A new dispensary is trying a novel approach to selling marijuana. Weed and Read is bringing together stoners and bookworms, and the owner says there’s a surprising amount of overlap between the two groups.
“The name ‘Weed and Read’ has been well received,” says owner Elizabeth Johnson. “People love it. They absolutely love it.”
Johnson’s face should be familiar to anyone who’s lived in Albuquerque. Her family has run Don’s Paperback Book Exchange on San Mateo Blvd. since 1971. She says the idea for a book-themed dispensary came to her while she was considering what to do with the empty property next to the bookstore that she bought a few years ago.
“We rented it a couple times, but it didn’t work out,” says Johnson. “I’m just not that kind of person. I can’t tell people what to do.”
After working through a handful of renters, Johnson was struck by the idea. “At that point, we could see that the medical marijuana industry was doing pretty well, and we knew it was going to go recreational,” she says. “Then in 2021, when it did go recreation, we said, ‘This is it. We’re committing to this. We are absolutely committing to this.’”
The space has undergone quite a face lift since its previous life as a T-Mobile retail shop. Johnson has decorated the showroom to look like a luxurious Victorian bank, featuring warm lighting, somber hardwood floors, leather seating and gold trim. She’s also installed a gorgeous pressed bronze ceiling and quaint, old-fashioned teller cages to enhance the mood. There’s even a slot machine to entertain waiting guests.
“It took us several years to accomplish all of that,” says Johnson. “Just my daughter Grace and I were doing it with the help of some handy little friends.”
But what really sets Weed and Read apart from other dispensaries is, of course, the books.
“We’re slowly filling in our books,” says Johnson.
Customers are encouraged to pay as much attention to the book inventory as they do the weed. Johnson says the stock will come from books that don’t quite fit the atmosphere of Don’s Paperback Book Exchange. “It’s going to be more adult-leaning books — like pulps from the ’60s and some ’50s Playboys and some vintage books,” she says. “All kinds of stuff that we really can’t display properly in here, because the bookstore is a real family-oriented shop.”
Johnson says that books aren’t the only thing that distinguishes her dispensary from others, though. “We’re working toward an all encompassing cannabis shop that’s geared towards people who are literary,” she says, “and also people who maybe not feel comfortable in some of the more modern shops with hip hop themes going on inside.”
She says the shop is built to cater to an older crowd that may not feel at home in the current over-the-top marijuana culture. “We’re looking towards getting our little ladies and little guys from the bookstore,” she says.
Weed and Read currently carries flower and some edibles with plans to expand into concentrates and other products in the near future. “It’s going slow, but we consistently have flower for sale right now, which is what our main main focus is,” she says. “With our customers, that’s something they’re super familiar with.”
One unique policy of Weed and Read that should receive special attention is its commitment to privacy. Johnson says that buyer data will never be shared with outside parties, and customers can expect a high level of discretion when it comes to their personal data.
“The state of New Mexico allows you to do anonymous sales,” she says, “so we’re not keeping track of people’s names and addresses, phone numbers, ages — any of that. That way people can have a little more confidence when purchasing things.” She says that some consumers are uncomfortable with the state tracking cannabis from seed to the consumer’s doorstep, and the shop’s anonymous sales policy gives people confidence.
“It’s up to you if you want to tell me what your name is,” she says. “Businesses do that for a very specific reason. They want to harvest information.” Harvesting data has become a critical component for a successful business these days. When a company has a big enough database, it can sell it to a variety of data brokers. “To me, that is a betrayal of trust for our clients,” says Johnson.
The policy is based around her principles. “I value privacy,” she says. “I can’t have as much as I’d like to have because I have a business, but I respect other people’s right to have privacy.”
Johnson will collect emails from customers if they wish to be notified about sales and events, though. “I think we have about 2,000 people in our email list right now,” she says, “and that’s never going to be for sale. That’s private information.”
She also plans to set up a reward program for return customers but will be using more traditional methods of data collecting to ensure her customers’ privacy. “In the bookstore, we have index cards — three by five index cards — that we work with,” says Johnson. “So there’s nothing on the computer that would allow anyone to access that data.”
Johnson says fears of having cannabis sales tracked might lead some people to turn to the black market and that more businesses should do away with the practice of data harvesting.
“There’s all kinds of people who don’t want to give that information out or can’t give that information out because they’d lose their job,” she says. “So why not be decent about it and not steal people’s information, make a profit off of it, and then say, ‘Oh, well, it’s just the game of business.’
“It sounds a little crazy and paranoid, but I really feel pretty strongly about taking care of people as best I can,” says Johnson. “I’m very concerned about my customers. It’s that kind of environment here at the shop that we deeply care for our customers, and I think they recognize that. We have had really good employees here who take care of the customers and will always go out of their way to help folks outside do things that need to be done to make it a better space to live.”
Weed and Read is located at 1017 San Mateo Blvd. SE.