AK-47 Medical Marijuana Strain Review

From:  Urban Dispensary

Grade:  B+

Type:  Sativa-dominant hybrid

Lineage:  Columbian x Mexican x Thai x Afghani (from Serious Seeds)

Price:  $45/8th

Appearance:  (8/10)  The colors of this one were deep and rich, with dark red pistils and a variety of bold greens ranging from minty to pine.  The density of this sample was below average for the strain, and it had a fairly open structure where the pistils seemed to poke out of it like a “Koosh” ball.  The trim was adequate but could’ve been closer for sure, but the real problems we had were the moderate amount of trichome damage seen throughout the sample as well as the smattering of medium-sized immature seeds which were seen in pods throughout the bud… it appears that this one (or a plant nearby in the room) may have hermied somewhat early on.  Still, this sample had good to great bag appeal in the hand and had us excited to try it — the closer inspection is where our excitement started to wane.  We did appreciate the harvest timing though, as there were a solid amount of amber heads along with cloudy and champagne-colored ones.

Taste:  (7.5/10)   The review team reported floral, woody and vegetable flavors, with multiple reviewers mentioning how fresh and outdoorsy it all tasted.  While the taste wasn’t overtly strong, it was pleasing and extremely smooth.  Nobody reported coughing and two mentioned this as being a good smoke for those with allergies or respiratory issues forced to incinerate their meds.

Effects:  There was complete agreement over the head, face, and eyes concentration of this medicine, with one reviewer noting the reddest eyes she’d seen in the mirror in quite some time.  Relaxation through the upper part of the body especially (head, neck, shoulders, upper back) came along with the mental uplift, boost in internal energy, and shift in cranial pressure as the early effects package.  The effect seemed to climb into the first hour, creeping up in potency while also shifting gears slightly as it edged up into the 1.5-2 hour area.  Humor, giggles, and perma-grins were the predominant descriptors used for the first half of the experience, and everyone loved the euphoric nature of this Sativa-dominant sample.  The euphoria died down over the 2nd hour and left us mostly feeling smoothly relaxed, with one reviewer reporting a bit of a ‘crash’ where she felt rather lethargic and drained entering the third hour.

Duration:  2-2.5 hours medicinal-level potency, 3+ overall

Medicinal Traits:  (We are NOT doctors – personal opinion ONLY)  Strong ocular, facial, and cranial attention, minor pain relief (mainly upper body, but also aided with menstrual cramps), mood elevation, increased appetite, some energy to start, and relaxation to finish.

Overall:  When first presented with this sample, we were all excited to try it, as we don’t see this old-school Dutch strain around that much these days, especially looking this frosty and appealing.  Once we really got into the medicine, however, it wasn’t quite as impressive, with some basic grow flaws that hampered the overall quality.  Simply put, this strain could be grown better, and we want to see it minus the tiny seeds and with a little more heft.  Regardless of the potential it has, what is present in the sample is a moderate potency Sativa effect that served to awaken our senses and put us in a great mood throughout most of the experience, converting to a more relaxed feeling later.  We see this one as a good choice for early evening of afternoon when an uplift is needed, but so is a winding-down afterwards.  The medical benefits of this sample were numerous, and the duration was also above-average, again showing its flashes of great potential.  If the smell and flavor took a step up and the minor seeds were absent, this one would definitely have made it into the A_ or greater range… we just couldn’t overlook the shortcomings.

Critical Mass Medical Marijuana Strain Review

From:  Biocare

Grade:  B+

Type:  Indica-dominant hybrid

Lineage:  Afghani x Skunk #1 (originally from Mr. Nice Seeds, their version of Sensi’s Big Bud)

Price:  $40/8th

Appearance:  (8.25/10)  With its well-built structure and fairly thick covering of trichomes, this sample was very attractive to the naked eye — it also had rather bright colors for an Indica-dominant sample, showcasing a variety of greens and oranges at intensities normally reserved for Sativas.  The overall structure was a bit leafy, as tiny guard leaves seemed to be everywhere, snaking around all of the calyxes.  This is probably more a genetic trait than anything done by the grow team, but it would’ve been nice to see more calyx — we had a hard time getting a macro shot of anything but leaves because of the pistil coverage and lack of outwardly visible calyxes.  We suggest a slightly tighter trim to showcase more of this bud’s internal workings, as it was impressive when we actually saw it, with densely-packed, large-headed, mostly clear-colored trichomes which were mostly well-preserved.

