Kyle Kaminski is a City Pulse staff writer and cannabis enthusiast who has been smoking marijuana just about every day for the last decade. Kaminski samples some of the best bud in Greater Lansing, gets real high and writes about it.
This week’s review comes with a disclaimer: These powerful cannabis concentrates available at dispensaries in Lansing are not your grandfather’s brick weed. Clocking in at THC rates well above 60%, these waxes and resins give new meaning to the phrase “A little dab’ll do ya.”
If you’re not a seasoned weed smoker, please, tread lightly on these potent pot products.
Holy Grail Wax
Price — $44/gram
THC content — 70.4%
I haven’t had dabs since college, but I remember being simultaneously intrigued and sort of put off by the concept of using a butane torch to heat up a glass rig before smoking. And with prices about doubling the standard flower rate, I never invested too much into the concentrate market.
But, with the wide product availability in Lansing, I figured it was time to give it some more attention. I won’t walk through an entire instructional guide, except to recommend Wild Bill’s Tobacco for a starter kit. I found a glass nail attachment for my bong, a tool and a butane torch for under $50.
Several varieties of concentrates are on the market nowadays — like wax, budder, cured resin, live resin, shatter, diamonds and more. Wax is the industry standard, and like others, the gooey extract is just a concentrated dose of THC made using a solvent like butane or carbon dioxide.
Holy Grail Kush is an indica-dominant crossbreed between Kosher Kush and OG No. 18, probably most noted for winning the first-ever perfect score at the 2011 High Times Cannabis Cup. And the concentrated version, just as expected, rattles the mind like a freight train.
Northcoast Extracts packages its wax wrapped in a small sheet of paper inside a credit-card-sized cardboard envelope. The translucent, mustard-brown wax smells and tastes a bit like citrus. But, like with my past experiences with dabs, it’s usually more about effects than flavor.
After overheating a few rounds of dabs and breaking into a coughing fit that lasted a solid two minutes, beads of sweat were dripping off my forehead and I was ready to get outside. It wasn’t that the wax was harsh, just too smooth to notice I had practically cleared the bong twice over.
The familiar, stoney buzz that I usually experience from a solid indica-rolled joint was increased tenfold in its wax form. I didn’t feel much of the usual couchlock from this indica, instead total stress relief as I strolled down the street with my dog. This could be a powerful pain reliever.
Holy Grail — paired with the evening sunshine — washes away the anxiety while keeping you alert and awake, and still lends well to socializing with friends without putting you into a daze.
Garlic Breath Pre-Rolled Joint
Price — $12/0.75 gram
THC content — 17.4%
Not ready for dabs? No worries. Skymint also has you covered on some dank flower. Garlic Bud is reportedly the same classic strain from the ’90s using Afghani genetics. I picked up a pre-rolled joint during a recent sale, otherwise these large cones could set you back $15.
Garlic Breath carries its name for a reason. It hits with a pungent smell and taste from the moment you crack open the jar until the very last puff of the roach. But I wouldn’t describe it as pure garlic, perhaps more of a subtle blend of 420 herbs and spices with a pine-like finisher.
This is some of the best “chill out” bud I’ve had the pleasure of smoking in Lansing. My usual 10-minute scroll through Netflix ended in about 60 seconds, where I comfortably spaced out into a new sci-fi series about time travel. Prepare for dry mouth and a full night of sleep afterward.
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