Trulieve [Reviewing This Florida Based Dispensary]

The state of Florida legalized medical marijuana in 2016. Initially, smokable cannabis was illegal under the terms of Amendment 2. However, a Leon County Circuit Court Judge ruled that the ban on smoking marijuana was unconstitutional in May 2018. Governor DeSantis signed a bill into law removing the prohibition of smokable cannabis products in March 2019.

This is good news for Floridian MMJ patients, of which there were over 306,000 in 2020. Users of medical marijuana in the state are spoiled for choice with a huge number of dispensaries.

Trulieve is one of the largest licensed MMJ operators in Florida, but does it provide the services that patients need? Let’s find out more.

Trulieve Pros

• An enormous range of products.
• Helps connect patients with cannabis-friendly doctors.
• Almost 80 dispensaries in Florida alone.
• Its expansion is helping local communities.
• Offers a delivery service.
• Useful blog information and details on how to apply for an MMJ card in Florida.
• Lots of discounts and rewards for customers.

 Trulieve Cons

• Currently has a BBB rating of F.
• A concerning number of customer service complaints.

Who Are Trulieve?

Trulieve aims to make things easy for MMJ cardholders in Florida wishing to purchase medical marijuana. Its mission is to provide compassionate care that patients can trust when traditional medicine isn’t doing enough. It has specially trained staff that work with patients’ physicians to ensure they get the right products and dosage.

At the time of writing, Trulieve had 79 dispensaries dotted across Florida.

At the time of writing, Trulieve had 79 dispensaries dotted across Florida. A handful are not yet open but are slated to start serving customers in the near future.

While the company is associated with MMJ in Florida, it has expanded. Trulieve now has a dispensary in California and another in Connecticut. It is also planning to open businesses in Massachusetts soon.

Its Florida dispensaries are dotted far and wide, in cities such as:

• Orlando
• Petersburg
• Gainesville
• Jacksonville
• Tampa
• Miami
• Pensacola
• Tallahassee

Trulieve tries very hard to be more than a mere seller of cannabis. It connects patients with doctors, provides useful information about MMJ in its blog, and offers an array of video content. However, first and foremost, it is a cannabis dispensary chain, so let’s see what’s on offer.

Trulieve – Current Products

Trulieve currently sells a vast array of marijuana products, including:

• Vape pens & cartridges
• Concentrates
• Tinctures
• Edibles
• Capsules
• Topicals
• Accessories
• Cannabis flower

There are hundreds of products in total, so you’re almost certain to find what you need. Trulieve sells desktop vaporizers, starter vape pens, and a variety of THC oil cartridges. It also provides an array of topicals, including sunscreen with a THC to CBD ratio of 1:1. This is an extremely useful purchase for Florida residents!

There is a significant number of Trulieve branded products such as TruNano Gels and TruPod. You can learn more about these products on the official company website. Once you go on the site, it lets you know what dispensaries are near your location. Then the site provides an outline of what that particular dispensary sells. Therefore, you won’t be disappointed to find that a product you like is out of stock.

Trulieve also provides a delivery service.

Licensed dispensaries are obligated to test all products, and Trulieve meets all state regulations. A third-party lab tests its products, and it claims that none of its products have ever failed testing.

You can easily find out the test results for any given product you buy. Enter the SKU number into the Trulieve product test search page.

Find a Doctor & Schedule an Appointment

Trulieve not only sells an array of medical marijuana products but also connects patients with physicians. Its ‘Find a Doctor’ page provides a list of cannabis-friendly physicians. While you’re not guaranteed to be successful, these doctors are more likely than most to give you approval.

The site also provides a quick outline of how to get an MMJ card in Florida. Here is a quick overview:

• Schedule an appointment, preferably with one of the physicians on the Find a Doctor list. Your doctor will enter your personal information along with the dosage recommendation into Florida’s Medical Marijuana Use Registry.
• Go online or visit the Florida Office of Medical Marijuana Use to apply.
• Once you are approved, visit one of Trulieve’s dispensaries. The company will fill your order based on your physician’s dosage recommendation. Make sure you bring an ID with your full name and DOB. You must also bring your state-issued MMJ card or the approval email you received from the Office of Medical Marijuana Use.

You can download the MMJ application form on the Trulieve website.

