Curaleaf recently introduced what they called “Florida’s first sublingual tablets” to the market. For their blog post with the announcement and more details about the launch, click here.
While these are labeled as “sublingual tablets”, they look and feel much more like edible gummies. I suppose that they could have been dissolved under the tongue, but I didn’t have the patience, so I ate them.
This is not technically an “edible” product, but for all intents and purposes of this review, it will be treated like one.
Quick Facts:
Batch: TSLT0824202001
Price at time of review: $45/150mg (30 pieces, 5mg each)
You can’t see it well, but each piece has “THC” stamped on it.
Product Quality/Consistency:
Each of the 30 squares is soft and squishy in texture, much like a gummy candy. There was what felt like a thin powdery coating on each piece when I chewed it up, but these were overall easy to eat, and I appreciated the convenience of them.
The pieces did want to stick to each other a good bit (kept indoors in their jar at room temperature), but did not rip or tear when I pulled them apart.
Overall, these seemed like solid gummies, or “tablets”.
Product Quality/Consistency Rating: 7.50/10.00
Taste
The flavor is labeled as “Arctic Berry”, and I’d say that is accurate. The strong berry taste was enjoyable and tasted like any other fruit/berry gummy; I did not detect any cannabis or distillate taste at all. There was somewhat of a cooling sensation towards the end of chewing up each piece; I guess that is where the “arctic” came from. My wife said they smell like those “Strawberita” drinks in the Bud Light product line… I can’t really argue with her on that, either.
These aren’t just the best tasting thing in the world, but as far as cannabis and fruit gummies go, they’re good. Taste is a very subjective category as we all know, and that’s no different with edible sublingual cannabis products – so take my opinions with a grain of salt, as always.
Taste Rating: 6.50/10.00
Effects:
Oral cannabis effects are different than inhalation by their very nature. They are very dose-dependent, and vary greatly from patient to patient based on individual tolerance. For an educational recap of oral cannabis effects, click here.
Edibles dosing chart, courtesy of Leafly.
I admittedly do not take a lot of oral cannabis products or make my own edibles very often, so I was unsure how much I should try. I ended up trying several different doses, and will recount my experience with each here. For reference, my smoking/inhalation tolerance is moderate to high; I smoke 3-5 bowls each day, with a few 3-second draws of vape carts supplemented in various parts of the day.
5-10 mg: I probably wouldn’t have normally bothered documenting such a dose, as I normally don’t feel many effects from small oral doses. However, I only had one piece left tonight, so I figured I might as well document it for this review. I have also smoked flower, and I’d definitely say I feel a more heavy, all-encompassing effects spectrum than I normally would from just flower. Other than that, the effects from the tablet at this dose are unremarkable.
15 mg: I found this to be the minimal dose I needed to feel effects from the tablets on their own, without supplementing any inhaled THC. Full-body relaxation was most apparent, and I found that the time between my normal inhalation sessions (vape cart or flower) doubled. This dose wasn’t intoxicating or very cerebral, but it made me feel nice, and it took most of the edge off my anxiety and depression.
25 mg: Similar effects to the previous dose threshold, but heavier, and cerebral effects started becoming apparent. This was probably my “sweet spot” to be functionally medicated. I did not experience any anxiety.
40 mg: This was the highest dose I took while remaining completely comfortable. I started becoming a bit more lazy and euphoric at this dose, and just wanted to sit on the couch and play video games. I didn’t have any desire to smoke or vape for much of the day when I used this dosage. It seemed to last 4-5 hours.
50 mg: This is the dose I “accidentally” ended up getting to on my first day with this product (not all at once – just kept adding on), and it did end up causing me some negative effects. I, like many cannabis patients, underestimated edibles because the lower doses didn’t do much for me in the past – even with RSO. The main issues I encountered with the “overdose” were elevated heart rate and anxiety, which formed a negative feedback loop with one another. Thankfully, I’ve been in this situation countless times in my younger years, and 10-20 mg of oral CBD was enough to bring me back into a comfortable effects spectrum; after the CBD, it felt more like the 40 mg dose range again. Effects lasted for almost all of the day – I only smoked just before bed that night, which I’m sure my lungs were thankful for. This experience made me realize how happy I am that we have edible products in Florida now, ironically enough.
