Lansterdam’s 2026 4/20 Gift Guide

The industry is under pressure. These four shops are still bringing the heat.

Let’s be honest: 420 in 2026 comes with a little more baggage than it used to. Michigan’s cannabis industry is bleeding under the weight of a 24% wholesale tax, legal sales are down double digits, and somewhere between the lawsuits and the layoffs, it can be easy to forget why we got into this thing in the first place. The plant is still here. The people who love it are still here. And scattered across Greater Lansing, a handful of shops are doing what they’ve always done — curating great products, supporting local producers, and giving you something worth celebrating on the highest of holidays.

This year, I sampled products from four area stores and came away with some genuine standouts. Whether you’re shopping for a flower purist, a vape enthusiast, a first-timer or someone who just wants to disappear into the couch for a few hours, there’s something on this list for everyone.

 

 – Cannaisseur | 3200 N East St, Lansing –

If you’re not already shopping at Cannaisseur, you’re leaving money on the table. This original caregiver store has been doing it right since 2015 — small, family-owned, tax-included pricing, and a flower selection that consistently punches above its weight class. In a market drowning in corporate dispensaries, Cannaisseur is the real thing. All of the flower below is grown under their house brand, Insano Farms, and priced at $10 an eighth. Yes, you read that right. With quality and prices this good, every day is 420 at Cannaisseur. Get there.

Willie’s Kush Cake — Insano Farms Deli Flower

$10/3.5g

The nose on this one hits you before you even open the jar. Amazing taste, strong smell, and a unique high that earns its name. This is the kind of flower that reminds you why you stopped buying from the big chains.

 

Brittany’s Frozen Lemons — Insano Farms Deli Flower

$10/3.5g

 

My favorite flower of the year so far, full stop. A unique citrus profile that pulls you right back to old-school Trainwreck territory — bright, sharp, and unmistakably good. If you see it on the menu, grab it.

 

Jelly Roll Injected Joint (Insano Cake) — Infused Pre-Roll

$10/1.25g

The best infused joint I’ve had all year. Fred’s Lab handles the processing and they do exceptional work. The key here is the injection method — the concentrate is pushed into the center of the joint rather than mixed homogeneously into the flower, which means you get a clean flower burn that opens up into something much bigger. Night and day difference from the typical infused pre-roll. At $10, it’s almost criminal. Don’t sleep on this one.

 

Skywalker OG —
Insano Farms Deli Flower

$10/3.5g

An old-school Lansing strain done the right way. The bag appeal alone is worth the price of admission — dense, frosty, and exactly what Skywalker OG should look like. This one has history in this town and Cannaisseur is honoring it.

 

 

 – Ascend Wellness | 1415 E Michigan Ave, East Lansing –

Ascend is a national MSO, and that comes with some built-in skepticism in a market that’s watched multistate operators blow in and blow out of Michigan without much regard for the communities they were supposedly serving. But Ascend has earned some credit here — they’ve genuinely improved their grow, they’ve built a house brand lineup that’s worth paying attention to, and they’ve been consistent about supporting Michigan-based brands on their shelves. The East Lansing location is a solid stop.

 

Mad Rabbid — Deli Flower

$12/3.5g

A unique earthy taste with great bag appeal. This is the proof that Ascend’s cultivation has turned a corner. If you’ve written off their in-house flower before, give this one a shot — it’s a different animal than what they were putting out a couple years ago.

 

Ozone Fruit Quake — Live Resin Disposable Vape

$14/g

This cart delivers an authentic weed taste that a lot of live resin disposables promise but don’t actually deliver. The hardware is reliable, which matters more than people give it credit for — nothing kills a vape experience faster than a cart that burns hot or clogs up. One note of warning: this one has a strong weed smell. Don’t bring it to work.

 

Effin’ Chillin’ — THC:CBD 7:1 Vape Cart

$16

Ascend’s house Effin’ brand is doing something smart here: a flavored distillate cart with just enough CBD to take the edge off and produce a genuinely balanced high. For people who find straight THC carts a little too much, or for those afternoon sessions when you need to stay functional, this is a great option. Also available in a THC:CBD:CBG version if you want to add another layer.

 

Effin’ Gummies

$6/200mg

At $6 for 200mg, this is one of the better edible values on the market right now. Ascend’s gummy line is organized around a vibe rather than a milligram count — a smarter way to think about edibles than most brands are willing to admit. The lineup covers Sleep (with CBN), Chillin’ (THC:CBD), and Hang (CBG:THC), each one targeting a different headspace. The taste is good and the effects are real. Pick your mood and go from there.

