Cannabis may seem like it’s some top-secret, ethereal organism, but it grows from a seed like any other plant. For growers of all expertise levels, cannabis seeds are a vital resource for getting their crops started.
Big grows and little self-contained plant experiments alike all came from a seed — though maybe from a clone that came from a plant that came from a seed. The seeds themselves are part of cannabis lore and legend — as cultivation technology flourished, they became less prevalent in any given sack of weed.
Buying seeds is something you see advertised online, and while many growers all over the world use this method, California has easy access at places designed especially to get you the right starting materials, seed or clone.
Where to get quality seeds in California
A “seed bank” is that place, and it’s a strategy that farmers have used for thousands of years. Even self-sowing plants might need a little help from the elements, and cannabis is no different. Protecting weed seeds from the environment (or from being eaten by animals, as many are viable food sources), is one of the foundations of agriculture. Today’s seed banks are mostly shops versus community-operated storage.
The west coast allows for cultivation on a level that is largely owed to the plant’s popularity in states like California, which has informed counterculture. Cannabis is also largely dependent on sunny climes. The seed banks in the Golden State concentrate in the cannabis-heavy Humboldt/Trinity county areas, like Grower’s Choice Cannabis Seeds, but they are harder to find elsewhere.
At a seed bank, you can find starters of sometimes hundreds of cultivars, in seed or clone. These are the bones of any type of cultivation system and where you can find information about parentage via genetics. Sometimes the storied history of any given strain is also part of the sales pitch.
Some seed banks are collectively sourced, others are proprietary and involve the breeding products of just that company. In California, it is legal to have seeds stored, and any year now, interstate commerce in the cannabis sector could open up these seed banks to the rest of the country and perhaps, the world. Until then, buying seeds online isn’t legal.
When that happens, the decades of intense breeding and cataloging by tireless cannabis pros will be available to everyone, not just those in the immediate area.
Kicking back and smoking alone can be a good time, but smoking with friends is almost always better. For us, getting creative and coming up with a weed game is usually a better time than playing a tired drinking game.
There’s a lot of smoking games you can play in a group, most of which will get you plenty high, but before the games begin, here are a few pointers to make sure you don’t get too high:
Stick with joints or dry herb vapes instead of concentrates or edibles
Use a strain with low to moderate THC
Don’t mix weed and alcohol
Don’t take hits between games
Something to keep in mind during the time of COVID-19: most of these games require sharing joints, pipes, bongs, or vapes, and do not take into account social distancing. So make sure that before planning a smoking game night, consider local and CDC guidance to keep yourself, family, and friends healthy and safe.
Bong Pong
Basically beer pong, but with weed. Break your group up into teams of two. Set up the cups, and instead of adding beer as you would in beer pong, add water to stabilize the cups. If you make the shot, the other team has to take a bong or joint or vape hit. The rules can also be reversed so that the player who makes the cup gets to take a hit.
Medusa
For a very short history lesson, Medusa is a monster from Greek mythology with hair made of snakes and eyes that, when gazed upon, turn people to stone. Luckily, in this weedy version, nobody turns to stone but has to take a hit instead.
In this game, everyone will need their own smoking accessory. Arrange the group in a circle, then begin by having everyone look down. On the count of three, every member of the group looks at someone. If anyone in the group makes eye contact with another, they both have to take a hit.
Musical marijuana
This is the perfect game with a great playlist. Choose a list of songs with repetitive lyrics, so pretty much any song by Bob Marley would work — think “Buffalo Soldier” or “Get Up, Stand Up.” Also consider “Africa” by either Toto or Weezer, “Work” by Rihanna, Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” or Childish Gambino’s “This is America” for a start.
The rules are simple: pick a lyric or phrase, and every time the chosen lyric comes up, take a rip.
Tip: choose your song to match the weed experience level of people in the group. If you have less experienced consumers, consider making the lyric something that isn’t repeated a ton so they don’t have to take a hit every time the chorus comes up.
Band Names
The first player names a musician or band, let’s say they pick Drake. The next person has to name a band or musician whose name begins with the last letter of the previous player. In this example, since player one chose Drake, player two could choose Elvis Costello. Then player three could pick Oasis, and so on. When a player can’t think of a name, they take a hit.
Not just for bands, this game can be switched up to use the names of celebrities, athletes, or even famous stoners, whatever the group agrees to.
Other games that have been adapted to smoking with friends are strip poker, 21, H-O-R-S-E, Jenga, and Wheel of Fortune to name a few. Or you can get creative and make games of your own. Just remember, if you feel like you’ve hit your limit, don’t be afraid to sit a few rounds out. Your health is more important than winning.
A nonprofit organization dedicated to therapeutic cannabis research and education known as the Realm of Caring Foundation, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, has been diligently collecting data from cannabis users and non-users alike over the past 4 years for purposes of evaluating the impact of medicinal cannabis use on patient-level health and quality of life.
A web-based study enrolled 1,276 participants (including those already using a cannabis product and those considering its use) between April 2016 and February 2018.
Of the 1,276 participants, 524 adult patients and 284 adult caregivers of children or dependent adults, all self-reported using cannabis for medicinal purposes. The control group consisted of 271 adult patients who were considering cannabis use, and 197 adult caregivers who were considering it for a dependent child or adult patient.
All of the participants self-reported that they or their dependent patient had a diagnosed health condition at the time of the baseline assessment. Primary conditions included neurological diseases such as MS and epilepsy, chronic pain from autoimmune diseases like fibromyalgia, back pain, cancer, insomnia, and psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
The research findings of the study, entitled “A Cross-Sectional and Prospective Comparison of Medicinal Cannabis Users and Controls on Self-Reported Health,” was published this week in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, Volume X, Number X, 2020.