Effects Summary: The effects felt similar to what I’ve experienced from oral cannabis products in the past, though I was a bit surprised at how hard the higher doses hit me. The tablets do work, that’s for sure!
Possibly good for treating:
Depression
Anxiety
Minor to moderate aches and pains
Headaches
Lack of motivation (in lower doses)
General relaxation/relief
Relief of nausea and other gastrointestinal symptoms
Insomnia (especially in higher doses)
Effects Rating: 7.50/10.00
Overall Rating: 7.16/10.00
Curaleaf’s “Sublingual Tablets” are best described as a “good” product.
The one negative thing about this product is the cost-effectiveness – many patients know that they can buy a gram of distillate and make their own edibles for much less money per milligram. However, the convenience is what is valuable here, and we must keep in mind that not everyone has the means or desire to make their own edible or oral product. But at $45 for 150mg, I will have to wait for sales and discounts before I buy this product again – the price point is just a little too much to be a regular staple in my medicine cabinet.
But – if for nothing other than the novelty – I say give them a try! Patients with a low tolerance will probably get the most value and “useful life” out of this product.
Based off this experience, I will likely try other oral and edible products from Curaleaf in the future.
Hope you all have a wonderful morning, afternoon, evening, or night – whichever applies. Thanks for reading the review!
New! – FLMCC Coffee Mugs
I’ve been talking about launching a merchandise line forever, and finally got around to it tonight. The first product is live: the FLMCC Coffee Mug!
These are a great way to support the Collective and have another sleek new mug to add to the collection. They also pair amazingly with great sativa strains!
Here’s a link to the product page: (I highly recommend choosing the black color option!)
Be sure to join our email subscriber list and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with all the latest in the Florida medical cannabis industry! You can find a quick-subscribe button in the righthand column on this site. Thank you for taking the time to read; we genuinely hope you find this site beneficial to helping you as a patient.
It’s been quite a while since I reviewed a vape cart from Curaleaf (December 2018 to be exact – review of their Jack Herer vape cart can be found here.) However, the buzz around their partnership with Select Oils piqued my curiosity. I admittedly had not heard of Select until this, though it was apparently that some other members of the Florida Medical Trees subreddit had heard of them, and were hyped about their introduction to Florida’s medical cannabis market.
A little bit of research revealed that Select is already an established and well-reviewed brand in other legal cannabis states like California and Nevada. They use a “proprietary extraction method” and rigorous in-house testing of all their oils to ensure potency, consistency, purity, and high quality.
The “live” carts, like this Citradelic Sunset cart, take it a step further by adding in live resin terpenes to the cannabis oil. (For a bit of background on live resin for readers who haven’t heard of this type of cannabis concentrate before, click here.) By doing this, the oil should taste and feel closer to what the natural flower form of the given strain does.
At $60 for a half gram cart, these are among the priciest vape carts in Florida. But, as it often does, my curiosity has led me to purchasing it – to see what the hype is all about, if nothing else.
So – how good are the Select Elite Live carts, based off my one experience?
(I’m sure there’s at least a small amount of CBD in this cart, but it isn’t listed on the box or label.)
75.60% Total Cannabinoids
Taste:
I can definitely tell that the terpenes are more “fresh” in this cart than others. The taste is closer to flower than other carts I’ve tried – and not necessarily by a huge margin when compared to carts with cannabis-derived terpenes, but enough to make a noticeable difference to me.
This Citradelic Sunset cart has a sweet and subtle citrus-forward taste, along with piney and earthy components. In some ways, the taste reminds me of the Alaska vape cart, but obviously the live resin terpenes in the Select cart are going to be a little closer to full flower.
As for the overall taste, I have had better tasting vape carts, but that may be strain-dependent. What can be said for certain, is the the “live” terpenes really do taste a lot like vaping actual flower.
Taste Rating: 8.50/10.00
Vapor and Product Quality
Select uses CCell cartridges, like many other brands I’ve tried – this is a good thing, as the quality is always there with CCell. The plastic mouthpiece like on this cart seems to bother some people, but I don’t necessarily have a strong opinion on the composition of my vape cart mouthpieces.
What I will count off some points in this category for, is for what seems like an excessive amount of “headspace” in the cart. It’s hard to tell in the image above, but my cart arrived filled to about 75-80%. I do understand that some absorption and other factors contribute to the headspace, and that this doesn’t always indicate a shortage of product – but the “headspace” in this cart seemed to be greater than the average of all the other carts that I’ve tried.
