The darkness of winter is upon us, and for certain folks it can really mess with their state of mind—fear not, fellow medicinal marijuana patients! Recently, I found a few goodies from Minerva Canna Goods’ Albuquerque location to quell sadness of any level. After making my way to the Los Ranchos location through rush hour traffic—is it just me or does traffic seem particularly terrible recently?—and grabbed the strain Mother’s Milk (THC: 23.97%, $10) and the ever-appetizing and seasonally appropriate edible S’mores Rice Crispy Treat (THC: 40mg/bar, $8).Starting out with Mother’s Milk—the name makes me uncomfortable but, you know what, this is a very solid sativa strain. I felt a surprising amount of headiness but I was still able to function perfectly fine, there was no noticeable impact on my motor skills or short term memory for the amount of relaxation that it induced. The flower smells and tastes sweet and earthy, like vanilla. Once I was done with my daily chores, I sat down, watched a movie, read and then went to bed like any normal night (no laying down for 40 minutes to “meditate” like what usually happens with more potent strains and my brain).The following night I tried the sativa S’mores Rice Crispy Treat. I was pleased that it was just 40mg/bar—dispensary workers usually just point me to the highest mg/bar, to which my response is, “You think I’m just going to nibble on this? You’re seriously overestimating that amount of self control I have with food, pal.” I cut it into quarters and took a bite of the delicious, sweet and salty rice crispy treat. I hardly noticed any cannabis flavor, perhaps because the sugar-coated, coagulated cereal had a thick layer of dark chocolate with sprinkles of graham crackers and sea salt topping the treat. It was soft and tore easily. After an hour I had another quarter and within two hours I was relaxed, but remained composed. It was heady enough that I had a difficult time getting up the next day—normally it takes me about half an hour to rise from a sleepy, groggy state to my normal “top o’ the mornin’ dancey time,” self—it was closer to two and a half hours for me to feel normal that morning. Some other strains that I think could potentially help with sadness, whether seasonally activated or just good ol’ depression, are sativa strain Honey Bananas (in my personal experience it’s incredibly relaxing, and induces a euphoric happiness) and Pineapple Diesel (gives an uplifted, talkative, euphoric feelings as well as some slight paranoia). Some hybrid options are Blue Dream (provides a mellow high that’s also great for subduing anxiety), Gorilla Glue #4 (coaxes relaxation, happiness and sleepiness), Sour Kush (generally same effects as Gorilla Glue #4, but is more energizing) and Lavender Jones (really pumps up your creative juices as well as promoting high spirits and calmness). Lastly, some good indicas for helping depression are Northern Lights (to be honest, I’m getting tired of describing each strain fairly formally so I’ll write how I remember each strain: relaxes, makes happies and sleepies veeeeeery likely), Biochem (Sleep! Calm! Hunger!) and Tangerine Kush (Warm! CALM! Happy! Hungry!).Wintertime can be difficult, but with the right tools and practices getting through to the other side (as in Springtime, not the Upsidedown) is definitely achievable. Be kind to others and be kind to yourself. Heal better!
Email Rini your favorite seasonal strains that help you cope and what gets you up and at 'em at rini@alibi.com.