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Talking THC with Whole Leaf Dispensary, FlowerCraft Dispensary and Event Center, and Bong Boutique

Whole Leaf was one of the Tulsa-area’s first dispensaries to open and carries a wide variety of products, all of which are lab-tested. The shop at 91st Street and Yale Avenue also offers discounts and daily deals—all products will be 15 percent off on 4/20—along with a rewards program for customers. Whole Leaf owner Ryan Sheehan talked with TTV to give some perspective and insight into the cannabis industry, including important information for first-time medicators.

The Tulsa Voice: What’s the difference between sativa and indicia?

Ryan Sheehan: Indicia for most people is going to be more sedative. It’s going to relax you, whereas a sativa—once again this is for most people—it’s going to be more uplifting and energetic. So a lot of people, if they differentiate between a day and night medicine cycle, they’ll do sativa during the day and indicia at night.

TTV: Can you talk about some specific strains you carry?

Sheehan: Right now it’s limited as far as carrying strains week-to-week. It’s just what the growers are producing right now, and as you can get it, you get it. Our hope is to eventually work with growers to be able to say, “Here’s the six or eight we regularly have,” and then bring in exotic strains as that capability arises … The vast majority of the market right now is hybrid. A true sativa, true indicia, it’s kind of hard to find nowadays because there has been so much cross breeding to try and increase root stock and potency and stuff like that, so you get a lot of hybrids.

TTV: What sets Whole Leaf apart from other dispensaries?

Sheehan: Being tested, that’s kind of one of the differentiating factors. We do the testing, whereas others may not be doing that. We can provide testing [results] to whoever needs it.

TTV: It looks like you guys have one of the biggest varieties of products in Tulsa.

Sheehan: Oh yeah, we’ve been around since November, so I think we’re light-years ahead in many aspects of other dispensaries, especially ones that are just getting on now reaching out [to growers] on Instagram or Facebook for flower.

TTV: The products you carry have to be from Oklahoma, right?

Sheehan: If it’s medicated, if it has THC or medical marijuana in it, it has to come from inside the state. Imagine there’s a giant wall all around [Oklahoma]. It all has to come from inside the wall. … Originally all we had was flower. When we opened, we had four varieties of flower, and it was probably a couple weeks in before we started getting [wax] cartridges, so in the industry, the supply outstrips some of the demand. It gets sent off to a processing facility, and that’s where you start getting all these non-dried flower products.

FlowerCraft Dispensary and Event Center

FlowerCraft Co. is hitting the ground running with ideas on how to turn Tulsa’s “Flower District”—a collection of growing cannabis-related businesses located at 26th Street and Sheridan Road—into a thriving community for marijuana patients. In addition to the already-open Coweta and Tulsa dispensaries, FlowerCraft Event Center will round out the brand, giving a venue option public relations manager Joanna Francisco calls “788-friendly,” meaning licensed patients can consume cannabis on the premises.

The venue has already held some private events, but their grand opening will be part of the Flower District’s 4/20 festivities. The free event marks the grand opening of two other Flower District shops, Bong Boutique and White Rabbit Medicinals. Several local artists will be on hand for the high holiday extravaganza.

FlowerCraft founders Shawn and Lauren Jenkins weren’t necessarily planning to start a cannabis business, much less three. Shawn, a disabled combat veteran and former teacher, was instrumental in the passage of State Question 788, working on the Yes to 788 political action committee and taking trips to the Capitol to talk with lawmakers. The couple has four children, two of whom have epilepsy, so the issue of having access to medical marijuana is more than close to home with them—it’s their life.

Shawn and Lauren were planning to just grow medicine for their family at their home out in the country, but their entrepreneurial spirit led them to launch a bigger idea that has morphed into two dispensaries and an event center.

“Balancing time and family right now is extra hard, but thankfully we have an incredible team and our staff helps us tremendously,” Lauren Jenkins said. “Usually we have to tag-team, with one of us taking care of the kids and handling business remotely, and the other up at the offices taking care of administrative duties. Of course, we will be happy to take a breather in the next few months and get back to focusing on our family!”

Both dispensaries offer an array of products like bud, wax, and edibles, including cannabis-infused Ghee, said Chassidy Saffell, a lead budtender at the Tulsa location.

All the flower at FlowerCraft is lab-tested, and the budtenders can give you more information about the cannabinoids that make up various strains.

“We hope to have our own line of concentrates rolling out within the next few months, and then by this time next year we hope we can have a whole host of products like edibles, tinctures and even our own flower,” Lauren Jenkins said.

Bong Boutique

Don’t call it a head shop. The women who run Bong Boutique offer products for the discerning cannabis user, from glassware to handmade gifts. It’s not a dispensary, so no need for a medical card, though you need to be 18 to get in the door.

Gorgeous hand-blown bongs are displayed in the spacious showroom like works of art. The boutique carries popular brands like Grav Labs, Six B Glass, and Yocan. Friendly employees will be on hand to share their knowledge and help you go home with the perfect piece.

Other highlights include specialty items like CBD pet treats, hemp-infused canned drinks, and Magical Butter Machine, which looks like an instant pot and can infuse herbs with butter, oil, and grain alcohol.

It’s also a great place to grab a handmade gift. The store carries handmade jewelry and clothing items, including an all-natural hemp line from Brianna Masingale called Sew Conscious.

Rather than having to stop at a shady head shop jam-packed with an overwhelming amount of options, store manager Jesserea Morgan and co-owners Nicole Holt and Brandice Aitken strive to provide a unique and inclusive shopping experience for everyone.

“We want everyone to feel safe when they come in,” Morgan said.

Bong Boutique will have their grand opening at the Flower District shopping center’s 4/20 party at 2606 S. Sheridan Rd.

By the numbers

• 3 oz. – amount of flower patients can have on their person at any given time
• 6 – number of mature plants a patient can possess
• 6 – number of seedling plants a patient can possess
• 1 oz – amount of concentrated marijuana patients can have on their person at any given time
• 72 oz. – amount of edible marijuana patients can possess
• 8 oz. – amount of flower patients can have at their residence
• 1.5 oz. – amount of marijuana non-licensed patients that can state a medical condition can have on their person without getting a felony
• $400 – maximum fine for misdemeanor marijuana possession
• $100 – application fee for a medical marijuana license
• $20 – application fee for a medical marijuana license for Medicaid, Medicare, or SoonerCare patients
• $2,500 – application fee for a retail, growing,or processing license
• 25 – minimum age required to get a retail, growing, or processing license
• 1,000 ft. – minimum distance retail establishments must keep from schools
• 7 percent – tax on retail sales
• 75 percent – amount of surplus tax revenue that goes to fund common education
• 25 percent – amount of surplus tax revenue that goes to fund drug and alcohol rehabilitation