Aroma:  (6.5/10)  We didn’t really expect much smell-wise from these genetics, and it ‘delivered’ on that lack of anticipation, with a pretty standard slightly earthy, musky, and lightly citrusy smell which just was never that pungent.  Even after we ground it up, there just wasn’t a ton there, and what was there didn’t impress us compared to today’s modern strains and some of the enduring clone-only varieties such as Chem ’91 that are known for being extremely pungent.

Taste: (7/10)  Like the aroma, the flavor just wasn’t that special, producing a base piney, earthy type of profile that was somewhat pungent, but didn’t really taste like anything specific of noteworthy.  It wasn’t just the taste of smoke itself, but was not too far from that point — the Afghani seems to have taken charge in the flavor department for sure, as there was no Dutch Skunk sweetness in it at all.  The smoke was moderately thick and tickled the throat a bit, causing some coughing at times, but nothing major.  It burned away to a smooth light gray ash and showed a good flush.

Effects:  This medicine came on fairly strong to start, hitting behind the eyes and giving a somewhat heavy feeling (like being pulled downwards) throughout the body.  An uptick in head pressure and a vibrating/buzzing feeling around the scalp and face made for a relaxing experience, as did the buzzing body.  The reviewer who had the largest dosage felt a bit more mentally-stilted than the others, staying in that slightly spacey, stare-at-nothing type of state for much of the first hour.  The others reported a less heavy feeling during this period, one that left them able to function if needed, and overall elevating the mood and making for a placid, smiley mood overall.  Regardless, the main feelings began to decline around 1 hour, leaving behind either a smooth relaxation, or a deep one, largely depending upon dosage.  One reviewer who did the review late fell asleep at the 1.5 hour mark, earlier than normal for him, and awoke feeling wonderful, so we believe there are some sleep aid properties to this one for sure.

Medicinal Traits:  (We are NOT doctors – personal opinion ONLY)  Mood elevation, anti-anxiety, strong appetite stimulation, body relaxation, mental relaxation, and sleep aid (especially at larger doses).

Overall:  Though we could nitpick on the trim, harvest timing, and perhaps the cure (seemed like a little longer might’ve brought out more smell and flavor), we believe that this strain is mostly limited by its genetic potential — even a perfect grow of this strain will likely not blow anyone’s socks off.  That said, we always have a place for moderately potent Indica strains in our lives, and this strain fit that bill perfectly, signaling its Afghani roots in smell, flavor, and effect.  Though not overtly potent except right at the beginning, this strain had good “torque” and kept up at a fairly high level, declining smoothly over the 2nd half of the duration and leaving behind a relaxed and capable mind.  It didn’t help with severe pain, but it did really make our bodies feel good, and we like this strain mostly as an evening relaxer for days when a little mental uplift and a few hours on the couch leading into sleep is the perfect recipe.

Name: House Blend Bubble Hash

From: Urban Dispensary

Type: Bubble hash, made from mixed strains

Price: $20/g

Grade: A-

Consumption Method:  Small glass bong with titanium screen, and glass hash paddle

Visual: (7/10)  This hash had an almost pressed texture, as it was very dense and crumbled apart — much different than the waxy, pliable bubble hash of the highest grade.  Still, there wasn’t much visible plant matter in the sample, and it was still mostly trichome heads, with some trich stems as well.  This hash wasn’t outstanding in any way appearance-wise, but there also wasn’t anything really wrong with it… solid job overall.

Aroma: (7.25/10)  This is a rather standard-smelling bubble hash, not carrying the scent of any particular style or strain, simply smelling softly floral and a bit spicy, only pungent at all when broken apart under the nose.  Again this one was a notch below the top-flight hashes we’ve seen, but pleasant for what it is.

