Just a short walk from the grand ole offices of the Weekly Alibi lies Seven Clover in the formerly Historic Route 66 Nob Hill Restaurant space. I made my way to the local dispensary for the first time last December (2017), but I decided to revisit for a more thorough research, recently.During my lunch hour, I braved the wind as I approached from the parking lot behind the building, greeted the security guard and quickly rushed to the door to escape the cold—but it was locked. The guard had tried to warn me but I hadn’t caught it quick enough. Seven Clover has added a new screening process to entering the building: Patients now have to hold up their medicinal card to a camera to gain entry to the cannabis chamber. I asked the receptionist why they’ve switched to this process, and she told me it was the best way to prevent families from entering the dispensary (who are intending to have a meal at the old Route 66 Restaurant) because only cardholders can enter dispensaries in N.M. I sat down and looked around at the clean, purposefully placed décor for a moment, then was called up to the bar. After a quick perusal looking for some decent hybrids, I settled on the Colorado Clementines (THC: 18.91%, $10.25) as I was in a severe need for some relaxing clarity of mind. This indica leaning hybrid—70% indica, 30% sativa—is excellent for alleviating depression, pain, stress, insomnia and lack of appetite. This particular strain smelled more earthy to me with citrus undertones, but the smoke flavor produced a much stronger citrus taste than I anticipated. My mind and body were finally able to relax after the final, and seemingly busiest, week of the year.Earlier in the month I tried Purple Kush (THC: 23.55%, $10) because I was curious to see whether I could stay awake and alert after smoking an indica or not yet (which I was hardly able to, but I think that’s just my own body’s extreme reaction to indica strains … it’s a curse). My first glance over the packaging for the indica I thought I read “37%” which I instantly dubbed as fake news but re-reading it later I realized it was the milligrams not the percentage. Purple Kush is the lovely combination of Hindu Kush and Purple Afghani, which radiates a strong, sweet, earthy scent that tugs on the nostrils of all marijuana enthusiasts alike. It helped me immensely with some holiday-induced insomnia and stress as well as back pain. As I was leaving the dispensary, my budtender informed me about their new rewards system. As patients buy products, they’re awarded Seven Clover dollars which they can then collect to use as points, essentially, to buy a variety of merchandise like bongs, pipes, shirts, bud, etc. On one hand, I find it pretty neat that you can “earn” something other than bud with a loyalty system—device costs can really add up, too!—and on the other hand, I do think it’s inconvenient to have to carry those bucks with me or store them somewhere and remember where I stored them and how much I have.I had dropped by one afternoon earlier in the week to grab some flower, and made it through the whole transaction and then found out the machines were down which was disappointing. There was a note on the bar but it would have been nice to have been told that their credit card machines weren’t working as well, since the menu was covering the sign when I began the service. Regardless of the transaction process, the staff members that worked with me were patient, helpful and quick. The longest I had to wait during my lunchtime visits was five minutes, if that. The budtenders make a great effort to showcase their products, they seem to actually know their products inside and out—even the products from other companies. While I love edibles, I definitely prefer to buy edibles from dispensaries that make their own because if I were to have an issue or suggestion for a product, it would be taken more seriously. Overall, the bud was decent and reasonably priced, and the service was succinct but not rushed.
Seven Clover3800 Central Ave. SE255-7000Hours: Sun-Sat 10am-7pmFirst Time Freebies: Yes