25 Dollar Eighths: Drops of Jupiter

The cost of medical cannabis can vary widely from state to state. Influenced by a variety of factors such as the cost of production, the level of competition in the market, and the taxes and regulations applied to the industry.

The medical cannabis program in my home state of Pennsylvania is one of the nation's most expensive.

According to the Pennsylvania Cannabis Information, the state currently imposes a 6% sales tax on medical cannabis products, as well as a 10% excise tax. These taxes contribute to the overall cost of the program for patients.

When the medical cannabis first program started in Pennsylvania, I refused to buy flower. It was expensive. At one point, I saw $75 eights for sale. Ridiculous price hikes. And it was bad. It looked good, and it smelled good, but it had no soul. It was weak, commercial, and overpriced. At one point there was a flower shortage. They were limiting sales.

Thank goodness, our program has come a long way since then! I am proud to announce, I have happily been buying flower through the program for almost a full year now.

My ideal purchase is at or below the $200 per ounce price point. I buy only buds or small buds. No popcorn buds, "blades" (which is just marketing speak for leaf) or "pre-ground" (which is just marketing speak for ground up leaf.) And I try not to go below 22% THC!

Small buds and popcorn buds are both smaller compared to regular buds. The main difference between small buds and popcorn buds is their location on the plant and their potential potency.

Small buds can be found anywhere on the plant, and they may be underdeveloped or the result of a plant that is not fully mature. Small buds may have less THC and be less potent than regular buds.

Popcorn buds, on the other hand, are specifically small buds that are found on the lower branches of a cannabis plant. They are called popcorn buds because of their small size and shape, which resembles popcorn. Popcorn buds may not be as potent or as high quality as larger buds, but they can still be used for smoking or for making edibles.

Small buds and popcorn buds are both smaller and less potent than regular buds. Popcorn buds can tend to have lower terpene levels.

Those are the rules. Now, here’s the fun part!

Join me each week as I review a different $25 eighth!

This week I am vaping Drops Of Jupiter small buds, a strain by grower/ producer Curaleaf. I purchased this at a Curaleaf dispensary on City Avenue in Philadelphia, it was on sale for the price of $43 for 7 grams.

This is my first purchase from grower/producer brand Curaleaf. Some brands have quite large“small buds” but Curaleaf’s look small. They border on popcorn.

THC is at 26.353% in this batch. There is no CBD, and a negligible percentage of CBG.

Top Terpenes are b-caryophyllene, limonene, and humulene. A nice whiff of the freshly ground bud is uplifting and clean. I can definitely smell the limonene.

The first bag of vapor is grassy, and I can without a doubt taste the trace levels of pinene. The pine scent dissipates quickly, and the next few bags of vape come out velvety and sweet. With the last bag -right before the vapor runs clear- comes a familiar scratch of black pepper at the back of my throat. Caryophyllene is finally making its presence known.

I like the terpenes. I get lots of dense vape bags out of each bowl pack. I can feel it, and it’s tasty. At under $22 an eighth, I will definitely pick this strain up again. I doubted their small statue, bud these buds did the job.

Thanks for vaping with me! That’s it until next week. Stay safe, stay grounded, and stay relaxed.

Let’s sit this week with this thought from Carl Sagan, writing as “Mr. X” in his 1969 essay about cannabis.

“When high on cannabis, I discovered that there’s somebody inside in those people we call mad.

When I’m high I can penetrate into the past recall childhood memories, friends, relatives, playthings, streets, smells, sounds, and tastes from a vanished era. I can reconstruct the actual occurrences in childhood events only half understood at the time. Many but not all my cannabis trips have somewhere in them a symbolism significant to me which I won’t attempt to describe here, a kind of mandala embossed on the high.”