Flavor: (7/10)  The first few hits had a rather pleasant vegetal, floral hash flavor which resembled the smell a great deal.  It went downhill after that, as most hash does, and just tasted smokey until it burned away to a coal-like light gray ash that retained the shape of the chunk.  The smoke was thick later on and definitely caused some coughing, but that’s the standard for hash of this style — those who don’t want to cough should take very small hits.

Consumption: The surface bubbling that took place with this hash was mild to moderate at best, but it never really melted the chunks.  Even when ground into a powder with the fingers, it just bubbled ever so slightly and then started burning like a coal from there.  We would possibly call this partial-melt hash, but it really just burned much like you’d expect from pressed dry-sieve hash.

Effects: Though this hash didn’t wow us in the first few areas, it totally redeemed itself with its potent and long-lasting effects.  While it came on fairly strong to start, it seemed to build in potency over the first hour, with some reviewers reporting peak effects at almost 1.5 hours.  The first effects were pressure to the eyes and face, some rushing feelings emanating from the solar plexus area, and an increase in heart rate — it felt rather Sativa to start, and that tenor kept up for the remainder of the experience.  With our mood majorly elevated, but our bodies rather loose and relaxed, we were social, creative, and the boost of cerebral activity was channeled more easily than many borderline rushy concentrate experiences.  Though it did get a little rushy, we never felt overwhelmed or uncomfortable at any time — it was just an energetic and driven type of physical feeling.  This hash seemed to keep our minds interested in mundane household chores, making them seem much more engaging and enjoyable than usual — we felt productive and clear-headed the whole time.  The effects declines starting at about 2 hours, but the comedown didn’t leave us feeling drained or otherwise negatively-affected.

Medicinal Traits: (We are NOT doctors – personal opinion ONLY)  Energy, mood elevation, pain distraction/mild pain relief, and strong ocular activity.

Duration: 2 – 2.5 hours medicinal-level potency, 3 – 4+ hours overall duration, depending on dosage

Overall: While it wasn’t up to the highest standards in terms of smoking experience, smell, or appearance, this hash was one that we all really enjoyed, and it was described as “fun” by multiple staff members.  The best part was how long it lasted and how potent it was overall — one reviewer commented that it felt a bit like hash oil rather than bubble hash, just because it was so cerebral and borderline psychoactive.  We like this mostly as a daytime medicine for a little kick in the pants, especially when some household chores are piling up… put on some music and get to it — this hash won’t tie you to the couch.

Sour Diesel Medical Marijuana Strain Review

From: The Sunset Super Shop (Los Angeles, CA)

Grade: B+

Type: Sativa-dominant hybrid

Lineage: Thought to be Original Diesel x Sensi Seeds DNL (Hawaiian Skunk)

Price: $50/8th

Appearance: (7.25/10)  This sample had the creamy pink pistils and light green coloration that all proper Sour Diesel samples do, with a moderate amount of mostly milky trichomes that were fairly well-preserved.  The structure was a little bit loose, and outwardly seemed to be made of pistils more than anything else, but there was some substance underneath.

Aroma: (7.25/10)  Not the most pungent Diesel, this one was more along the spicy, fresh lines than anything, bringing to mind cilantro and some almost soapy notes.  This was a light-smelling sample overall, which is disappointing given the strain’s lineage.

Taste: (6.75/10)  Much like the smell, the flavor was light and pleasant enough, just not what we’d expect in Sour Diesel, even carrying a little bit of sweetness with it.  Despite that, the smoke was exceedingly smooth and it burned away to a proper white ash, showing that the flush had been thorough.  This is a good introduction to Sour Diesel, but not a SD flavor for connoisseurs of the strain really.

Effects: Midway through medicating, we began to feel the building pressure in the temples and the waves of energy that course up and down the body which hint at a Sativa experience.  A near-immediate uptick in mood and energy accompanied these physical sensations and had us very much able to focus on one task at a time, but less able and inclined towards multi-tasking.  The energy and peak effects carried on through an hour, dwindling away from there over about 2.5 hours, leaving behind no real drowsiness or ill effects.

