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We were the first medical cannabis dispensary to open in Chicago in December 2015. Recognizing that important work has come before us and is happening now within the larger culture of cannabis is a necessary part of living the Dispensary life. We know that we have to look to the past to understand the future of cannabis. Legalization only means that we work harder to achieve understanding and to create our own impact in cannabis.
Dispensary 33 opened on December 9th, 2015 to a crowd of 125 medical cannabis card-holders. For the first time, cannabis lovers found their community without persecution in this city. Morning crowds, elected officials and news crews were buzzing on Clark Street. Tears were shed and Dispensary 33 bags were raised triumphantly in the air. Cannabis legalization had finally made its way to Chicago.
2016 saw the first 4/20 celebration in the Illinois legal cannabis market. Our first 4/20 brought over 270 people on a single day, which was taken down with eight staff and two POS registers.
We served over 470 medical cannabis patients and put on Chicago’s first 4/20 festival, Waldo’s Forever Fest, as a celebration of cannabis and community.
On 2018’s 4/20, we served over 550 patients and over 3,000 people attended our second Waldos Forever Fest to enjoy music and talk about cannabis with Illinois’ cultivators.
We served over 750 medical cannabis patients while over 6,000 people attended our third Waldo’s Forever Fest 4/20 festival outside to celebrate cannabis with 30 local vendors, food trucks and Chicago artists. Big Freedia headlined the festival and local Chicago musicians, DJs, comedians and drag queens entertained the crowd of cannabis lovers throughout the day.
Cannabis is legalized in Illinois. Over 1,300 customers shopped while 25 employees inside, 14 employees outside, and neighboring businesses worked nonstop to create a memorable day for the city of Chicago. The mayor’s office held a press conference directly outside our doors with State Senators and Representatives who wrote the law seeing it come to fruition.
March 2020 With the State’s Shelter-In-Place orders to overcome COVID-19, our operations switched dramatically overnight to a preorder-only system to protect the safety of our staff and customers.
April 2020 We converted our annual 420 Waldo’s Forever Fest to a virtual #420inplace with over 3,000 viewers and various community members. Personalities from the cannabis community in Chicago showcased their talents by blowing glass, rolling blunts and performing drag on camera for people to celebrate #420InPlace from home.
Dispensary 33 aspires to be a good neighbor and conscientious ally to the community, from providing free cannabis to patients in financial need, to working with local artists. Learn more about our involvement in arts & culture throughout Chicago.
Learn MoreEvery single product we sell at Dispensary 33 is researched, tasted and tested before it reaches our shelves to ensure that growers’ production methodologies are aligned with industry best practices. Strain lineage and lab results are elements that tell a plant’s story. However, in order to fully understand each product, it has to be seen, felt, and smelled.
Displaying cannabis product is a crucial part of our philosophy and how we show our appreciation of the cannabis plant. Our first commitment to quality and customer service is to display actual cannabis product for our purchasers: something that no other dispensary in Illinois has done. Illinois law strictly states that any open product within the dispensary must be destroyed within a week. We worked with architect Jaime Magaliff to create compliant, custom-designed display orbs to display every product we sell, both in-store and online.
The outermost sepal, or “calyx”, structures of the bud should not be stacked on top of each other (known as “foxtailing”), or loosely grouped together (known as “larfy”). These traits indicate that the growing conditions were suboptimal - usually due to excessive heat and/or humidity.
Curing is among the most important factors in producing quality flower. On one hand, if flower is dried too quickly, the buds will become brittle. This can lead to a harsh smoke with less flavor and effect. On the other hand, overly wet flower will create a grassy- or hay-like smell and will be susceptible to mold during long-term storage.
Bud size reveals how a grower sorts and grades harvested flower. Larger buds, known as “colas”, come from the top of the plant and are closer to the light source. These buds are generally more potent and have a greater density of trichomes than smaller buds which are found on the bottom half of the cannabis plant and are generally less potent.
No color is inherently better than another. Although each strain has an ideal range of appearance, color can be indicative of plant placement in a grow facility. Buds that are located closer to the top will present more vibrant colors that help distinguish that particular strain.
Variety is created by understanding which differences are important and should be highlighted. All products are not created equal and should be treated as such. Each product we carry serves a purpose within a range of medicinal and aesthetic qualities. We strive for the highest quality of that product type on the market and do not settle for less.
We often pass on strains that excites us in general, but which display poor lab results. The strain and genetics that a grower uses only tells us the potential; how the plant was cultivated will determine whether or not its potential was met. We only carry strains that reach their genetic potential.
Over time, oxidation degrades THC and reduces moisture content. At D33, we realize this affects the quality of its medicinal properties and the effects experienced after consumption. With a narrower strain selection and a stock of products in constant rotation, we ensure everything we sell is as fresh as possible. Nothing sits on the shelves.
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