Strains of the Month

Jah O.G. Kush
The house special from OC’s Lake Forest Alternative Center, this lovely sativa strain is by far our favorite of the bunch.

Powerful without being overwhelming, Jah OG Kush produces a mellow and long-lasting stone that’s excellent for relieving tension and migraine headaches. A lot of strains out there will do that, but what really sets Jah OG apart from the rest is the wondrous taste: earthy, rich and smooth, with a delicious bittersweet citrus aftertaste. To smoke it is to partake of the heady flavors of the Earth Mother herself.

It’s also an aesthetically pleasing strain, with large brown- and rust-colored nugs. You almost hate to break it all up, it’s so pretty.

We spent a lot of time trying to track down the origins of this remarkable weed, only to find out in the end that it’s simply Lake Forest Alternative’s take on the traditional OG Kush strain. Whatever the center’s supplier does to their Kush grows, we highly recommend they keep doing it: Jah O.G. is unlike any O.G. we’ve tried before.

Strawberry Cough
Yes, it has a strawberry aftertaste. No, you don’t need to cough to get it. And, man, is this one potent masterpiece of botanical engineering. A hybrid heavy on the sativa, Strawberry Cough hits you both high and low: You feel all the euphoria of a high-quality sativa, right along with the powerful but mellow relaxation of the best indica.

Our first take when sampling this delicious-tasting heavyweight was right out “Fast Times from Ridgemont High” – it felt like getting hit in the head with a size-10 Van’s tennis shoe. But then the buzz settled in, and all was right in the world. Some fans recommend it for soothing one’s ills while remaining active and alert. Take our word for it: This is serious couch weed: perfect for alleviating chronic back and muscle pain, lousy for scaling the face of K-2.

Sour Bubble
A gloriously stinky indica with a wonderful Bubble Gum aftertaste, Sour Bubble is bred from Bubblegum Kush, then crossed back on itself three times. It’s garnered an unfortunate reputation in some circles for being hard on the lungs – the belief being that it expands them to point of producing violent hacking coughs.

Perhaps. But the buds we scored at Alternate Herbal Health in Long Beach (where it’s billed as a house specialty) prompted none of that icky stuff: In fact, we found it to be a remarkably smooth and easy smoke. Apparently, the trick is all in the curing – the longer, the smoother.

Fresh or well aged, don’t let Sour Bubble’s rich, berry-like taste fool you: This is one seriously powerful strain, favored by medical-cannabis patients for relief from insomnia and chronic pain.

Romulan Kush
Legend has it that this sativa/indica blend earned its name by producing a high so intense “it could dent your head.” There are two problems with that story: One is that the original Romulans of Star Trek fame didn’t have dented heads. The other is that if ever there was a fictitious race less likely to get high, it was the Romulans.

Take our word for it: Romulan Kush will get you high. Highly potent with a stone that lasts more than two hours, it will also leave you feeling euphoric and more than a bit randy – “aphrodisiac,” is a word one fan used to describe it. More germane to the subject of herbal medicine, it will soothe your ills, particularly if you suffer from seizures and nerve damage.

Often mistakenly described as “pure indica,” the hybrid produces a rather cerebral sensation that should quickly alert the more experienced user to its sativa properties.

Blue Dream
A cross between Blueberry and Haze, this sativa/indica hybrid clean and smooth with a taste reminiscent of – well, if not blueberries, certainly something berry-ish.

Gorgeously pale bristling with orange hairs, Blue Dream produces a high that’s an exercise in contradictions: It comes on like a freight train, and then eases back into that syrupy sweet euphoria so typical of its parent strains. It has an edge that makes you want to get up and dance, and an afterglow that makes you want to just sit there and think about it. The best metaphor we think of to describe smoking Blue Dream is it’s like settling into a really hot bath – overwhelming at first, followed by sheer, muscle-unwinding bliss.

We found Blue Dream at the Church of Compassion in Laguna Niguel, where it flies off the shelves almost as fast as they can stock it. It’s easy to see why: Along with its powerhouse high, it’s a great remedy for headaches and a terrific stress reliever.

Master Kush
How jaded have we become in these post-215 days that a strain as profoundly complex as Master Kush seems almost quaint? This snowcapped-green gift from the gods has been around so long that it’s undergone a name change: It used be called High-Rise, after the tall Amsterdam building in which it was bred. But this sticky-sweet oldie is a goodie: Master Kush remains one of the most powerful herbs on the market, as well as having a rich, distinctive taste that leaves you begging for more.

An indica-dominated strain, it nonetheless produces a stone that starts in the head, playing all sorts of tricks on your auditory and visual senses. Then it rolls through the body, gently soothing nerves and deftly untying muscle knots you thought could never be untied. For all the great strains that have come after, Master Kush remains the master when in comes to relieving sore muscles, cramps and other assorted body aches.