Memories lost can often be found again during Summer’s warm days and long sultry nights. Our seventh installment of Bud of the Valley highlights Dominique Robinson from Matawanna Dispensary in Brooklyn. Dominique was born and raised in Bensonhurst and loves to inspire and motivate herself and others with the joys of cannabis.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but if it’s not a fact about you, you have a choice to make it a part of your life.” – Dominique Robinson.
Why is Cannabis important to you?
The foundation and the breakdown of cannabis from how it’s grown to how it is consumed is amazing. Cannabis has come a long way, and we don’t have to hide anymore.
I really got invested in cannabis because of my grandmother. I love to smoke flower, but I really wanted to learn about the science behind it. My grandmother has experienced the pain of sciatica for a good part of her life. For me, I really wanted to try to find the exact strain, either sativa hybrid or indica, that would soothe her pain.
Describe a typical day at a dispensary?
I come in every day and I always try to be the person to give off positive, contagious energy to everyone I help. It’s important to me to make sure we all have a smooth and enjoyable shift. Everyday, I make sure that my register is clean because I refer to my register as my home for the day. The vibes are always great at Matawana. My fellow budtenders and I communicate frequently with each other so that each customer that comes in, always feels like family and not just a guest from the time we open to the time we close.
What is your most memorable sales experience?
There was a lady that came in once and she was describing to me that she has not consumed any cannabis in seven years. Lately, she’s been trying to restart and get back to consuming again. I first asked her, how does she want to consume? Would you rather smoke or would you rather take an edible or a tincture? She explained to me that she wanted to smoke so I said, “Okay, cool. We can start you off with a 18% THC half Gram hybrid Pre-roll to see how your body reacts to it.” I also explained to her the reason why I gave her a hybrid: because of the even balance and why the THC was low as well. My girl went from pre-rolls to now she smokes 7 grams of flower. I would have to say that helping this person find the right selection is what makes this job so rewarding.
What are your favorite products right now?
1. Rythm Flower. Because I love indoor-grown flower and also because of the way it looks and it gives me exactly the high that I want and usually when I smoke, it also gives me rhythm. I don’t have to smoke a whole joint. I could smoke half or even a quarter and feel great.
2. Ayrloom High dose tincture. I use this when I’m trying to be creative. It infuses well with other products that I like to eat. I sometimes use it to make infused butter, then I can use it on my toast or my bagel or sometimes I would even drop a little bit of the tincture in my pancake batter to just infuse my pancakes or waffles.
3.. Ruby Farms white widow seven pack pre-rolls. I love these pre-rolls because when I first tried them in 2025, I went to the Chris Brown concert. All I can say is that I was so in-tune with the music that I did not want to sit down and I had a fabulous time at the show!