 

 – Pleasantrees | 1615 E Michigan Ave, East Lansing –

Pleasantrees has been one of my favorite stops in the Lansing area for a while, and not just because of the atmosphere — though walking into a dispensary that feels like a nature center is always a good start. What sets them apart is their commitment to quality at the cultivation level. They don’t remediate their flower. In a market where cutting corners on testing and remediation has become alarmingly common, that matters. This 420, they’re spotlighting their Death Row brand at 50% off, with 40% off the rest of the store. Plan accordingly.

 

Crip’d Keeper — Death Row 1g Pre-Roll

$11

Great taste, smooth smoke, and a wonderfully manageable high with a nice body buzz. Sometimes you don’t want to get blasted — you just want to feel good — and this pre-roll delivers exactly that. Sweet taste, even burn, easy afternoon.

 

West Coast Flow —

Death Row Deli Flower

$30/3.5g

An old-school California strain that takes you straight back to SFV OG Kush days — that dry, piney, West Coast funk that used to define what good weed smelled like before everything became candy. This was the first eighth I finished for the guide. That says everything.

 

 

Nineteen 92’ —

Death Row Deli Flower

$30/3.5g

This strain produced one of the most impressive eighths I pulled this year — a single massive cola that took up nearly the whole container. Bright smell, complicated taste, and the kind of visual presentation that makes you take a photo before you smoke it. Really liked this one.

 

 

Pleasantrees Rosin

$40/g

Here’s the thing about Pleasantrees rosin: the manager threw me a free one when I was picking up samples, told me I probably wouldn’t be writing a review about it. It was actually really good. They store it in a cooler and take real care to keep it fresh and at the right consistency — the kind of attention to detail that you can taste. Any rosin under the Pleasantrees brand is a solid pick. Consider this a standing recommendation.

 

Commissary Kush —

Death Row Deli Flower

$30/3.5g

Nice bag appeal and an earthy, floral taste that’s more subtle than showy. The high is active and motivated — I smoked this before doing dishes the other day and knocked them out without a second thought. Good daytime strain for people who like to stay in motion.

 

 –  Local Roots | Laingsburg & Perry –

Five years in Laingsburg. For a small family-owned shop in a small Michigan town, that’s not nothing — especially in a market that’s been chewing through operators since the 24% tax hit. Local Roots has survived by doing what big chains can’t: knowing their customers, supporting local producers, and keeping the experience personal. This 420 is their anniversary celebration, and they’re marking it with 50% off. Go celebrate with them.

 

Element Astro Pop — Live Resin Disposable Vape

$37

Element is a Lansing-based manufacturer and they did excellent work on this hybrid live resin cart. The taste and flavor are genuinely nice, and the hardware deserves special mention — it’s calibrated to avoid the burnt hit problem that plagues a lot of disposables. Clean from first puff to last.

 

Redemption Cherry Lime Runtz x Wild Cherry — Live Resin Disposable Vape

$24.10

Another Lansing-based producer, another dependable live resin vape. Redemption has quietly built one of the better reputations in the state for consistency, and this cart shows why. Worth noting: this is a new hardware version that has been performing very well — stays fresh, doesn’t burn. And for what it’s worth, this is coming out of Michigan’s first GACP, GMP, and HACCP certified cannabis facility. That’s not marketing — that’s a legitimate quality standard.

 

Redemption 10-Pack Joints

$26.75

At under $3 a joint, this is one of the best values in the guide. But the price isn’t the story — the story is who’s behind it. Redemption is owned by Ryan Basore, a Lansing cannabis pioneer who had one of the first dispensaries in the state, went to jail for it before legalization, and came back to build a company with his name on it. A portion of Redemption’s profits goes toward putting money on the books of people currently incarcerated for cannabis offenses and supporting efforts to free those still behind bars. Buying a 10-pack of Redemption joints isn’t just a great deal. It’s putting your money where your values are.

 

 

PopPot Infused Candies

$16.05

From the same people who make Element comes one of the smartest product concepts in the Lansing market: an M&M-style candy, 1mg THC per piece, roughly 100 pieces per package. Also available in dark chocolate. This is the product you hand to the person in your life who’s curious about cannabis but terrified of getting too high. It’s also the product you grab when you want to microdose through a long day without committing to anything serious. Great taste, zero intimidation factor. This is a genuine gift guide item.

 

 

My Friend Live Rosin

$22.40/g

A terrific live rosin option — great taste, beautiful consistency, and a color that tells you immediately this was handled right. If you’re a concentrate person and you haven’t tried My Friend, this is your introduction. Tasty, clean, and exactly what live rosin should be.