Become a Licensed MMJ Doctor in Florida

Trulieve also provides physicians with the information they need to become licensed to provide compassionate care. Here is a quick overview of the process:

• Complete the Florida Medical Association’s specific course and examination on medical marijuana. It only takes two hours, but you have to complete the course and exam each time you renew your medical license.
• After obtaining your certificate upon completing the course, your name is added to the Medical Marijuana Use Registry as an authorized physician.
• Make sure you contact your Florida Department of Health’s CE Broker to inform them that you have your certificate.
• Create a profile in the registry. You need your social security and medical license numbers for this step.
• Once you evaluate a patient’s condition and deem them eligible for medical marijuana, you need their written informed consent or consent from their legal representative.
• Finally, log into the registry, add the new patient’s details and dosage recommendation.

Trulieve Controversy

This brand is willing to fly in the face of the law to help patients in need of medical marijuana. Remember, it was illegal to smoke cannabis products in Florida until 2019. Dispensaries were allowed to sell extracts and oils only as edibles were also illegal.

However, Trulieve effectively ignored the law by selling whole-flower cannabis in May 2017. According to its CEO, Kim Rivers, the company was selling whole-leaf products in various forms since 2016. Patients could use dry herb vaporizers to consume these products.

Trulieve was also the first dispensary brand in Florida to sell smokable cannabis products once the ban was lifted.

At the time, Rivers was adamant that whole-leaf products were essential for patients to benefit from the ‘entourage effect.’ This states that cannabinoids work better together rather than in isolate form.

It doesn’t seem as if the brand got into much trouble with the law. Trulieve was also the first dispensary brand in Florida to sell smokable cannabis products once the ban was lifted officially. It did so just three days after Governor DeSantis signed the bill into law!

How Trulieve’s Expansion Is Helping Communities

Some patients believe Trulieve is one of the few organizations intent on doing good things within the greater medical cannabis community. It became the largest private employer in Gadsden County when it expanded there a few years ago.

Gadsden County was one of the areas affected most by this past decade’s global recession. Its poverty rate is over 25%, with a median income of below $39,000. The county lost three significant employers during the recession. Therefore, Trulieve’s growth is extremely encouraging and could be what the county needs to get back on its feet.

Trulieve’s popularity was apparent when it opened a new medical marijuana registry in June 2018 in New Port Richey. There was a line of 150 patients waiting outside for the grand opening! It was Pasco County’s first cannabis dispensary and provided further evidence that the brand is spreading successfully across the state.

Problems with Trulieve

On the surface, everything seems great. Trulieve offers a huge array of products and has dispensaries all across Florida, with a couple in other states. It even has an array of special offers. For instance, patients get up to 15% off their first order. Also, you can get $75 off with a $150 purchase on your second visit. There is even a loyalty program where points equal pot.

However, not everything is as rosy as it seems. One criticism of Trulieve is that its rapid expansion means its inventory is a little light in some locations. There are also complaints that the brand is rushing to bring in untrained staff to meet market expansion.

A bigger problem is the number of customer complaints online. Its BBB rating is currently ‘F,’ which means it isn’t accredited. While this rating isn’t affected by customer reviews, the BBB does outline a catalog of complaints. Most of them relate to problems with a product or service.

One customer claims that Trulieve sells to its employees first, thus exhausting the supply to MMJ patients. Others say the standard of customer service is subpar; this is perhaps down to the unprepared, poorly trained staff.

Final Thoughts on Trulieve

There is a lot to like about Trulieve. It provides an immense array of products, so you’ll likely find whatever you need. With almost 80 locations in Florida alone, you probably live close to one.

If you’re unable to pick up your order, you can have it delivered, and its website looks professionally designed. New customers can avail of numerous discounts and rewards, and it seems as if Trulieve is going to expand further. The brand even helps you find a doctor that’s likely to give you MMJ approval. It also outlines how to apply for your MMJ card and offers plenty of useful cannabis-related information on its site.

New customers can avail of numerous discounts and rewards, and it seems as if Trulieve is going to expand further.

However, the significant number of customer complaints is a genuine concern. It is very much a mixed bag ranging from satisfied patients to those who will never use Trulieve again. Also, the brand gets low ratings from those who previously worked there.

It seems like Trulieve needs to train its staff better, perhaps implementing a more robust induction scheme. Maybe it needs to change its hiring process. With so much invested in various company areas, it would be a shame to ruin it all by neglecting the most important aspect of any business: good customer service.

Verdict: 8/10