Mrs. Hardy 420!: Educator Spotlight: Dillon Buckingham

Cannabis users will often tell you about how this plant helps open your mind; now that it is legal and there is an entire legitimate industry, we’re seeing it go even further than that. Legal cannabis is opening up the possibilities for the lives of each person involved in the 502 industry to be lived more real, more authentic, and still thrive in the real success of this market.

Career in 502 cannabis industry information from Budtender and educator Dillon Buckingham.

Dillon Buckingham, Educator and Budtender at The Evergreen Market shares his reasons for driving across the state to start a new life in the 502 industry.

Dillon Buckingham transplanted to the west side of Washington state after being born and raised in Spokane. “This is my first job in the legal cannabis industry– before this I was a car salesman,” he explained. Dillon thrives on providing people with exactly what they are looking for or needing and has a history in sales. This was the catalyst that brought him over the mountains.

“There’s a lot more opportunity in legal (cannabis) retail over here. In Spokane there’s more opportunity for growing or trimming jobs.” -Dillon Buckingham

After getting into the industry Dillon was hooked on digging deeper into the knowledge of this plant. He believes that having the ability to answer whatever questions customers might have on the sales floor works in tandem with creating a greater good for the world as a whole by decreasing the amount of misinformation that gets spread about cannabis. “Sometimes it’s less knowledgeable people that are leading raids and stuff because they’re misinformed.” He said citing the recent occurrence of non-cannabis shops being raided for carrying CBD product that’s hemp derived and free of THC.

“If the general knowledge of the public grows by even just 1%, that in itself is a victory of the educator position.”

Since becoming an educator it’s been humbling to Dillon to see the wide array of people who come in looking for cannabis for other reasons than to get high. That amount of people only increases as knowledge about cannabis becomes more readily available. “The amount is amazing. How many different things we can use it to help with.” Dillon, along with the rest of the educator group, are currently in the process of completing their medical consultation certification and will be even more equipped to handle this growing demographic. The amount of people realizing that the healthy alternative to some medications is cannabis, grows daily as the stigma around smoking weed disintegrates. We can see it inside of our stores, and Dillon gets the front row seat to watch it unfold in real time.

Now hold on, because I’m not saying that this educator doesn’t also have a healthy appreciation for some serious Cheech and Chong style smoke sessions.

When asked if he preferred dabs or flower, Dillon didn’t hesitate to answer “both” before going on to expand that he’s been dabbing more recently.

“My favorite consistency (for dabs) is a little bit wetter of a wax sauce on top of rocks, terps still in there but a nice crystal sort of consistency too.”

You can tell that Dillon is a flavor guy from what he prefers to dab off of- “quartz bangers from a rig, more low temp.” Not too low temp, though. He still likes to get some clouds from his dabs. “Not like red super hot, but I hate feeling like I’m wasting any of my dabs.” Dillon tends to opt for more chill, indica-associated affects from his high. When asked what his favorite strain was, Dillon answered with a big sigh, “that’s a tough one because I like variety in my life. Personally, I like to switch it up a lot, but if I had to pick one, the classic go-to for me is God’s Gift, but I like to get down all over the place with strains. Relaxed, chill, laid back, grounding.”

Indica-associated strains aren’t typically known for being a good option for getting out and being active, but when asked what his favorite strain and activity pairing is he had an answer at the ready. “Frankenstein and skiing. I just really liked it, it had a good euphoria while out in the snow. I’ve been skiing for a long time and am comfortable doing it, so I just really enjoyed it. Probably not good for someone new to skiing, but I really enjoyed it.”

When it comes to munchies Dillon’s first thought is pizza or teriyaki, “I’m not exactly healthy”, he said laughing through smoke. “There’s some better teriyaki over here,” he said comparing it to his hometown. He couldn’t let the westside have all the glory without a shoutout to Eastern WA. “Spokane has better cheeseburgers than here, though. The Dick’s over there is better.”

Dillon definitely feels the love in South Seattle as an important part of The Evergreen Market team. He currently works at the Renton Airport location on Rainier, but he’s at educator meetings every week at corporate where they strengthen the department and vision for what the greatest cannabis experience can be.

When asked if he had a mentor or role model in the industry, Dillon cited the founders of The Evergreen Market. “I really look up to our owners, starting Evergreen from scratch is amazing. That they brought their vision to fruition is inspiring and definitely something I admire.” Being a part of the educator program has put Dillon working a little more directly with Eric Gaston, one of the three founders.

“Being able to work more with Eric and learn some of his mantras and the way he thinks about things is amazing. The projects he leads, that I wouldn’t even think of as an owner, he has groups of people thinking about them. Being at the top of the pyramid and still being hands on and helping our success is just really awesome.”

With an industry that is becoming harder and harder to ignore due to it’s loud and fantastic success, there is going to be more people that turn away from the propaganda and embrace the possibilities of cannabis. When asked what cannabis might look like in 5-10 years Dillon replied, “I can see the health and wellness side of it attributing to it becoming more mainstream.” With things like cannabis treatments for disease, discomfort, and addiction, it’s no secret that we’re at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the power within this plant.