Farms & strains to try when in Oregon
As of Nov. 29, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission has received 2,128 applications for Producer (grower) licenses. Oregon currently has 1,621 "active" producer licenses, and assuming each license holder is producing at least a few strains, you have over 8,000 flower choices. (Yes, 2,500 may be a variation of "Ice Cream Cake.")
Green Source Gardens
GSG is the anti-corporate cannabis model, with arguably the deepest dive into sustainable and ecologically responsible growing practices in Oregon. Its website explains their embrace of polyculture gardens, bio-dynamics, permaculture, hugelkulture, indigenous agriculture and others that have earned them farming practice awards and certifications from five third-party organizations. Cannabis doesn't get any cleaner.
The grower's strictly sun-grown strains include the best-known Pinkleberry, which a GSG co-owner told "Cannabis Now" as having a high that's "zingy, heady, active. It gets your brain flying." I can second that, having found Pinkleberry and its variations to foster activity, motivation and creativity. It also exhibits the same characteristics of all their strains: sparkly buds with complex and strong terpene combinations. Impressive on all counts. Green Source strains are available locally at Substance Cannabis Market locations in Bend and at Central Organics in Madras.
Rolen Stone Farms
Based in the Applegate Valley since 2016, I discovered Rolen Stone recently after Somewhere Dispensary hipped me to its Animal Tree strain, with 6+% terpenes. Upon smelling the strain through my K95 mask, I was sold. The following week, I lucked out and grabbed some of the "Sherb Breath," which measured an astounding 5.8% in terpenes with 30% THC. The Sunset Sherbert x Mendo Breath lineage left me stress free.
Rolen Stone has a selection of greenhouse and sun-grown strains such as Tropstanto and Papayahuasa I haven't seen elsewhere, with terpenes overwhelmingly in the 4% to 5% range. It selects strains for both flavor and potency, and I've been taken by both. A standout for what "Craft Cannabis" can be, seek them out. High Desert Botanicals in La Pine has the brand, as well as Tokyo Starfish, Substance, Local Market, Miracle Greens and Top Shelf Medicine.
Two farms and a vaporizer to gift to others (or yourself)
www.bendsource.com
Greasy Runtz
For this first strain, I was stuck out in the cold shivering as I lit up the packed bowl. With no comfortable place to smoke yet, I tried to hone my senses as I took a rip of the fluffy, fresh-smelling trees. After half a bowl the cold was no longer a factor as my body was transferred to a warm place in the clouds. With the full bowl finished I was left baked like a cake, constantly reminding myself to check on the pizza rolls that were spinning in the microwave adjacent to my face. I went from pizza rolls to a fresh bowl in a matter of seconds because the only thing to cure the pain of burning in my mouth was "Greasy Runtz." This light green, orange-haired wonder was the epitome of the eat-and-sleep stoner mentality, with a classic weed taste, the smoke was smooth to inhale, and exhale through the last hit.
Ice Cream Cake
The second strain I blew down was called "Ice Cream Cake" from Oregrown. Again, the budtenders pointed me in a certain direction and I happily followed with no remorse. Ice Cream Cake happens to be one of my all-time favorite strains and when the bud guy whipped the jar out I already knew what to expect. This strain is definitely Indica-leaning: pungent, darkly colored, dusted with trichomes and literally cake-tasting, this heavy hitter never lets you down if you're looking for something that will get you super-duper shhtoned.
Mac #1
Last and certainly not least was Oregon Euphorics' suggested strain, Mac #1. This smaller- sized dispensary came in hot with information and bud. Budtender Asa Tout suggested Mac #1 because of the well-balanced effects it bolsters.
"A lot of people can tolerate it," Tout said. "It's not too much one way or the other."
Tout wasn't lying when it came to how much of a hybrid—or mix of Sativa and Indica effects—this strain was. I felt like hiking, cleaning my room and then going grocery shopping after pulling this bowl through. The light, airy effects didn't match the dense, trichome-covered bud that produced it, but the fragrant and citrusy taste provided clues about the high to follow.
Three dispensaries offer three very different buds
www.bendsource.com