BASA Collective: Kush N’Chips

There was a moment earlier this year when I felt I was pretty much aware of all the pot dispensaries in the Bay, or at the very least all the pot dispensaries out here in S.F.

So imagine my shock when last month a coworker took me to a pot collective I had never heard of, let alone visited. Humility not being in my stoner lexicon, I initially scoffed at the idea that this place, BASA Collective, was even a real dispensary.

That’s because when you first approach BASA you might find yourself a bit confused. I know I certainly was. Located in the Lower Haight, it’s one of the many dispensaries in the city positioned next to a popular eating spot–in this case one of the hottest BBQ spots in Frisco–4050 Burgers and BBQ.

And that’s the kicker, BASA itself looks like a restaurant–one of those old school fish fry shacks you might find on the banks of the southern Delta. When I first approached it I wasn’t sure if we were going to buy Kush or a whole Mackerel.

Upon entering BASA you are immediately struck by how damn small the place is. Unfortunately, I can’t make a size comparison, as I have yet to visit all the marijuana dispensaries in the Bay Area. However, I will posit that, in comparison, BASA is the efficiency studio of marijuana dispensaries. If you’re not from the Bay Area and you’re not sure what an efficiency studio is, well imagine paying $2,000 to live in your parents guest room and you’ve got a pretty good idea.

When I first walked into BASA I noticed that all the merchandise was tucked away behind a large glass partition. Three gorgeous ladies were the ones dispensing the goods, and I had to gaze for a few minutes at their laminated menu to get a sense of what I wanted. All in all, prices were relatively standard, although I do feel they provided more product for the price. I brought a half an eight of Green Crack (which I promptly lost later that evening after making the amateur mistake of mixing weed and alcohol) and a gram of hash for about $35. Something else to consider: besides cannabis buds, extracts and edibles they also sell clones for the Johnny Appleseed in you. Now that we’ve got that all out of the way let’s get to the pros and cons of the place:

Pros: Product— As I mentioned before the prices seemed very reasonable, and the selection, while not breathtaking, was certainly sufficient.

Pros: Staff— The staff were very friendly and let’s be real, ridiculously hot. At least the woman assisting me was. For this you get major cool points BASA, cuz’ we all know god don’t like ugly.

Pros: Location— BBQ and bud. You really can’t find a better combination that this. So if your money isn’t too funny after buying some sticky icky make sure you walk the 20 feet or so it takes to cop some BBQ at 4050 Burgers and BBQ.

Cons: Space— Many times when a dispensary is very small and they have a large dedicated following the wait time can get a little obscene. Now while I won’t necessarily consider this a con per se, my co-worker and I did have to wait a bit to receive our goods due to the 2 people ahead of us. Although in hindsight the wait was probably in large due to the indecisiveness of stoners.

BASA Collective is located at 1326 Grove St, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA.