Visiting family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The state's second largest city, at around 750k inhabitants. Colorado Springs is home to the Air Force Academy and several other military installations, this contributes to it being one of the relatively conservative parts of the state, and consequentially despite Colorado's legalization of the herb, Colorado Springs as a municipality has elected not allow recreational sales/dispensaries within its city-limits - but instead only medical sales/dispensaries.
Adjacent municipality Manitou Springs, does allow rec sales, and is home to the only two recreational dispensaries in the greater Colorado Springs area. So while waiting in the very long line to pickup at one of these dispensaries, I got to chatting with other waiting customers. Was cued in on a little place called "The Dab Lounge" an alleged cannabis social club and consumption space. Crazily enough, this establishment is located in CS city-limits.
Not knowing what to expect I took an Uber out there last night. There was a reception-area with some RAW papers and other general paraphernalia for sale. The guy at the reception area explains that it's a social club, based on donation policy. 1 point = $1 and donation points can be made to enjoy what is offered. Entry is 5 points and comes with one dab included. I walk past the reception through a door to another room, there's a long area with various free arcade machines and then a "dab bar" with a "dab tender". The bar is a glass case set up with even more assorted paraphernalia, dab torches, topical cannabinoid-bearing products, CBD supplements, grinders, etc. on top of the glass casing are maybe 5 e-nails ready to go. The dab-tender pulls out a try with about a half-dozen extracts for me to choose between for my entry dab. I opt for some Purple Punch badder, which smells and tastes lovely, and as my first dab in at least weeks, floors me rather quickly.
The dab-tender further explains and points to a menu. Single dabs are 4 or 5 points depending on product. Grams of extract can be purchased for 30-50 points. There is also flower, maybe 5 strains. Point system says 10-12 points per gram; 30-40 points per 1/8th; 90-120 points per half-oz. As the points are a donation based system, it seems no sales-tax is levied on any of this
Also as it is a social club, membership can be purchased to save money on the 5 point entry every time (didn't inquire about exact point cost for membership and/or duration of said membership, as it wasn't relevant for me). Though even standard entry isn't bad deal since it comes with a complimentary dab anyway, IMHO...I grab a bottle of water and continue ahead from the bar to yet another room, this one larger with 2 large wrap-around couches. A hand full of smaller sofas, several seating tables, two pool tables, multiple flatscreens, and at least one video-game console. I try to pack a few vapcaps, and manage with much struggle as the PP dab has decimated my motor skills. I start off with the Lemon Zkittlez I bough at Green Solutions in Denver, weird flavor in vapcap, lemony, sour and then something a bit off. I skin up a joint, and it burns clean enough, but not perfect, better taste in joint and quite potent. I move on to the Extreme Cream flower, better taste in the vapcap than the LZ. Earthy, mildly spicey, hint of cream, very potent (labeling says 28% THC content).
I go back over to the bar area and decide to have a peak at the flowers on offer. She pulls out five jars, and recommend the "Gorilla - something" I take a whiff first of that, nice gassy, vaguely sour and spicy notes. I take a whiff of the other four for good measure, but am somewhat underwhelmed. So I go with a grab a gram of the Gorilla-whatever for a tenner, and head back to the chill room area. I load up the Gorilla in the vapcap, and am pleasantly surprised with the flavor, gassy, flora and subtly creamy on the exhale. I use the remainder of the gram, and a tiny remaining bit of LZ to skin up a massive bat, and puff away on that. One gripe I have about the CO bud, and I'm not sure whether it's the packaging/storage or the dry climate, or even both - is that a lot of it is quite dry. However, I think it most likely is the very dry air unfortunately, and thus there's only so much that can be done. In any matter, I think the quality and value for money is there if you shop at the right dispensaries, which I hope to do so in Denver next Thursday when I'm there.
I head over to dab bar to puff away on the Bee Nectar Snow Squall crumble and the Denver Extracts Citrus Dream Cookies sugar wax. Both are fine enough, but tasted better in the vapcap. However, I chalk that up to to it being a constantly burning ti e-nail as much as anything. I grab a final dab of "Headstash #2" diamond sauce for the road, a 4 point dab, nice ear ringing blast off high, and sour tangy moderately gassy on the exhale.
All-in-all, a pretty dope find. Not sure I've been in any social consumption space as "free" and laid back as this place, neither in AMS nor BCN. If you're ever in the area, well worth a visit!
A little green to satisfy everybody else's needs also. 
And the prices, excuse me, donations are really nice too! 
