2020’s Cannabis Cup winners, and where to buy them
Shop the best of the legalization states.
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Month: December 2020
On Jerry Garcia's legacy and weed brand, a conversation with Trixie Garcia
The weed that Shakedown Street deserves is finally here — and it’s anything but shake. Rejoice, Deadheads: The official Jerry Garcia cannabis brand, Garcia Hand Picked, is now available on dispensary shelves throughout California, and will soon be offered in other legal states too.
Created by the Garcia family in partnership with Holistic Industries, a multi-state cannabis operator active in nine states plus Washington DC, Garcia Hand Picked made its debut this November, just after the 25-year anniversary of the iconic frontman’s passing. But if you ask Trixie Garcia, one of Jerry’s four daughters, about the conception of a Captain Trips cannabis brand, it’s been a long time coming.
“We’ve considered the idea as early as the year 2000,” Trixie told Weedmaps during an hour-long phone interview. “But we’ve really been thinking about the brand for eight years in earnest. Ultimately, getting into the cannabis space wasn’t a green rush thing for me… I wanted to wait until we found the right partner who was into the nuances of the culture.”
That partner is Josh Genderson, CEO and founder of Holistic Industries, as well as a tie-dyed-in-the-wool, “lifelong” Deadhead. (His favorite live shows? Europe ’72, Capitol Theater Port Chester ’71, and Winterland ’77, among others.) Mirroring Trixie’s concerns about finding the right collaborator, Genderson explained to Weedmaps that his company has “said no so many times to celebrities and established West Coast brands” about launching a weed product with a famous face. “It’s never made sense for us, and we’ve always been able to create our own brands that are successful. But a Garcia brand? It’s a ‘pinch me’ sort of moment.”
“There’s a Mount Rushmore of cannabis,” Genderson continued during a call. “Bob Marley. Snoop Dogg. Willie Nelson. They all belong to it and have some iteration of a brand. And who was missing in that last spot? Jerry Garcia.”
After Holistic worked with Trixie and the Garcia family to make sure “every step of the process was lock-step, intentional, and a true expression of Jerry’s family and legacy,” Garcia Hand Picked premiered with a suite of specialty flower strains, pre-rolls, and edibles, including “Jerry’s Picks,” gummies with 5 milligrams of THC that are shaped like guitar picks.
Brianne Fortuna (Hudson Cutler & Co.)The strains include “premium, slow-cured” varieties like Peanut Butter Souffle, SFV OG, and Fire OG, as well as the “heirloom” Chemdog, which is “believed to have hailed straight from a 1991 Grateful Dead parking lot in Deer Creek, Indiana.” In the future, Garcia Hand Picked hopes to release other legacy genetics that tie into the history of Deadhead and Lot culture. “It’s all about trying to make the whole world like a Grateful Dead concert,” Trixie explained with a laugh.
To learn more about the development of this landmark cannabis line, Weedmaps spoke to Trixie Garcia shortly after she finished some gardening at her home in Sebastopol, California. On top of detailing the first time she smoked weed at age eight, Trixie, who’s now 46, discussed what makes their tentpole strains so special, why Holistic was the right partner-in-pot, and she even speculated what Jerry’s own favorite live show might have been.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Weedmaps: Can you tell me about your own personal history with cannabis, as well as your preferred consumption method today?
Trixie Garcia: My preferred consumption method today — and probably for the past ten years of being a daily consumer — is still a bong. It’s simple and to the point.
I was raised with weed as a normalized thing in our household and our culture — Grateful Dead and Merry Prankster culture. It was totally normalized, like a glass of brandy of whatever. In our family, joint rolling was a skill set like slicing the turkey.
Cannabis has always been a friend, an ally. I’m a believer in it. I believe that what we’re doing is for the benefit of humanity, giving people better options for medication, entertainment and more. There’s a thousand reasons why launching a cannabis company feels natural to me. And I’m not a musician! This is another way for me to participate in our scene.
