April 4, 2022
Dreamland Weed Storefront in DC
The Dreamland weed storefront represents the very worst of the DC recreational market. They sold us chemically sprayed hemp and passed it off as weed. They should be shut down.
What’s going on with Dreamland Smoke Boutique’s ‘weed’ is heinous. They are selling people $40 eighths of buds that look fire but have a chemical taste, and horrible buzz.
Their ‘bud’-tender tried to warn our shopper that we wouldn’t like the biscotti as much as some other strains. But we rarely see $40 eighths in the DC recreational pot market, so we wanted to see what quality it was.
Is Dreamland Legit? Nope–They Sell Delta 8 Though
After a hit or two from a joint of this stuff, which they passed off as ‘biscotti’, our testers got nauseous and said it didn’t taste or feel like weed. Naturally, we got the rest of our team to test it and we all agreed that something chemically was going on.
Several members of our team speculated it could be delta-8 sprayed onto hemp, synthetic weed (a la K2), or even fentanyl-laced mids. The resulting buzz was heart racing, nauseating, and deeply concerning.
It’s kind of like if you’re expecting to take a drink of water and it tastes like Sprite. Except instead of Sprite, it tastes like poison.
Sprayed ‘Weed’: Delta 8 Distillate Hemp Explained
To understand the odd, fake weed received, we researched the topic more. There are many such reports on Reddit that some companies have sold people fake weed, chemically tasting bud or otherwise un-legit stuff.
What you’re getting at places like Dreamland Smoke Boutique, is most likely delta-8 distillate that’s been sprayed onto CBD flower, or hemp.
Delta-8, for the uninitiated, is a naturally occurring compound found in hemp and cannabis. Naturally, it’s found in small quantities.
Delta-8 products on the market are mostly derived from CBD found in hemp plants, through a chemical conversion.
This makes it legal under the 2018 Farm Bill, which effectively redefined marijuana as a controlled substance with 0.3% delta-9 THC by weight. Any derivatives of cannabis that have lower than 0.3% delta-9 THC by weight are legal.
This means hemp, CBD, delta-8, delta-10 and more are all federally legal under this law.
Why Did The Hemp Fool Our Staff?
The fake Backpack Boyz bags didn’t fool us but the bag appeal of the nugs did.
Hemp and marijuana are the same species of plant, and the distinction is a legal one–marijuana is, as per the law, cannabis with over 0.3% THC by dry weight. Interestingly, cannabis grows all over the world and has a vastly rich genetic pool from which seed breeders can select traits.
Because of this, breeders have crossed THC heavy strains with hemp plants to produce fire-looking, CBD-heavy hemp. Take a look at the images on this hemp seed website to understand how good these plants look.
Long story short, the CBD-heavy hemp that our shoppers were given looked great.
Is What They’re Doing Dangerous?
Intentionally passing off sprayed hemp as normal weed is a reckless betrayal of the customer. In a functioning market, they would be harshly penalized for this.
There’s good reason to be concerned when the cannabis you get has an off-putting, chemical taste. In the past, synthetic weeds have contained lethal chemicals such as brodifacoum–a rat poison.
But synthetics usually look more like a pile of grain than beautiful nugs. The owners must have thought they could undercut their competition severely and crank up their profit margins by slanging Delta-8 sprayed hemp.
All they needed to do was follow along with one of the many articles on how to make delta-8 sprayed hemp flower. 5 simple steps!
Needless to say, as consumers, we were displeased.
Going To Jail or To The Top?
Many google reviews claim this place will be shut down soon, for selling gas station CBD and passing it off as weed. They should be shut down but it’s not clear that’s happening–instead they’re expanding, according to their Instagram.
Dreamland Smoke Boutique claims on their Instagram that they have 2 locations now, with the new one being in Adam’s Morgan.
View this post on Instagram
We investigated and found that, yes indeed, they are open at this second location.
So we sent another shopper there and this time–for experiment’s sake, we ordered a $60 eighth.
Our Findings: Fake Weed at Both Locations
Even for $60, this business doesn’t have the respect to give customers real weed. Instead, what was received again, was delta-8 sprayed hemp nugs.
We were shocked that even at $60, they were passing off fake weed as the real deal. The hemp nugs looked great too! Shame.
The ‘Blue Gotti’ delta-8 hemp from Dreamland is and will remain, unsmoked.
“Terrible high. It looked fuego, but it wasn’t. Can’t finish it. No Interest. I think it was CBD sprayed with something,” our testers said.
They don’t appear to be the most popular vendor–you won’t find them advertising on Gentleman Toker, or other pay-to-play review sites.
Still, they must be profiting so much on one-time, foot traffic sales of their fake weed that they can afford to expand operations.
Ownership there is enriching themselves by defrauding customers.
Their Customer Service Could Be Worse
They would have some positive qualities to talk about if those weren’t overshadowed by their blatant fraud. For instance, the second secret shopper we sent said the staff was friendly.
Our shopper didn’t feel as rushed at Dreamland as during his No Kids Allowed visit. We’re told the staff was casual and welcoming but not very professional.
This is a huge scandal and in a sane world, it would create a hostile business environment for Dreamland. If the word gets around that they’re selling sprayed hemp and passing it off as fire cannabis, their reputation will be finished.
If you’ve been to Dreamland, give them an honest review here.
Stay Away From Dreamland Weed Storefronts
We don’t hate Dreamland for selling delta-8. By all means, it’s being sold across the country at gas stations. Delta-8 has its merits.
But misleading your patrons and giving them fake weed is a whole new low, even for the DC recreational pot market.
On Tuesday, D.C. Council will vote on whether or not to shut down businesses that gift weed.
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson wants to send recreational customers to medical dispensaries instead. If all I71 weed gifting services were as scummy as Dreamland, we wouldn’t have any complaints.
However, high-quality companies in the recreational market have provided a safe way to access cannabis without a medical license for years.
Those vendors deserve a piece of the pie and there are better ways to regulate companies like Dreamland out of existence. Without wiping out the rich cultural variety found in DC’s I-71 market.
If Dreamland wants to explain why they’re gifting delta-8 hemp, we’d love to hear from them. Message us at hello at dcpotreview dot com.
I knew something was up with the smoke. Tastes horrible. Horrible buzz. Heart racing. Mushroom gummies barely did anything. Avoid.
October 23, 2022 at 7:46 am