Other than that, the cart functions very well. No clogging, no issues – solid performance.
Vapor/Product Quality Rating: 8.00/10.00
Effects:
This Citradelic Sunset cart really hits in the effects. Though this strain is labeled as a hybrid, the cerebral effects that initially come on with this strain, are easily able to rival some of the most potent sativa stains I’ve tried. Novice and low tolerance consumers should approach this strain with caution, because it can really shift your perception – quickly. I would also say this Elite Live cart feels more like medicating with flower than any other vape cart I’ve tried. A 3-second draw truly feels like I just smoked a bowl of flower, to the point that the effects are almost indistinguishable. Anyone who’s tried a lot of vape carts knows that some seem a bit “empty” on the effects, or otherwise leave something to be desired. I didn’t find that to be the case at all here, and it may be the strongest aspect of this product.
After 20-30 minutes, the effects switch from cerebral to a more balanced, 50/50 split between mind and body effects. I feel stimulated, but not too racy. I feel relaxed, but not lazy or sedated. With that being said, Citradelic Sunset seems like a balanced strain that’s suitable for use at nearly any time of the day.
Possibly good for treating:
Depression
Anxiety
Minor to moderate aches and pains
Headaches
Lack of motivation (in lower doses)
General relaxation/relief
Relief of nausea and other gastrointestinal symptoms
Generally versatile strain
Effects Rating: 9.20/10.00
Overall Rating: 8.56/10.00
Curaleaf x Select’s Citradelic Sunset “Elite Live” cart is best described as an “excellent” product.
I can see why there was some hype around the announcement of Select carts being added to the Florida market. The experience is a small step above other vape carts I’ve tried, and for me, is the cart that feels the most like medicating with flower.
Based off this experience, I will likely try another strain from Select’s “Elite Live” cart lineup in the future.
Hope you all have a wonderful morning, afternoon, evening, or night – whichever applies. Thanks for reading the review!
New! – FLMCC Coffee Mugs
I’ve been talking about launching a merchandise line forever, and finally got around to it tonight. The first product is live: the FLMCC Coffee Mug!
These are a great way to support the Collective and have another sleek new mug to add to the collection. They also pair amazingly with great sativa strains!
Here’s a link to the product page: (I highly recommend choosing the black color option!)
Be sure to join our email subscriber list and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with all the latest in the Florida medical cannabis industry! You can find a quick-subscribe button in the righthand column on this site. Thank you for taking the time to read; we genuinely hope you find this site beneficial to helping you as a patient.
Hey there everyone! As always, I hope that this post finds you well, and in good health. 2020 has been a “biblical” year, as John Morgan recently put it – and with that has come an unparalleled amount of anxiety, distress, and uncertainty for millions of Floridians and Americans.
Thankfully, around 400,000 of us in Florida have a medical cannabis program to help deal with some of that anxiety – and it just so happens that the program is really starting to develop and mature with the recent addition of edible products to the industry.
There’s a lot going on for this update, so let’s get right into it!
The significance of this development cannot be understated. In fact, I think the last development for our industry, that was this significant, was when SB 182 was passed and finally allowed for the sale of smokable flower in Florida. The industry experienced a huge influx of growth at that point, and product availability (while highly strained for the first few months) eventually caught up; with that came lower-priced options like “minis”, ground flower, and an overall more mature medical cannabis industry in Florida.
I expect a similar impact to the industry in the months ahead. It may not be quite as dramatic as what happened after smokable flower was legalized, but make no mistake: the industry is going to look a lot different in the coming months. Edible products will likely make up a significant portion of sales for the MMTCs that embrace them – and I expect that most MMTCs will; Trulieve already offers a couple of forms of edible products, and Liberty Health Sciences has already shown previews of edible products they have on the horizon.
Trulieve led the charge for Florida by being the first to introduce edibles to the market with the launch of their “TruGel” gelatin edibles – very similar to Curaleaf’s “sublingual tablets”. See the video below, courtesy of Reddit user attombomb22:
The TruGels have initially been released in Blue Rasperry and Guava Passion Fruit flavors. They followed their TruGel limited release with another limited release of Love’s Oven chocolate chip cookies.
Kim Rivers (Trulieve CEO) also advised that brownies and chocolates are coming soon as well.
