As this the first year that recreational marijuana is legal during CES, we wanted to check out this booming business on the ground here in Las Vegas.
Upon our arrival we were blown away by the massive size of the Reef Dispensaries building. This is no ordinary pot shop. Tryke, its parent company, also grows and processes a slew of organic cannabis strains for sale right here on site.
A short walk from the parking lot will get you to the customer entrance.
There are two options -- this line for quick order fulfillment if you know what you want.
You can browse the menu on screen here as you wait in line.
Or in the next room, you'll find a more thorough browsing experience.
Reef sells all sorts of cannibis products and paraphernalia.
Along the counters are various strains in jars with nifty sniff-through caps and property description tags.
You lift a little rubber stopper that reveals holes in the jar's cap so you can smell the strains. This keeps the cannibis on display from being contaminated by being handled directly by curious customers.
A multi-page menu will give you pricing and more information on what's available.
The amount of data available to the shopper is a bit overwhelming.
I asked the representatives what their top 5 favorites were, and they said these were the ones that most frequently sell out.
The woman behind the counter told me Khalifa Kush is their best seller.
These all smelled pretty nice, if you ask me.
I was surprised to find that the top sellers all lean to the Indica side of the spectrum.
Indica weed is typically known for a more relaxed "stuck to the couch" type of high.
Blue Dream is their top-selling Sativa strain.
They were kind enough to let me back behind the counter to get some closer shots of the various products.
As with most dispensaries, edible products are popular here, too.
A drink case full of various recommended pairings and something called Hemp2O.
This beverage comes in a variety of tasty-sounding flavors.
The souvenir shirts will set you back a pretty penny.
Fridges full of edibles sit behind the counter for easy access.
If you're into edibles, there is no shortage of options here.
Here's a display case with some edibles and other various products on view.
Pretty much any sort of product you can think of has been infused in one way or another.
"Feel it faster with NXT" is printed on these CannaPunch bottles.
Various candies adorn the shelves.
According to the staff, candy is a top seller in the edible realm.
Who knew there were so many uses for this stuff?
The staff were super-friendly, knowledgeable, and seem to enjoy working here. Not a bad-smelling place to work.
All sales are done in cash, so naturally this ATM sees a lot of use.
There are security guards who monitor the store at all times.
The tables were inspired by Apple stores. Everyone who buys something leaves with a nifty reusable bag.
What's this? We can get shots of the growing facilities too? Yes, please!
Darin Carpenter, director of cultivation for Tryke Companies, graciously gave us a tour behind the scenes. Tryke Companies is the parent company to Reef Dispensaries, and the in-house brand grown on site.
Of course, we did don the lab coats as requested.
Reef Dispensaries grows most of the cannibis it sells in house, and that is why the facility is so huge.
We start our tour with a room of plants at a relatively early stage.
Everything is labeled and organized.
There are 26 different grow rooms in this facility. Each one contains plants at various stages.
Another happy employee!
Here you can see plants that are further along in their growth.
This guy was managing an array of tasks throughout the facility.
The plants here are totally organic, fertilized with enzymes that aid growth. The explanation was a bit complex, but here you can see a few of the products used.
Harvested cannibis flowers are hanging to dry in bundles.
Tryke Companies, the production division, will take this cannabis and process it for sale in various products and as buds for smoking.
There he is again!
This room is being turned over for a fresh set of plants after the harvest of the last batch.
Reef Dispensaries' operation here was designed for efficiency to reduce the carbon footprint, specifically with regard to the cooling system.
As you may know, Las Vegas is also a bit short on water.
They filter and reuse 70 percent of the water used for growing plants here.
This is where they keep the very valuable "breeder" plants. If one of these dies, the strain is dead.
This one is called Cherry Louis. And that, my friends, ended the tour!