WM: Do you remember the first time you smoked, and what the context was?
Garcia: There’s the PC answer, and the not-so-PC answer to the question. The truth is the truth, though: I was 8-years-old and some hippie handed me and my best friend a joint outside of a Dead show. He was like, “Hey girls, you wanna get high?” And we were both like, “Yeah!” [laughs] It was a good time! That’s the most consistent thing I can say: weed brings a sense of being in the moment. Suddenly, everything (including your perspective) is a little lighter, everything is a little funnier, everything tastes a little better. It’s nothing but a good time.
WM: Today, are you a microdoser or macrodoser?
Garcia: I microdose psilocybin pretty regularly. As far as cannabis goes, I’m a macrodoser for sure. I won’t really feel it until I have at least 30 milligrams of THC in me.
WM: When did you first seriously consider starting a Garcia weed brand?
Garcia: We’ve been thinking about the brand for eight years in earnest, really doing research, talking to people, touring facilities, watching other “celebrity” brands have so-so launches. Getting into the cannabis space is not a green rush thing for me. There are plenty of investment bankers out there already to make that happen…
I really wanted to find a partner who was into the nuances of the culture, including a dedication to thoughtful cultivation and the farmers themselves. Holistic Industries has a lot of integrity. They’ve gone above and beyond, and we have a lot of high hopes for the future.
What Jerry means to people is a huge responsibility, and we wouldn’t want to hand that over to the wrong type of organization. I don’t want to take advantage of the good faith that my dad’s skill and talent built. That’s not what this is about. This is to empower anyone who chooses cannabis. To normalize it. To kill the stereotypes. We can come together under this, and share what the fanbase has in common. What we’ve been doing for the past 50 years is growing great weed, you know?
WM: Can you tell me about determining Garcia Hand Picked’s initial product offerings? In particular, I’m curious about the legacy behind some of the strains you’re releasing.
Garcia: So on the road with the Grateful Dead, and the ’60s counterculture, there were some famous exchanges of genetics that happened. That’s the story of the Chemdog, in particular. The idea is to bring back these rare genetics, and we’re working towards it. That’s part of my vision. I want to be able to have something from those eras that you can count on, but the reality is that it’s a really liquid situation with agriculture. Still, there’s a great story behind pretty much every strain. Some are new strains, like our indica, the Peanut Butter Souffle. It isn’t an heirloom strain in the same way as the Chemdog… but it’s delicious!
WM: Which strain excites you the most from the initial offering?
Garcia: I’m most vibing off the sativa pre-roll Green Lantern strain. It’s a sungrown strain from Mendocino County. It’s super rootsy and a good, well-rounded, high-energy bud. It keeps well, it’s flavorful. We’re going to try and have a long-term partnership with this particular grower, and this is his proprietary strain.
We also definitely want to do some concentrate partnerships in the future, in order to showcase some of our strains. We want to do some limited edition runs, and things like that.
WM: What types of consumers do you think will gravitate towards the brand at first? The Dead obviously appeal to multiple demographics and age groups, but who will be first in line to get GHP?
Garcia: Probably the fans! They’ll be interested to try it, and it’s very important to me that they don’t feel disappointed or ripped off in any way whatsoever. We’re not out to get anybody; we’re just trying to grow some good weed. It’ll be impactful for the fans. We want to make it special and respectful, and the packaging is really beautiful. I’m holding some in my hand as I talk to you. I’m very proud of it. It’s been a lot of hard work.
I like this weird kind of quiet brand launch. There’s not a lot of trumpet blowing or parties. It’s very underground and in-the-know, in a way. Which is just like how the Grateful Dead was.
WM: Can we talk about the aesthetics of the brand? How did you zero in on what ended up becoming the face and image of GHP?
Garcia: There was a lot of talk and a lot of pictures we looked at. We had ideas like, “Do we use a photo of young Jerry for the sativa, and old Jerry for the indica?” Silly things like that [laughs].
