Counter Culture: The Tip Jar at Your Dispensary Has a Problem. Several, Actually.

From tip fatigue to tip theft, the humble dispensary tip jar has become a window into some of the cannabis industry’s biggest unresolved labor questions.

It’s just a jar on a counter, but the tip jar at the dispensary has a way of making things complicated. Some consumers happily toss a few dollars in appreciation of product knowledge and recommendations from the employee. Others feel that budtenders should be paid a living wage, and with multiple added taxes to each purchase, asking for even more dollars out of the wallet is just too much.

Generally, the idea is that a shopper quizzes the budtender on products, resulting in sometimes a lengthy customer interaction. The shopper then throws a few bucks in the jar in appreciation for the time spent. However, some dispensaries greet customers with a large tablet to place orders, and the budtender simply retrieves the bag from the back, checks ID, and rings up the sale. In those cases, customers often feel a tip isn’t warranted because the budtender is acting more like a cashier than a product expert.

Tipping Fatigue

More broadly, consumers report tipping fatigue as tap-and-pay terminals increasingly prompt for gratuities even when little service is provided. An annual study of 1,000 U.S. consumers conducted in September 2025 by restaurant tech company Popmenu found two-thirds (65%) of consumers say they are fed up with tipping, up from 60% last year and 53% in 2023. Consumers estimate they are asked to tip for different services about ten times a month on average, and 43% say they are tipping less this year.

“Americans are besieged with tipping requests at every turn, often when an employee provides little to no actual customer service,” said Jeffrey Miller, CEO of HoneyProjects. His venture, HoneyGrove, was named 2024 Dispensary of the Year by Cannademix.

Tips for budtenders also appear lower than what consumers pay restaurant staff. Hard point-of-sale data was unavailable, but anecdotal interviews suggest small amounts are common. Danielle Stella, general manager of the medical dispensary GÜD Essence in Clearwater, Florida, who also works the counter, said, “I would not expect any of my customers to come in and hit 15% or more. Standard is just a couple of bucks.”

The term “budtender” was officially recognized by Merriam-Webster in 2018, but the role emerged when California legalized medical use in the late 1990s. As the adult-use cannabis market grew, so did the growth of new products beyond flower. Even regular consumers needed help navigating various edibles, concentrates, THC levels, terpenes and more. This necessitated product expertise from budtenders, and according to a report from New Frontier Data, this “dwell time” averages between 15 and 20 minutes.

“In Colorado, tipping budtenders is pretty commonplace,” said Blythe Huestis, VP of Retail for Sun Theory. “The interaction is often consultative and customer-service driven. Budtenders help customers navigate potency, formats, terpene profiles, and effects, so many customers treat it as a service experience and tip when someone takes the time to guide them well.” Huestis oversees 13 retail locations in Colorado.

“We also set the bar high for our budtenders. We look for strong product knowledge, genuine hospitality, and the ability to guide customers confidently through the menu,” she added.

Miller’s approach also leaned towards budtender specialization. He said, “Our stores are different. They’re built on interactive, personalized service from true product experts who speak with genuine knowledge and guide guests toward memorable, impactful cannabis experiences. A great budtender recommendation can deliver benefits lasting weeks, far outlasting even the finest restaurant meal. For that reason, we encourage tipping. It creates a direct bond of appreciation between customer and service professional, and it rewards expertise in real time. The high proportion of customers who tip our staff tells us this philosophy is working.”

Medical-Only Dispensaries

While tip jars are ubiquitous in adult-use stores, medical operations vary. After all, you wouldn’t tip your family doctor following a physical. In some states, medical cannabis programs are tightly regulated with limited approved conditions. In other states, medical programs can closely resemble an adult-use program, which may be why tip jars remain.

“I’ve also operated in medical-only states, and in those environments, we’ve generally moved away from tipping. When the transaction is strictly medical, it doesn’t feel appropriate to anticipate gratuity. The focus is on patient care and access rather than a retail-style service interaction,” Huestis said.

However, Jasmine Johnson of Florida’s medical dispensary GÜD Essence said, “There is a hospitality to cannabis that can change someone’s complete experience and change their life. Applied knowledge and a personal experience for the guest matter.”

Manager Inclusion and Stolen Tips

Then there is the question of whether managers should participate in the tip pool. Stella of GÜD Essence is a manager who does take tip money because she says she also works the counter like a budtender. However, in most stores, managers are typically paid much higher wages than budtenders and aren’t allowed to keep the tip money.

“At Stoops NYC, tips directly support our front-of-house team,” said Chris Kuilan, founder and owner of Stoops NYC in Flatiron. “Budtenders keep their tips and managers do not participate in tip pooling.”

“Managers stealing tips has often come up as a key issue for workers looking to start a union. Through collective bargaining, unionized workers can enforce tip distribution policies and make sure managers aren’t pocketing what they’ve earned,” said Megan Carvalho, UFCW’s National Cannabis Campaign Coordinator.

Carvalho’s concern is supported by multiple lawsuits. In 2023, four dispensary employees asked an Illinois judge to certify a class in a suit against Curaleaf, alleging managers pocketed more than $125,000 in tip jar money meant for workers. Curaleaf asked a federal court to dismiss the claims, saying tip earnings were never part of the employment agreement and were disclosed during hiring. Maryland Curaleaf employees sued again in 2025 with similar allegations, according to the Baltimore Sun.

A review of public records turned up additional cases:

Livable Wage

There’s little hard data on budtender tips, but base pay for budtenders can be low. Even in expensive cities like New York, budtender jobs are often advertised at $17–$20 an hour, little more than fast-food wages. This has caused huge turnover in the industry when the cool factor of the job wears off and the rent is due. For many workers, tips are essential to making a livable income. On a positive note, there are dispensary owners who recognize this and strive to pay their employees well.

“We position tips as a bonus rather than something employees rely on, and we focus more on competitive wages and recognition tied to customer experience and key performance metrics,” said Huestis.

Johnson noted her company prioritizes a livable wage and treats tips as additional income.

“While budtenders appreciate tips, they shouldn’t have to rely on the generosity of customers to pay their bills. The cannabis industry is still maturing, and there’s a major opportunity to solidify it as an industry that provides stable, well-paying jobs,” said Carvalho, UFCW’s National Cannabis Campaign Coordinator.

So the next time you see the tip jar, know that these workers don’t always make a lot of money, and the extra income is appreciated. It’s hard to know which stores pay well, and if you’re already willing to pay the huge taxes, step it up and throw in a few greenbacks as well for the trusty budtender.