Again, I believe the industry will look totally different by the end of 2020. Expect to see each MMTC offer some form of edible product, and I’d also wager that we see several edible-focused product deals and promotions in the coming months as well – particularly around the Holiday 2020 season.
I know many patients scoff at the edibles because of the relatively expensive price: $25 for 100mg worth of THC, when we can easily buy distillate or RSO and make our own edibles at a fraction of the cost. To that, I say this: I agree with the economical assessment, but that isn’t considering the convenience factor. A patient might want to scoop up a cookie for a relaxing day on short notice, or may not like cooking cannabis themselves. They may not feel confident in their ability to accurate dose the edibles – lots of factors come into this. I appreciate the convenience, the novelty, and the fact that we can finally walk into our local dispensary and buy a cannabis cookie. We’ve come a long way since I started this site in 2018.
GrowHealthy releasing Live Rosin through partnership with MPX Extracts on 09.10.2020
GrowHealthy is finally releasing a concentrate other than distillate and RSO, and man, are they making an entrance. For those who don’t know, Melting Point Extracts (MPX) is know as an industry leader, producing highly-reviewed cannabis extracts for several states in the US.
Their first product release will be their Live Rosin. What exactly is “live” rosin? Per MPX’s site:
Our Live Rosin is processed by separating raw trichomes from freshly frozen plant material. These trichomes are sifted and selected based upon size and structure. This process allows for the entire profile of the plant to be obtained without the use of solvents. Once the desired trichomes are obtained, they are exposed to heat and pressure to separate the cannabinoid and terpene-rich profile from the trichome body. Live Rosin is the second-best to experience the full aroma and flavor of cannabis.
MPX Live Rosin Product Page
The live rosin will sell for $80/gram – a relatively low cost for this product in Florida’s market. Initial strains released will be: Emerald City Kush, Islamorada (Florida Keys phenotype), Queso Perro, and Wookie Girl.
Surterra Partnership with Cannabis LAB
This item of news may not be quite as impactful to patients as the previous items on this update, but it still will have impacts on Florida’s cannabis industry.
Surterra (one of Florida’s MMTCs) recently announced a partnership with Cannabis LAB (Law, Accounting, and Business) in order to promote more business-based social interaction and exchange of knowledge in Florida’s cannabis industries. They also state that “media and employment opportunities” will be facilitated through the partnership.
What does this mean for Florida cannabis patients? It may lead to more job openings in the Florida cannabis industry for 2021, which is a huge positive. But reading between the lines a bit, and adding some speculation on my part: I think this will lead to a better industry, and perhaps a more consumer-conscious form of Surterra, in the long run. It sounds like Cannabis LAB helps cannabis businesses become better all-around, which could benefit patients through the downstream effects of better products, shopping experiences, social media interactions, and more.
The joint press release for Surterra and Cannabis LAB offered the following commentary:
“Florida has one of the most vibrant cannabis markets in the country, and we are excited to build this collaboration with Cannabis LAB to provide valuable insights and development opportunities to a diverse range of industry professionals in the area,” said Liz Conway, President, Florida, Parallel. “We believe it is vital to not only equip professionals with the knowledge and skills that are necessary to thrive in this competitive market but to also play a role in helping Florida residents improve their well-being. Under Surterra Wellness retail name, we continue to expand our team members, product offering and presence in Florida, and add new members to our teams, and joining forces with Cannabis LAB will help us reach people from all corners of the state and elevate the industry.”
“Cannabis LAB is thrilled to collaborate with one of the largest and visible cannabis companies in Florida, and we are eager to share Parallel’s wealth of industry knowledge with our business community,” said Robert Friedman, Founder at Cannabis LAB. “The continued support of a world-class company like Parallel will allow Cannabis LAB to advance the organization’s ongoing efforts to advocate for the cannabis industry and pave the way for mainstream business and consumer acceptance.”
This is a unique and interesting development for sure, and I look forward to seeing what comes from it. Perhaps it will lead to a more open flow of communication between patients and MMTCs/dispensaries?
Florida Cannabis: Q4 2020
To sum up the general “theme” of this update: Florida’s cannabis industry is again at a sort of “inflection point”, where I believe we will see a period of significant growth. That coincides with the last quarter of 2020 (Q4), which was full of activity, surprises, sales, and more in both 2018 and 2019.