The image of Jerry on the packaging is from a photo taken of him in Egypt. It’s one of my favorites, so I voted heavily for it. And we wanted something swirly and organic for the rest of the design. It looks like smoke. I went to art school, so I had some fun working with Holistic and adding my eye.
WM: So outside the actual cannabis, which aspect of GHP excites you the most?
Garcia: Oh man. I’m really excited for getting out there, and getting involved in the farmer’s lives. And telling their stories, as well as stories about life on the farm. The sungrown farmers? That’s a real portal into some deep, rootsy hippie stuff. Eventually, we’ll showcase the growers on our website.
WM: In the spirit of “hand picks” — since every Deadhead’s favorite game is to name their favorite show, do you ever recall Jerry mentioning a show he particularly liked? A “favorite” tour of his own?
Garcia: Oh man! That’s funny and a really good question, a rare question. I bet there is one. I have to wonder if it was a show he felt was perfectly played, or a show that was super ridiculous and all hell broke loose. Which one would he prefer? The one where they almost got struck by lightning at the pyramids? Maybe, it was just a quiet night at The Warfield, where he just felt like he was really in the zone. I could imagine that, too.
WM: What about you? Do you have a favorite live show or touring year?
Garcia: I was born in ’74 so the mid-to-late ’80s was my heyday, you know? Another good question… probably the New Year’s Eve shows. Those were always really special. One of those, probably. But none in particular because it all blends together… just like the songs!
WM: How do you hope Garcia Hand Picked will grow from here?
Garcia: I’m not into growth above all else. I want to create a cool scene that a lot of people feel good being a part of. It basically already exists, but it needs fertilizer and investment. The whole movement is a beautiful thing and I’ve witnessed it my whole life. Why not share it and try to propagate it? Recreate it at different levels, and invite in new people to have that experience. The music changed so many people’s lives, and cannabis can do that, too. Garcia Hand Picked is ultimately about trying to make the whole world like a Grateful Dead concert [laughs].
Images courtesy of Brianne Fortuna (Hudson Cutler & Co.)
The post On Jerry Garcia's legacy and weed brand, a conversation with Trixie Garcia appeared first on Weedmaps News.
Source: wm
The Emerald Triangle in California, explained
About 85 miles north of San Francisco, the Emerald Triangle comprising three counties — Mendocino, Humboldt, and Trinity — hugs the Pacific coast as it expands northward to Oregon. The Triangle hosts some of the finest cannabis growing conditions in the world, thereby producing some of the world’s best and most robust herb, with many plants reportedly growing up to 15 feet tall and producing epic yields. In no small part, this is because of the area’s exceptional microclimate, balance of rain and sun, and weather that is neither too hot nor too cold.
No doubt the fertile, loamy soil and clement weather play a part in producing such fine weed, but many of the growers in the area are cannabis veterans who earned their chops long before California Proposition 215 made cannabis legal for medicinal purposes in 1996. Knowing how much cannabis had yielded prior to legalization is difficult to know, but today, growers in the Emerald Triangle produce 1.7 million pounds of cannabis each year, making the region the number one domestic supplier for the United States market, according to California state estimators.
The transformation of the Emerald Triangle
But how did the lush region transform from sparsely populated logging towns to booming cannabis mecca? In the 1960s and 70s, many people adhering to the Back-to-the Land movement that rejected urban lifestyles and other social mores migrated to the area to seek solace and act with self-sufficiency. Cannabis, despite its illegality at the time, soon became a crop of choice to support their families and community. The topography of the Triangle also provides a lot of cover with its towering trees and remote locations, while the population is spread widely throughout dense woods and mountains. It’s a good place to get lost.
Though Emerald Triangle cannabis thrived when it was illegal across the board — and came from the black market — a new era of legalization has presented some challenges to local growers and the surrounding communities. Since Prop 215, there has been significant growth in the area, not just in the industry but also from outsiders without much skin in the game, like poser growers, seasonal trimmers, and tourists. While an influx of workers and visitors can be good for localities in terms of tax revenue and tourism exposure, it can also bring its share of downsides and risks.
