Str(ai)nuous

Living in a place where recreational marijuana is legal is pretty nice. Granted, I've never had much trouble finding my need for tree regardless of legality.

I've done a fair amount of travel. The indulgent smokers such as myself, always seem to find each other. Alabama, Florida, Ohio, Oklahoma, doesn't matter where. Stoners are thriving.

When coming into a recreational state (which I live in) you now have the option of going to the dispensary instead of hitting "Paul," your older sister's boyfriend's sketchy cousin.

If you aren't a part of the weed community, you'll probably find yourself rather overwhelmed by the variety. You're going to see products you never would have expected. (Cue cannabis suppositories.)

There's of course edibles. Especially helpful if you have gastrointestinal problems such as myself. The effects are mainly medical for me. I have a form of gastritis that never goes away. It's eaten the entire lining of my stomach, and the doctors said it's leading me towards stomach cancer. Yay! (Sarcasm.)

Edibles help tremendously with nausea. Eating two 300mg edibles will get me through around 2 days without nausea.

DO NOT DO THIS. If you are not experienced with THC, DO NOT take that high of a dosage. My body reacts different due to my medical issues. The acid is too much and disintegrates the majority of the THC before it enters my system. It isn't just with marijuana. My body doesn't absorb nutrients either. I've been hospitalized a few times for my heart having trouble due to lack of potassium.

If you aren't sure you want to play the hit and miss game with edibles, you can stick to the classics.

Fresh green tree.

So how do you find the right strain? Which one should you try? Which one tastes the best? Which will get you the most elevated?

Everyone is different, and the terpenes given off by a bud will appeal differently to each person. For example, I can't stand Mr. Nice Guy. I don't like the smell or taste, but I have friends that consider it a favorite.

One of the best ways to find which strain you should be taste-testing, is the smell test. They have the weed displayed in perforated jars for a reason. If you smell one and don't like the smell, it's not for you. The terpenes will speak to you. The one where you just want to crawl in the jar and live, that's the one.

My personal favorites are from Green Life Productions and Cannabiotix. Grateful Breath, Glue on Fire, and Tropicanna are just phenomenal. The smell, taste, and head change are very nice. The GLP ones are sativa dominant strains, so they're perfect for that day to day high. The Tropicanna by Cannabiotix is indica-dominant, so this is an evening smoke. I prefer these for helping with panic attacks, bouts of anxiety, and restlessness. They're calming. Not to mention you sleep like the dead.

A big thing in the industry now is concentrates. Or what you might refer to as wax. These are hit and miss for me. I enjoy taking dabs, and regularly purchase crumble (a specific consistency I like). Unlike most people, they are not more potent for me. I get a bigger head change off tree itself.

As far as strains go, I recently had a delicious batch of Blue Cookies. Most wax I've tried tastes pretty decent. That's not to say you wont hit bad batches occasionally. I recently had some Dosi Dos that was AWFUL. Tasted like burnt popcorn. Wont be doing that one again.

Try a variety. No one's ever overdosed on marijuana. We just occasionally overeat. So I'm not against smoking one of each flavor, if you wanna go ham. Need a lighter?

Choices