As I mentioned before, with edible products finally in Florida’s market, I expect to see a lot of marketing and sales focused around them as we head into the Holiday 2020 season.
Historically, the end of the year has also been full of product releases as well – I expect to see more of the same this year.
Sales are also much more prevalent this time of year, and are especially concentrated between Black Friday (late November) and the end of the year. A notable example has been Trulieve’s “Tru 12 Days” campaign they’ve done each year, which is based around the “12 days of Christmas” theme, and offers a unique sale based around a product each day for the 12 days leading up to Christmas. I expect to see this again for 2020, or some form of it – and with edibles as another option this year, perhaps some holiday-themed, limited-edition edibles are on the menu as well.
No matter what your preference or focus is, Q4 tends to have a little something for all cannabis patients in Florida every year. Look for a slew of new products, partnerships, brands, sales, and more as 2020 draws to a close.
For new patients, a bit of advice as well: I recommend that you now start saving an “extra” budget for products during the holidays, if you can. With all the various sales and product releases that happen during this time of year, it may present a good chance to stock up on medication as we head into the new year.
Closing Thoughts
As I’m going through the beginning of my third year as a Florida medical cannabis patient, I find myself excited for the future of the industry for many reasons. Edible products are a huge game changer for our industry, and they are really one of the last major product selections that we were lacking; I can’t wait to see what the various MMTCs will come up with. The industry is about to go into a phase of relatively rapid evolution as it adjusts, and hopefully, the patients only benefit from the new landscape we’re about to navigate.
The last 3 months of the year are always an exciting time for Florida’s cannabis industry, and 2020 might find a way to top previous years with edibles on the table, more concentrates and brand partnerships coming to Florida, and with the general evolution of the industry.
TLDR: The Florida medical cannabis industry is about to pick up speed as we head into 2021, so hang on for the ride!
As always, FLMCC will be here to help you navigate the new products and developments in Florida, just as we always have – since we started this project back in 2018. And again, as always, we thank you for reading, for your support, and for your contributions. We couldn’t do it without you all!
New! – FLMCC Coffee Mugs
I’ve been talking about launching a merchandise line forever, and finally got around to it tonight. The first product is live: the FLMCC Coffee Mug!
These are a great way to support the Collective and have another sleek new mug to add to the collection. They also pair amazingly with great sativa strains!
Here’s a link to the product page: (I highly recommend choosing the black color option!)
Be sure to join our email subscriber list and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with all the latest in the Florida medical cannabis industry! Don’t forget to join our email subscriber list as well; this will ensure that you stay up-to-date will all develops in the Collective and the Florida medical cannabis industry! You can find a quick-subscribe button in the righthand column on this site.
I’ve waited a long time for one of my local MMTCs to offer the Blue Cheese strain in flower form. I’ve always seen it as one of the “classics” that I am obligated to try – up there with Jack Herer, Sour Diesel, OG Kush, Blue Dream, etc.
Yesterday (08.28.2020), Trulieve announced that they were releasing Blue Cheese flower through their collaboration with Binske cannabis. I just happened to see the email early in the morning, and was lucky enough to find it in stock at one of my two local dispensaries; I eagerly placed an order and picked it up yesterday afternoon.
I really enjoy this strain, and it some ways, it reminds me of another strain that shares the UK Cheese parent: GrowHealthy’s Queso Perro.
(The label on the bottle was printed as “Hybrid”, but I believe this to be a misprint; the genetics are listed as an indica strain on various cannabis websites, and Trulieve’s website also listed it as an indica strain.
The lab report for this batch is currently unavailable; this section will be updated when the report is uploaded to Trulieve’s online database.
Appearance/Cure
Some of Trulieve’s recent batches of flower have been contenders for some of the best I’ve had in Florida. This eighth of Blue Cheese is certainly good, but it isn’t quite at the level that some of the other recent strains have been grown to. The trichomes are a light amber color, but don’t look quite as mature as they should be, so perhaps this batch was harvested a bit early.
As far as the cure and moisture content, they are nearly perfect, and the trim was almost immaculate as well, save for a couple of sugar leaves that were left behind.
I feel that this strain had a bit more potential, but Trulieve didn’t do a bad job at all with this first batch, and I expect the next few batches will be much improved.
