Medical marijuana dispensary review: Urban Cannabis on South Downing

I stopped by Urban Cannabis last year, but never ended up writing a review about it. At the time, they didn't have much on their shelves from their own garden, and what they did have was overpriced and not worth the digital ink to report. This time around, the shop was in full swing, with stocked shelves and lowered prices.

Urban Cannabis

Location: 2383 South Downing Street
Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily
Website: www.urbancannabis.com
Phone: 720-379-3816
Manager: Dave Crook
Opened: New owners took over in June 2010.
Raw marijuana price range: $25 to $50 an eighth.
Other types of medicine: Assorted edibles, Co2 oils.
Handicap accessible? Yes.

My second visit to Urban Cannabis came after one of my many hundreds of drives to Crown Burger Plus next door. I figured that if I didn't like the dispensary, my commute to the DU area would still be worthwhile for the artery-stopping joy of a greasy Pioneer Burger and fries. Thankfully, both were worth the trip.

The two businesses are located in a little strip center a few blocks north of Porter Hospital and west of the University of Denver neighborhood and campus -- prime location for college students and sick people. I noticed the shop for the first time mostly because of the black tile on the front of the space, making it stand out from the 1950s-era storefronts nearby. The Darth Vader facade comes off as too modern for the surroundings and unfortunately doesn't reflect the warm, relaxed and casual vibe going on inside the dispensary.

It was a beautiful day when I stopped by, and the front door of the dispensary was wide open to let fresh air in. There wasn't anyone waiting in front of me, so I was able to get my paperwork copied and head through to the back pretty quickly. Though I spent little time in it, the waiting room was comfy and clean, with a couple of black couches and stacks of magazines on the end table.

Urban Cannabis made headlines recently with their "Cans for Cones" food drive. The goal was to collect 2,000 pounds of food by 4/20 to donate to both Metro CareRing and A Community Taking a Stand, also known as ACTS. As the event got press, Metro CareRing apparently didn't like being associated with medical marijuana and refused the donations. ACTS did accept the gifts, and since March 1, more than 1,700 pounds of food have been donated by Urban Cannabis patients. There were literally pounds of greens (and carrots and peas) piled up in a corner when I made my way back to the bud bar.

Leading me there was my budtender, Daniel, who gave me the rundown on the food drive and took me straight over to the glass-countertop bud bar. The bud room is a long, narrow place, and the shop is leaving a lot of space unused -- or at least it wasn't used when I was in. The herb was kept in half-gallon glass jars in the counter, each labeled with names but not pricing -- which wasn't ever really clear to me. The sign on the wall in the waiting room said something about $55 top-shelf meds, but my budtender said all top-shelf meds (of which there was only one) were $50. The rest ranged in price from $30 to $40 the day I was in, but they didn't seem to be in any order, unless I missed a sign (which is equally likely, considering I had medicated before lunch).

The first selection he brought up was Urban Cannabis's signature strain, Cherry Cola. An indica-dominant strain, apparently, but the grower won't give out any information on the genetics or clones of the plant. With the uniqueness comes a higher price tag, unfortunately, and the Cherry Cola is the only $50/eighth strain the shop carries. Other strains, like the $40 Barney, with it's sugary, grape-colored golf-ball nuggets, were more affordable. The shop had a pungent Super Silver Lights and a healthy-looking jar of Banana Kush. Also interesting was the pain-killing Harlequin, which was 10.4 percent CBD in tests conducted by the shop. The deep-green strain smelled like peach candy, and I regret not taking home a sample of this unique cut to try out this week.

The usual medicated treats, chips and Cheeba Chews were on the counter, as well as a small display of Co2 oils. But otherwise the shop seemed pretty focused on the herb itself.

See what William took home after the jump.