budtender

Blend of bud +‎ bartender.

budtender (plural budtenders)

1. A recreational or medical cannabis dispensary worker who sells and is knowledgeable about various marijuana products
   • 2004 Jul 2, Henry K. Lee, 'Medical pot users say they won't stop - Legal impact: Consensus is enforcement won't increase', San Francisco Chronicle (p. B5):

     "You can call me the bud tender," the white-coated Arrow said as he offered patients their choice of 13 different kinds of marijuana, in addition to such goodies as chocolate-flavored cannabis bars.

   • 2005, Dean E. Murphy, "California Reins In Clinics Using Marijuana for Medical Purposes", The New York Times, 15 June 2005:

     The so-called budtenders who work behind large glass display cases provide assistance in selecting the best strain. All of them are medical marijuana users, and they typically are medicated while working.

   • 2013, Jenny Kleeman, "Cannabis: Colorado's budding industry", The Guardian, 17 May 2013:

     As a registered medical marijuana patient – for a chronic stomach condition – he has to show ID every time he goes into a dispensary, and fears he'd get special treatment if the "budtenders" knew they were serving the influential critic.

   • 2014, Lynd Bui & Dana Hedgpeth, "Marijuana-infused candy found in Prince George’s County", The Washington Post, 31 October 2014:

     Oak Peak is a “budtender” at the Giving Tree of Denver, a marijuana dispensary that sells such edibles as Karma Kandy.

   • For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:budtender.