In my memory yes, the terpene and cannabinoid profiles were much more complex. The 'quality' of the cannabis was still poor, at least in comparison to what is possible.
Commercial cannabis quality is even lower quality than most black market quality. On the black market, price is determined by quality. When the quality is low, people complain and pay less. Too low of quality and they choose another dealer.
In a dispensary, the price difference between top shelf (garbage) and lower shelf (garbage) is only a few dollars. If you complain, they show you the door. Most people are limited in the number of dispensaries they can use, so the business model works for them.
Ultimately, I blame the destruction of cannabis quality on the huge influx of cash cropper grow information now available. Super CO2, overfed, under/over mature, stressed plants, grown in hot wet conditions. Almost any cannabis strain is still sticky dank, when grown correctly.
Not sure what state your in but in California there are no limits on how many dispensary you can visit.....only limits on the amount you can purchase.
The difference in indoor and outdoor flower is pretty big price difference...outdoor runs $20 to $35 indoor starts at $55 and goes up to $75 for eights ...we have a Durban poison that’s testing at 41% highest I’ve seen on our shelf