This September was packed full of adventures thanks to The Cheba Run, which means this month my reviews are coming from the road! Each month Phoenix based dispensary Swell Farmacy shares 5 different concentrates with me. I review these products and then share those opinions with you! These are listed in order from favorite to least.

Canamo Concentrates: Chocolope
Color: 5
Consistency: 4.5
Aroma: 4
Taste: Smooth, sweet, floral. 
Effect: Stoney & uplifting with a good body high.
Overall: 4.5

Swell: Carrie Fisher OG
Color: 4.0
Consistency: 5
Aroma: 4.0
Taste: Sweet, fruity, tangy. 
Effect: Very strong, heavy body high, spacey.
Overall: 4.0

Canamo Concentrates: Platinum Girl Scout Cookies
Color: 4.5
Consistency: 4.5
Aroma: 4.5
Taste: Slightly sweet, floral, clean.
Effect: Very stoney, strong body high, heavy.
Overall: 4.0

Swell: Flodica
Color: 2.5
Consistency: 3
Aroma: 3
Taste: Clean and smooth but not much flavor.
Effect: Very strong, heavy body high, spacey.
Overall: 3.0

This is the second month I've reviewed concentrates for Phoenix-based dispensary Swell Farmacy. This month I received three strains, two of which came in both shatter and crumble. Instead of reviewing them from favorite to least favorite like last month, I will be comparing the same strains against each other. Big thank you to the people at Swell for valuing my opinion!

Cherry Tang Shatter
Color: 4
Consistency: 4.5
Aroma: 4
Taste: Very citrusy, clean & smooth.
Effect: Spacey & stoney, but functional with a good head high and light body high.
Overall: 4.5​

Who's the winner? Shatter.

It's a tie!

Do you ever wonder why some roses are red, while others are pink or white? Or why potatoes are brown, yellow, purple and red? The answer my friend are phenotypes, a 'composite of an organism's observable characteristics or traits.' Imagine walking into the produce section of your local grocery store, how many different types of tomatoes do you see? At least 4; cherry, heirloom, vine ripe and roma. What are the differences, and which one do you pick? This is a question cannabis cultivators ask themselves regularly.

During the initial breeding process cultivators carefully chose male and female plants with specific characteristics, the plants are then bred using the male pollen and a new strain is born! The seeds from the female are then harvested and then the pheno hunt can begin. Cultivators who don't breed themselves will often get new strains in seed packs, while others might purchase clones. Many believe clones are the only way to obtain a 'real cut' of a sought after strain, but that's another story.

Generally a pack of seeds contains between 3-10 seeds, sometimes even more. Regular seed packs contain both male and female plants while feminized seeds are all female. Feminized seeds can sometimes be less stable and cause problems later on. Males, if not kept separate, can also cause flowering plants to seed unnecessarily. Seedlings are labeled with the strain name followed by a number. In this case we have UK Cheese and Buddah Tahoe OG, which do you think is the best?  

Leave your opinion in the comments below!

The wonderful people at Swell Farmacy recently asked me if I would be interested in reviewing some products for them. Of course I said yes! I'm excited to start familiarizing myself with the products in the Arizona market. I was given 5 strains to review, and here they are! In order from favorite to least, on a scale between 1-5, with 5 being the best. 

MüV Products: Gromulan [THC: 87% CBD 7%]
​Color: 4.5
Consistency: 4.5
Aroma: 5.0
Taste: Strong smell and flavor, sweet & dank.
Effect: Very enjoyable. Uplifting with a light body high.
Overall: 5.0

Canamo Concentrates: Guice [THC: 86.32% CBD: 2.14%]
Color: 4.5
Consistency: 5.0
Aroma: 3.0
Taste: Lots of good flavor, but a little harsh at the beginning.
Effect: Not too heavy, but relaxing & spacey. 
Overall: 4.0

Swell: Nerdy Kush [THC: 77.74% CBD: 2.61]
Color: 4.0
Consistency: 4.5
Aroma: 3.5
Taste: Clean, but not very flavorful. 
Effect: Strong body & head high.
Overall: 4.0

Swell: Tahoe Lemonade [THC: 84.81 CBD: 2.61]
Color: 3.0
Consistency: 3.0
Aroma: 4.0
Taste: Pleasant, but little flavor.
Effect: Light body high, uplifting & energizing. 
Overall: 3.5

read more about the 710 Cup on Cannabis Now.

When we first moved to Phoenix, we had nowhere to live. We turned to The Clarendon Hotel because of their pet friendly policy, but apparently this is one of the coolest hotels in Phoenix! The Joint Lifestyle 4th of July party isn't the first cannabis event The Clarendon has hosted, and I hope it won't be the last! ​The entire was hotel was bought out for the cannabis-centric Independence Day party. Those who chose to the stay the night received a gift box of full of medicated gifts! Our box contained hard candies from Flourish, THC Syrup from Baked Bros, Paw Puddy Hemp CBD oil from Hempful Farms, a gram of Ghost OG from Herbal Wellness Center, a palm stick from Pura Earth, a $50 gift card to Sun Valley and a t-shirt from Sublime Brands. Opening this box in my hotel room was an almost surreal way to start the party. If you would have told me last year that I would be attending a medicated 4th of July pool party at a hotel in Arizona, I would have called you a liar. 