The hard-to-access terrain of the area helped shelter the hippie farmers who grew there in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, but today, it too frequently provides good cover for criminal cartels and illegal domestic growers that plant clandestine crops. Not only does this produce unneeded competition between legal and illicit growers for workers, it weakens the legal cannabis industry on the whole and often leaves devastating environmental impacts, like diverted and poisoned waterways full of toxic chemicals to grow supersized cannabis plants that can harm downstream crops, animal and plant life.
Why is there high crime in the Emerald Triangle? Is Humboldt County dangerous?
Despite its idyllic appearance and its reputation as a “stoner’s paradise,” the Emerald Triangle has its fair share of crime. In addition to the aforementioned activities of cartels and illicit growers, Humboldt County in particular — despite a small population — has a lot of murders. In 2018, Humboldt Country claimed the dubious distinction of California’s second highest homicide rate, as reported by San Jose-based outlet The Mercury News.
One such incident caught the attention of Netflix, who in 2018 created a show based on a murder in the Emerald Triangle titled Murder Mountain. The series explored the 2013 disappearance and homicide of a local grower named Garret Rodriguez and the ensuing tension his murder created with local cannabis insiders. To this day, Rodriguez’ case remains unsolved.
While Netflix creates drama for viewers, real-life growers in the Emerald Triangle have drama of their own as they continue to adapt to changes brought on by the demands of operating in the legal cannabis marketplace (California legalized weed for all adults in 2016). Many growers in the area, some of whom have been successfully cultivating cannabis for decades, have been concerned that widespread legalization prioritizes corporate weed that elbows out the already established mom and pop shops. For others, there is concern about shrinking profit margins due to the spiraling costs attributed to the legal market, such as licensing fees, onerous paperwork, required security measures, and so on.
The Emerald Triangle is definitely not the place that attracted the back-to-the-landers decades ago, and it has had its share of growing pains as it continues to straddle the complicated legalities of being state legal but not federally legal. Though some positive changes have been made by regulators to bring black market growers into the legal industry, there is still a long way to go.
As long as federal cannabis prohibition remains intact, the Emerald Triangle will retain its sense of literal and figurative wildness. Both licensed and unlicensed growers will continue to cultivate high quality weed, some of whom will supply unlicensed markets, while cartels will continue their solely illegal enterprises under the canopy of trees. Nonetheless, licensed growers continue to supply high-quality weed to California consumers, and cannabis — whether legal or not — remains an integral part of the Emerald Triangle’s economy and communities.
Featured image by Canna Obscura/Shutterstock
The post The Emerald Triangle in California, explained appeared first on Weedmaps News.
Source: wm
8 of the best Haze strains
Haze is no rare commodity. The heritage is parent to some of the most popular contemporary hybrids in shops today. Many of today’s haze phenotypes are genetically similar to the landrace strains our hippy grandparents smoked, but modern cultivation has presented a far wider range of complex effects.
Below, check out some of the most notable examples of Haze genetics, making them the best Haze strains.
Haze
Haze (aka Original Haze) originated in Santa Cruz, CA sometime in the early 70s by a pair of storied cultivators named “the Haze Brothers” along with their partner “Sam the Skunkman.” The cultivation involved a number of imported landrace sativa strains — landrace referring to cannabis strains that, while not necessarily wild, have not been formally selected, developed, or genetically manipulated by breeders.
Haze is not a pure sativa, but it is a genetic pillar of contemporary cannabis for its expression of sativa effects, including, energy, euphoria, and wild creativity. Expect notes of berry and lemon and an earthy exhale.
Super Lemon Haze
Varsity stoners often refer to Super Lemon Haze as a daytime strain for its energizing head high. For the majority of users, this strain delivers the kind of bright, euphoric mental and elastic body highs that can make a person positively enthusiastic about housework, errands, and all manner of daily minutia.
