S........s

I visited NETA for the first time recently. I'm 67, getting by on social security, but not much more than that. I have decades of experience as both a consumer and grower, and consider myself to be fairly savvy on the subject of cannabis. Here are my impressions: Nice atmosphere/design, friendly staff. The bud tender I purchased from was knowledgeable up to a point. She really couldn't tell me much more about the strains than I was able to learn from the menu. Didn't know anything about the genetics of them, other than indica, sativa, hybrid. I wanted to get something to help with back pain and when I asked what would be good for that, (on that day, it didn't seem like much on the menu addressed that) her answer was something like - Well, you could try a combination of things and see how it works. Unfortunately, I don't have the means to do that. Plus it seems too much like throwing a dart and seeing what it hits. I was hoping for more informed help. She could tell me nothing about THC-CBD ratios or what I should look for, in terms of constituent %s, that would be a good fit for my pain. Perhaps the industry is too new, not enough research, etc., but given the wealth of experience in CA, plus all the info available online, I was underwhelmed by the quality of help I received. I expect more from my pharmacist. As to the strains...I tried Domnesia and Flo OG. The former was as advertised, the OG just ok. I didn't find pain relief from either one. At home, I tried to learn more about them, so I googled. Beyond knowing the genetics of a strain, It's helpful to read about other people's experiences, to help me judge whether it's for me. I could find zero info (beyond NETA menu) about either one, which is strange. Yes, there's thousands(?) of strains out there, but also volumes of information about them on sites like Leafly, 40 mag, various grow forums, seed banks, etc. Nothing on those 2 however. In Leafly, there's a Damnesia, (only 1 letter off), but which apparently isn't available in our area. Hmmm. Maybe the NETA strain namer mis-spelled? Same for the Flo OG - unknown. Are they NETA exclusive? If so, I'd think you'd tout that. I was also looking for more information about growing, as I would qualify financially, but the 2 staff I asked couldn't help. Maybe MA DPH isn't any better. I thought prices were comparable or a bit higher than street prices. Misc...It would be good to have a couple of buds from the joint strains that clients could see/smell. Given that the strains offered are always changing (or are they?), it might suck for someone who finds a strain that works for them to not be able to get it in the future. Maybe that's the nature of this biz. I'm looking forward to November when recreational will almost certainly become legal in MA. It will be interesting to see how/if prices change and to have more choices out there. Oh, when I got home, I saw that I was due $2 back, from an ATM fee or something, but I never got it. Is it true that cannabis can cause short-term memory loss? :)