Cafe Tranquilo, the hotels restaurant, had a special menu out as well. Medicated salsas and sauces were provided by Flourish to accompany tacos. As well as more medicated treats including s'mores, marinara covered meatballs and raw cannabis juice for the VIP attendees. The tacos were all really good, and the sauce had just the right amount of heat and so much flavor. The Sonora Dog I had, which should have been called a chilli dog, was clunky and hard to eat but was really enjoyable as far as taste goes. I didn't mind making the mess. 

Vapen Clear, Tru Med and High Grade came through with plenty of rigs, e-nails and dabs to share with patients. Their booths were all busy from the beginning of the day until the end of the night. The lines moved quickly and lots of dabs were taken. I honestly expected people to have their own rigs but I didn't see any dabbing outside of the booths.  

There was no better way to end the night than rolling up poolside. As people retired to their rooms, went home, or tried not to pass out on the patio furniture we sparked up our last joint of the night. This was my first consumption event since living in Arizona, and I have to say it was a blast. Coming from somewhere like San Francisco, pool days were few and far between. I honestly expected to be out of my comfort zone since I never saw myself as the 'pool party type' but it all felt so...normal. I can't wait to see what's in store for my future in this community, but whatever happens I'm sure it will be a blast. 

Who doesn't love fried potatoes covered in cheese and bacon and pulled pork? If you don't, you're a liar. Our friends at Big Bad Wolf invited us to try their smothered creations this weekend and all I can say is YUM! The menu was limited due to the heatwave but everything we had was so good! The full menu must be amazing too.

We started with an order of loaded fries and an order of crispy wings with smokey BBQ sauce. The truck was conveniently parked outside BlackRock Brewers so we popped inside to sit down, eat and have a few beers. Jason had the Admiration IPA and I had the Tucson Tickle, I normally don't go for common beers but the name was too cute and it ended up being really good! 

These loaded fries were covered in a spicy seasoning blend and covered in cheese, bacon and their signature wolf sauce. After a few joints and a beer, you know this hit the spot. The spice was balanced so well with the cheese and creamy wolf sauce, I couldn't stop eating until they were finished. The chicken wings were next and boy were they crispy! The sauce doused over the wings left enough crispy skin exposed to get those nibbles of perfectly crisped skin while still retaining the flavor of the sauce. 6 wings was not enough. 

Round two was loaded pulled pork fries, delicious right? Those loaded fries I loved so much with pulled pork on top, yes! I haven't had pulled pork this tender and juicy in years. With the same smokey BBQ sauce used on the wings drizzled over the top, my mouth was in heaven.  

Looks good, hu?

I can't wait to try more of their menu and keep enjoying these new favorites. The Big Bad Wolf are currently within the top 5 food trucks in Tucson and are in the running for Best in Tucson, good luck guys!

If you follow me on social media, you know that I recently moved from sunny California to even sunnier Arizona! I was scared at first but once I realized they also had beer and weed, I felt better. 

I saw a poster for the AmeriCAN Canned Beer festival at the local Cheba Hut, and I knew I had to go. Honestly, a day of drinking in the sun and heat was rather intimidating, but how I could I pass it up? 

We knew food was crucial to keep us going all day, and we were overjoyed to see Hopdoddy Burger Bar serving sliders for free!  The only option available, cleverly named 'Little Boozie' featured beer as an ingredient. Sleepy Dog IPA to be specific, who  was serving beer at the event as well.

I tried to write down everything I tried that day, but I only managed to remember about half the time. With over 250 types of canned beer available, I was overwhelmed with styles and flavors to choose from. I was so happy to see the Smuttynose booth, their blueberry gose was a favorite on my trip to NYC. The new peach version available was easily one of the best beers of the day. Ballast Point (who didn't have very nice servers) and Modern Times (very nice servers) were a few of the many representing San Diego beer. Mango Even Keel session IPA, Fruitlands gose, and a tiny sip of Drop Art tart saison kept me going for a while.

There were only a handful of booths not selling beer. Most of these booths sold clothes, one advertised a DUI lawyer, but Swell Farmacy - a local medical cannabis dispensary - provided beer drinkers with games and coupons for free 8ths for patients. They even raffled off the cornhole boards after the event! It was hard not to have mixed feelings about the presence of medical cannabis at a beer event, but I guess that's one way to spread the good word!

The only thing I really remember drinking after that was Destihl Synchopathic, a dry hopped sour ale part of their 'Wild Sour' series. I tried their Lynnbrook raspberry sour a few years ago while visiting Chicago and was so excited to see them again! Friends enjoyed samples from Sleepy Dog, New Belgium before I refilled with Sun Up Bearded Blonde.

Goose Island had a huge tent with tables and mason jars full of hops for guests to smell while they enjoyed their beers, which I thought was a great interactive way for people to learn about beer, not just drink it! I went with their Four Star Pills, something mellow to end the day.

Keeping the beer and guests at a comfortable temperature was a challenge but from buckets and pool toys to huge mist machines, we all managed to have a good time. Hats off to the organizers, breweries and volunteers for throwing a great event!