Super Lemon Haze’s genetics combine Lemon Skunk with Super Silver Haze for an 80:20 sativa/indica genetic split. The resulting flowers are heavily sugared, sharply fragranced, and dense with resin. Expect a citrusy nose and a crisp, lemony exhale.
Strawberry Haze
Fans of peppy, energetic highs may find their perfect match in Strawberry Haze (aka Arjan’s Strawberry Haze), another strain almost universally approved for “daytime use.” Consumers report a clear, cerebral head high and languid, effervescent body high that is manageable, yet powerful.
Strawberry Haze, has a complex lineage that reportedly involves a mix of Swiss Sativa, Northern Lights #5, Haze, and Kali Mist. The resulting hybrid is also a popular therapeutic strain for treating depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. Expect a hint of strawberry in the nose and a sheer, herbaceous exhale.
Cannalope Haze
Cannalope Haze is a popular strain for those looking to extinguish fatigue with a volcanic eruption of creativity, but fans of this cultivar also extoll it as a panacea with a wide swath of potential effects, including anxiety and pain relief.
Bred from the heritage Haze Brothers strain and a Mexican sativa landrace from Michoacan, Cannalope Haze’s terpene profile presents as a fruity mashup of caryophyllene, terpinolene, and linalool that reportedly tastes remarkably like fresh cantaloupe melon. That unique flavor plus the ultra-resinous flowers of this cultivar make it popular for extractions and concentrates.
Blue Haze
Unlike the rest of the haze strains on this list, Blue Haze, or Blueberry Haze, is an indica-dominant hybrid, with fans widely reporting relaxing, tranquilizing, and deeply psychotropic effects. This cultivar’s complexity can also present an energetic euphoria for a slim margin of consumers. Go figure.
Blue Haze’s genetics are similar to a sordid love triangle. It’s a hybrid of Blueberry, a classic indica, and either Amnesia Haze or Super Silver Haze, depending on the cultivator. Either way, the resulting flowers are snowy, dense, and richly threaded with orange hairs. Expect a berry sweet nose and an exhale that’s peppery at the finish.
Amnesia Haze
Amnesia Haze, not to be confused with Amnesia, is a euphoric and sociable strain that is the perfect choice for creative collaboration or long, animated chats.
Overall, fans of Amnesia Haze find it to be the perfect strain for social activities, but also find it useful in therapeutic applications; the strain has reported high efficacy in relieving anxiety and depression, fatigue, and chronic pain.
Amnesia Haze is another complex hybrid, a cross of Haze, Southeast Asian, Afghani, and Hawaiian landrace strains that’s resulted in a fruity, earthy, and brightly herbal terpene profile in a dense, deep green flower. Expect a woody, herbal perfume and a faintly sweet exhale.
Purple Haze
Purple Haze is one of the original Haze phenotypes to descend from the stabilized seeds cultivated by the Haze Brothers. And the effects can be inferred by the phenotype’s title: consumers report a technicolor euphoria supported by a weightless body high that compounds into effects that flirt with psychedelia.
Purple Haze flowers are typically deep violet in hue, and sparkling with a rich blanket of crystalline trichomes. Expect a sweet, earthy perfume and a dense, velvety exhale.
Super Silver Haze
Perennial party favorite Super Silver Haze has a unique balance of giddy euphoria, softened cognition, and remarkable staying power which has given it not only legendary top-shelf status, but also the distinction of three first prizes at the High Times Cannabis Cup.
Prized for its therapeutic values as a chronic pain/fatigue reliever, Super Silver Haze fans also laud the strain for its calm body buzz which can appeal to sativa-hesitant, indica-loving cannabis smokers.
Super Silver Haze is bred from a cross of Shiva and Northern Lights #5, resulting in fluffy, bright green buds dusted in trichomes. Expect a peppery nose and sharp, tangy exhale.
Find thousands of strains on Weedmaps
Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps
The post 8 of the best Haze strains appeared first on Weedmaps News.
Source: wm