Medicinal Traits: (We are NOT doctors – personal opinion ONLY)  Energy, mood elevation, ocular relief, and moderate appetite stimulation — this one also had some anti-anxiety properties, as it was a very mild Sour Diesel.

Overall: This was like a starter version of Sour Diesel, a good way to get introduced to the strain without any of the very high-potency, at times crushing effect it can often have.  A great daytime or morning med, this one had us feeling capable and gave no physical signs of being medicated, adding to its appeal for social and even professional situations.  The flavor, smell and appearance were all only okay, but the effects fit nicely into the niche of moderate potency daytime Sativas and provided a quality uplift of mood and energy that helped us start off the day on a good note.

Name: Colorado Cough 73u Bubble Hash

From: Green Mountain CARE

Type: Bubble hash made from 100% Colorado Cough trim, 73u micron filtration level

Price: $30/gram

Grade: B+ (amongst water-extracted hash samples)

(we mistakenly had this hash entered as mixed strain, but got confirmation that it was indeed made from 100% Colorado Cough)

Consumption Method:  Various methods including tube-style concentrate one-hitter, “Gandalf” pipe w/titanium screen, and small glass bong w/titanium screen

Visual: (6/10)  This hash reminded us more of standard blond pressed hash than bubble hash, but it appears that it was pressed into the dense squared shape after extraction.  It wasn’t the most appealing texture to us, simply because it was so dense and dry that it was difficult to chip pieces off, requiring use of a fingernail or even a small knife to scrape pieces off.  Upon close inspection, it was clear that this sample could’ve benefited from an additional rinsing, as there was speckled plant matter and other particulate visible amongst the trichome heads and stems.  Simply put, this one wasn’t on the level of some samples we’ve had lately in terms of appearance… very standard hash here.

Aroma: (6.5/10)  While the aroma was pleasant enough, it just wasn’t very pungent, likely due in large part to the dryness level, which probably did its part to kill off many of the terpenoids that may have been left after the extraction.  When breaking it up under the nose, a light floral hash aroma could be detected — it was a fairly standard smell for hash, but we did enjoy it.

Flavor: (6.5/10)  Almost identical to the aroma, the flavor on the initial hit or two was a lightly floral and piney hash flavor.  Beyond the first hits though, it converted to the standard smoky hashy/kiefy flavor, tasting only of burned trichomes.

Consumption: When heat was applied to this hash, it did melt slightly, but essentially held its place on the screen and only bubbled and melted slightly at the surface level.  We’d place it in the “semi-melt” category, and it barely made it there, because after the first hit, it just stuck to the screen and burned like a coal.  The fluffy but medium gray ash showed that there was some particulate and plant matter left in the sample after extraction, as expected.

Effects: After a sub-par showing in the “bag appeal” and melt areas, this has had some work to do in order to earn a good grade — fortunately, the effects portion of the experience was much more in line with what we’d expect from ~60% THC bubble hash.  We felt an immediate uplift in mood and energy, causing most of our staff to get up and be active rather than sit and stare.  A flourish of thoughts and visualizations rushed through our minds and while we were able to focus if needed, this was more of a “follow your fancy” type of med, being conducive to creative and social pursuits more than focused work.  One thing we noticed is the “creeper” quality that this hash had, seemingly building in potency until reaching its peak at ~1 hour, as late as 1.5 hours for some of our staff.  It was a long-lasting experience, but stayed relatively flat in terms of experience — the same uplift carried us through the end of the experience, with some full body waves and minor pain relief (we’re thinking it was more distraction because we were busy) being the only non-mental effects we really noticed.

Duration: ~2 hours medicinal-level potency, lingering duration out to 4 hours for some of our staff

Overall: If you’re a bubble hash snob and only want the highest-purity, best-bubbling specimens available, then this hash probably isn’t for you.  However, if you can overlook the lack of a real bubble and the mild and fairly standard flavor/aroma, the experience that was provided by this hash will likely make up for those shortcomings.  Especially for patients who want medication that’s stronger than flowers for daytime use, this sample did the job of motivating us and keeping us active during the day, while serving to stimulate the mind enough that it distracted us from most minor aches and pains.