Portland Best Buds

8900 N Wall Ave., 954-1862, portlandbestbuds.com. Cash only.

Tucked away in a remodeled bodega on a residential side street off Lombard, this neighborhood dispensary cuts an unassuming profile. While many dispensaries claim to be neighborhood-oriented, it's hard to beat being so neighborhood-oriented that you're the only business in sight. Fun fact: Portland Best Buds is owned by Paul Pedreira, one of the assistant directors on NBC's fantasy-drama Grimm, and is Pedreira's first foray into the cannabis industry. Seven weeks after its July 10 opening, Portland Best Buds had nine strains of all indoor-grown cannabis. In addition to whole flower, it also carried a high-quality, if not comprehensive, sampling of different oils, tinctures, topical ointments, edibles and beverages, but no glass. Pedreira says he hopes to expand this selection as traffic in the store increases. Store manager Michael Kinney says Portland Best Buds avoids the $4-gram bottom-barrel discount strains, adding, "as you get older you become comfortable spending that extra $3-$4 for a bottle of wine because you realize it's going to make you a whole lot happier than the cheapest possible option."

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