Study Findings
Fifty-eight percent of patients used CBD-dominant products. By comparison, THC-dominant products were used by 13%, balanced THC/CBD products by 5%, and products in which the highest concentration was a minor cannabinoid, such as cannabigerol (CBG) or cannabinol (CBN), by 3% of cannabis users. Many participants (21%) did not know or did not specify the chemotype of the cannabis products they used.
The results of the study found that cannabis users self-reported having a significantly better quality of life in several areas of their lives, e.g., improved sleep, less pain, less hospital and ER visits, less seizures, reduced anxiety and depression. Further, members of the control group who initiated cannabis use after baseline showed significant health improvements at follow-up.
In the world of weed, strains come and strains go, but the strains that develop legacies find ways to keep giving back to weed culture over the years — OG Kush is one of those strains.
Original Kush, best known as OG Kush, is the don dada of cannabis. It’s the #1 most popular strain on Weedmaps, the reigning Strain Madness champion, and the true backbone of West Coast cannabis culture today.
OG Kush is perhaps the first strain to reach both mass popularity in the mainstream and legendary status within cannabis culture. Which is why OG Kush has been used to breed other strains that furthered the culture and industry.
We’ve rounded up seven of the strains every savvy cannabis consumer who likes OG Kush should know about.
History of OG Kush
As with most historical cannabis strains, the exact history and genetics of OG Kush are hard to confirm. Is it a Chemdog cross? Did it come from some random bagseed long ago? Did someone hike up the Hindu Mountains and pull it directly out of the ground? No one knows the What of OG Kush, all we know is the Who and Where.
Matt “Bubba” Berger and Josh D brought OG Kush to fruition. At some point in the 1990s, Bubba brought the strain to Florida from Amsterdam, and after working it for some time, he flew out to California with the seeds and gave OG Kush to supreme grower Josh D to maximize the plant’s potential. Josh D worked his magic and the rest is history.
Since OG’s birth in 1992, the strain has gained worldwide notoriety and has been instrumental in creating some of your favorite weed strains of today.
Tahoe OG will get you high as hell. Straight up. It’s top reported effects are relaxed, euphoric, and hungry, which is cannacode for “my god, you are about to be absolutely stoned.”
Tahoe OG is the most notable OG Kush phenotype, meaning it came directly from the seeds of the parent strain; it’s not a hybrid of OG Kush and something else. Think of phenotypes in terms of kittens. A litter could have 5 kits from the same parents, but for some reason they all look and act differently. The same applies to weed.
Tahoe OG nugs are flooded with orange hairs, white trichomes, and appear a bit darker and denser than the Original. Still, that classic earthy citrus smell of Kush remains intact.
Bubba Kush is probably the most well-known Kush strain not-named OG Kush. We can thank breeder Matt Berger, rappers, and pop culture for that one.
The result of accidental pollination of a Kush strain by an alleged Northern Lights, Bubba Kush is an indica-dominant powerhouse. Its top reported effects are euphoric, relaxed, and happy, so expect to be chillin’ on the couch with a full Netflix queue.
Though an OG descendant, the indica genetics in Bubba’s lineage gives a totally different look and feel. Instead of the citrusy and earthy Kush flavors, Bubba nugs give off a sweet, almost grape-like aroma that transfers into a sweet earthy flavor that many describe as a hashish taste.
San Fernando Valley Kush OG, or SFV OG, is another well-known phenotype of the legendary OG Kush. It should not be confused with SFV OG Kush, a cross of a Kush and an Afghani landrace.
SFV OG gives off a strong lemony and piney aroma that you can hear from a mile away. Ya know, cause it’s loud. Another potent Kush phenotype, the top reported effects are relaxed, euphoric, and giggly.
Like Tahoe OG, SFV can hit you with that “Wow, I am outta there” type of high that is best suited for experienced consumers. If you’re new to weed, but want to give it a whirl, maybe ease into it with a vape pen as vape effects tend to be lighter and shorter-lived than flower or dabs.
Headband is an OG Kush x Sour Diesel hybrid with a reputation for providing heavy cerebral effects that wrap around the head like a — you guessed it — Headband. Its top reported effects are: euphoric, focused, and relaxed.
Headband looks like the other OG strains with its green and orange-colored buds; however, the smell is more distinguished as it gives off a funky cheese scent and a little bit of a diesel undertone, showing off those Chemdog and Skunk genetics from Sour Diesel.
True OG is as OG as they come when we’re talking Kush hybrids. It was bred by backcrossing OG plants over and over until the result was the perfect indica-dominant OG Kush hybrid. Its most reported effects are: euphoric, focused, and relaxed.
True OG has a more skunky and piney type aroma than the earthy OGs before it. It’s an excellent strain to dab. The hash really brings out those super loud skunky and piney flavors followed by a super stoney high.
Out of any strain that has come from OG Kush, or been influenced by its genetics, GSC has had the biggest impact on modern cannabis culture.
Originally known as Girl Scout Cookies, this cross of OG Kush with Durban Poison produces bulbous nugs that are absolutely blanketed by white trichomes. We could get into effects, but the Girl Scout legacy goes way past consumption.
This strain is an absolute staple in California, and now you see Cookies hybrids in dispensaries all around the world. Its impact on the cannabis world is undeniable, so is the fact that it wouldn’t exist without the Original Kush.
