are legally able to purchase, but do not go over their daily limits. They also have the widest variety of sungrown, indoor living soil, and even dry farmed flower from around the state – including cannabinoids other than THC and several of my rare favorite cultivars (ie Pink Boost Goddess and any of its relatives) that can only be purchased on the legal market.

Here are some shots from my iphone potato from inside Herb and Market:

I want to give a little shout out to The Fireplace for being a runner up for consideration here. They do have employees that are aware of DCC rules, the CCPA, as well as the meta political considerations wrapped up in data retention by cannabis dispensaries in the United States.

Don’t Forget to Bring ID: What are acceptable forms of identification at California Dispensaries?

In my visits to dispensaries across the state, I’ve come across a general lack of understanding by frontline staff when it comes to what forms of identification are valid at California dispensaries. I’ve personally witnessed and experienced being denied the ability to enter the store let alone purchase because the valid identification I presented was not deemed valid.

Given the federal legal status of everything in this industry, it’s understandable and actually commendable that employees act more conservatively than they need to as a rule. However, underinformed frontline staff at dispensaries are a top source for misinformation in the cannabis world and in my experience, the line between professional courtesy and power tripping is crossed way too often. At the same time, this is how it’s always been and it actually brings a smile to my face to see this part of the culture continually manifested on the industry side. Again, let’s not forget the federal status of what we’re engrossed in.

All that said, state agencies do have some pretty clear rules on what constitutes an acceptable form of identification. Some state organizations, like the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), will have very specific requirements on what is considered a valid form of identification – and even rank types identification into primary and secondary tiers. The Department of Cannabis Control does not do that, and instead has 3 simple rules to determine if an ID is acceptable for purposes of passing age verification to enter and purchase at a dispensary:

“The following are acceptable forms of identification as outlined in (c) of Section 15404:

(1) A document issued by a federal, state, county, or municipal government, or a political subdivision or agency thereof, including, but not limited to, a valid motor vehicle operator’s license, that contains the name, date of birth, height, gender, and photo of the person

(2) A valid identification card issued to a member of the Armed Forces that includes the person’s name, date of birth, and photo; or

(3) A valid passport issued by the United States or by a foreign government. [Emphasis added]”

I reached out to the DCC for clarification on what kind of IDs could be used and whether the DCC differentiated between primary and secondary forms of identification like the DMV does and Media Relations Manager David Hafner confirmed:

“The regulations do not differentiate between primary and secondary forms of Identification.”

For students that are under the age of 21, you will also need your valid medical card.

Hope this guide to Arcata’s Best Cannabis Dispensaries was useful to you. Leave a comment if it made you think, and share the thought :).

Caleb Chen

Website | + posts

Founder of The Highest Critic
Unpaid /r/trees mod
Certified Ganjier
Kine bud enthusiast

• Are California Dispensaries required to store customer information?
• What are acceptable forms of identification at California Dispensaries?
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