Being experienced retail marijuana customers, we've encountered our fair share of deadpan, disinterested, and distracted budtenders. But it's never happened at either of the Herbal Wellness Center locations. There, we always check in with a receptionist who appears to be genuinely happy to greet us. Inside the sales area, the budtenders are patient and informative, answering all our questions about the products and how to get the most for our money with the dispensary's daily specials. Add in a wide selection of cannabis products for all types of customers, a great loyalty program, and discounts for seniors and veterans, and you've got a dispensary chain that truly wants everyone to leave happy.

If you're new to being a recreational marijuana customer, it can be bewildering to choose among the many metro Phoenix dispensaries. One way that dispensaries distinguish themselves and build customer loyalty is by offering discounts and perks to first-time customers, and in that respect, local chain Sol Flower really shines. While most dispensaries offer special savings for new customers on their second, third, and even fifth visits, Sol Flower offers a BOGO special on flower, concentrates, and prerolls for new shoppers on each of the first 10 visits. That's on top of daily deals on popular products, including a variety of waxes, cartridges, and edibles. Or, you can stick to the classics and grab free eighths every single day when purchasing Sol Flower's house strain. Once Sol Flower has lured you in with their new customer deals, you'll probably want to stick around for their great service and uniquely comprehensive events calendar: They offer classes such as Cannabis 101 and Cannabis for Seniors, plus activity sessions like yoga and meditation.

In the age of DoorDash and GoPuff, it makes sense that there's a delivery service dedicated to getting medical marijuana patients their products. Supurb caters to med patients around the Valley, and the website is super-simple to use. Once you've proven you're a valid med patient, you put in your address to find the dispensaries near you — Zen Leaf, Oasis Cannabis, Marigold, and Sunday Goods are just some of the businesses that work with Supurb. You can check out the daily deals at each dispensary, choose one to order from, then opt for immediate or scheduled delivery. It's easy, fast, and saves us so much time. As of right now, Supurb can't deliver to recreational patients, but stay tuned: A note on their website suggests that it could happen next year.

Shred 22, a sativa-dominant hybrid noted for its "effervescent and motivating effects," is based on Sour Diesel, a popular sativa marijuana strain. And when opening up 22Red's signature jar, Shred 22 has that diesel smell. Users say the effects of the strain are cerebral, dreamlike, and energizing, making it a good choice for use in the morning prior to getting your day started. Shred 22 is part of 22Red, the cannabis business System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian's founded in California. It has since expanded to metro Phoenix (connecting with local cultivator Sonoran Roots), and its products can be found all over the Valley, including dispensaries such as Curaleaf.

Bubba Kush kept coming up in discussions at the Phoenix Cannabis Awards Music Festival in May. The attendees, cannabis connoisseurs of sorts, spoke on the classic and popular strain, saying it destresses them and helps knock them out when feeling restless in bed; the nutty, earthy, slightly sweet taste and coffee-esque aroma add to the calming effect. That sounds great to us. Since Bubba Kush is a perennial favorite — it stems from the Bubble Gum and Kush strains and has been around since the 1990s — plenty of local dispensaries carry it, including Arizona Natural Selections, Sunnyside Cannabis, and Local Joint by Zen Leaf.

Runtz is a hybrid flower that relaxes adult rec consumers and med patients alike. Originally from California, the difficult-to-obtain strain is now available in metro Phoenix. Local concertgoers able to smoke the meld of Gelato and Zkittlez say it provides a euphoric vibe that supposedly elevates the music experience to another dimension. It not only smells like tropical candy, but it also leaves a sweet aftertaste. The Leafly app awarded Runtz as the Strain of the Year in 2020, and a year later, it took first place at the High Times Medical Cup in Michigan in the Recreational Hybrid Flower division. Runtz is available at local dispensaries such as The Flower Shop, Sunday Goods, GreenPharms, and The Mint Cannabis.

System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian dropped his new line of 22Red concentrates — Papago Punch, Shred 22, Portuguese Kush, and K9 — in metro Phoenix in June. The "top-shelf and rockstar-approved" live resin concentrates are created with starting material supplied by Sonoran Roots, a Tempe- and Mesa-based cultivator. Also known as dab or wax, Odadjian's concentrates are sold in 1-gram increments in red-and-black-topped jars at dispensaries throughout the Valley, including CuraLeaf, Nirvana Center, The Flower Shop, and more. Locals say the Portuguese Kush sauce is a slightly sativa-leaning strain that provides a euphoric high perfect for just kickin' it on the couch.

For an upgrade on the traditional fruity pot gummy, check out Angry Errl. The medicated candy is made and sold by the folks at The Mint Cannabis, which has three locations in the Valley. The gummies are a blend of pineapple, mango, orange, and watermelon flavors, and are tossed in a sugar and spice mix, bringing a mix of heat and tangy-sweet flavors. Each package sells for $14 and contains 10 gummies in a 100 mg pack. You also get a small pouch of the sweet-spicy sugar mix and a lollipop for dipping. If you like the Angry Errl heat, the company also sells a line of weed-infused hot sauces in varieties like mild and hot buffalo, chamoy, and Sriracha.

Back before marijuana was legal in Arizona, we experienced plenty of homemade weed-infused baked goods, and none of them were what you could call tasty. So treats by Amy & Al's Edibles are practically a revelation. Amy & Al's has been on the local cannabis scene for a while, which has given them plenty of time to hone their baking and infusing skills. The company makes cookies, brownies, and truffles in a variety of dosages, plus other treats such as hard candies, gummies, and cannabis-infused honey. We regularly pick up the bags of mini cookies in flavors including snickerdoodle, chocolate chip, and peanut butter. At 10mg each, one is just the right dose for us, and all taste great. The chocolate brownie is the standout, though — rich and moist, we can't even taste the cannabis in the 100mg bar. Amy & Al's home dispensary is White Mountain Health Center, but you can find their products at dispensaries all over town by checking the website.

Truly, we are living in a golden age of cannabis innovation. First, they put THC into beverages. And now, Sweet Dreams Vineyard has taken the alcohol out of typically alcoholic drinks and swapped it for THC. The Scottsdale-based company offers two products, Cannabernet and Marijuarita, that mimic the taste of wine and margaritas, respectively, but without the alcohol that some consumers don't want. Instead, the two items are each sold in two sizes — 6.3-ounce and 25.4-ounce bottles — and each bottle comes in strengths ranging from 10 to 100 mg for the small size and 25 to 100 mg for the large size. The blueberry and pomegranate flavors shine in the Cannabernet, and the tartness of a margarita is on full display in the Marijuarita (that one is best served over ice). Both varieties are a great way to have a drink and achieve a relaxed state of mind without the booze.