Appearance/Cure Rating: 7.90/10.00
Smell/Taste
Blue Cheese has dominating smells of diesel-y hash and blueberry, which really become evident when the bud is handled, broken apart, or ground up. There is a slight hint of cheese in the midst of everything else, but surprisingly (or perhaps not), the hashy diesel (with slight hint of cheese) in this strain really reminds me of Queso Perro from GrowHealthy. As I mentioned before, both strains share the U.K. Cheese parent, so my guess is that this is where the smell comes from.
The blueberry smell is equally notable and equally dominant to the hash/diesel/cheese, and I obviously attribute this to the Blueberry parent.
Blue Cheese is not terribly pungent in the jar, but the smell is not hard to find once the lid is opened. It becomes much more noticeable when ground up. For reference (especially for readers who have tried both strains), I think Queso Perro is a more pungent strain than Blue Cheese – at least from my experience with the cultivars we currently have available in Florida.
When smoked, the blueberry translates surprisingly well to the taste, and dominates over the fuel/hash/cheese, with a hint of a spicy finish on the exhale.
Blue Cheese seems to have the genetic potential to have a really unique and pleasant/pungent aroma, so I’m interested to see reports of improvement in future batches from Trulieve – and to possibly try them myself. It is there in this batch, but I feel there is room for improvement.
Smell/Taste Rating: 8.50/10.00
Effects/Medical Use
Blue Cheese hit me harder than I expected it to, with heavy/sedative effects among some of the heaviest of Trulieve’s indica flowers. I don’t find this to be an instant knockout, but it creeps in and becomes heavier with time, leaving the body feeling warm and idle. I am able to function and write this review after smoking a bowl, but I don’t feel like doing any physical activity at the moment. Such has been my experience each time I’ve medicated with this strain.
It reminds me of Queso Perro in the effects as well, but Blue Cheese seems to be quite a bit heavier, as the Queso leaned more sativa in my experience. This seems to be especially good for body aches and pains, so patients looking for that type of relief might especially appreciate this one.
For my personal use, I prefer Blue Cheese for evening and nighttime use. It leaves my mind cloudy and my body feeling heavy, which isn’t the best combination for productivity. If you find yourself to align with the effects in most of my other reviews, I recommend trying this when you don’t have anything important to get done. It’s among Trulieve’s heavier indica strains.
Possibly good for treating:
Depression
Anxiety
Minor to moderate aches and pains
Headaches
General relaxation/relief
Insomnia (in higher doses)
I’m definitely no medical doctor, so please take the preceding conditions only as my own personal observations from using this strain and having experience with a multitude of different cannabis strains. Everybody is different, and every body reacts differently to various medications.
Effects Rating: 8.80/10.00
Overall Rating: 8.40/10.00
Overall, I would best describe Blue Cheese as an “excellent” indica strain from Trulieve.
For patients who enjoy the U.K. Cheese and/or Blueberry lineage, I’m sure you will find this strain is another enjoyable addition to that line – and a classic one at that. I will probably try it again next year if it is still available, as I find most MMTCs take a few batches before they really dial in on any new stains that they grow.
Trulieve continues to produce high quality flower, and I will continue to review new additions to their strain lineup as they come. Thank you to all who continue to support FLMCC – I hope this review was useful to you!
New! – FLMCC Coffee Mugs
I’ve been talking about launching a merchandise line forever, and finally got around to it tonight. The first product is live: the FLMCC Coffee Mug!
These are a great way to support the Collective and have another sleek new mug to add to the collection. They also pair amazingly with great sativa strains!
Here’s a link to the product page: (I highly recommend choosing the black color option!)
Be sure to join our email subscriber list and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with all the latest in the Florida medical cannabis industry! You can find a quick-subscribe button in the righthand column on this site. Thank you for taking the time to read; we genuinely hope you find this site beneficial to helping you as a patient.
Brick House is a relatively new indica strain for GrowHealthy- there have been a couple of batches released in 2020, but for the most part, this seems to be an uncommon strain at this point.
Brick House is a cross of Ghost Train Haze and OZ Kush, two strains I had not heard of until I checked the genetics of Brick House for this review.
Here’s a link to the popular song of the same name, just because it seemed obligatory for the review:
Once again, GrowHealthy delivers an outstanding cure on another eighth of flower. At this point, their flower quality (and the consistency of it always being this good) is unmatched in Northwest Florida.
The trim on this batch, however, was a bit lacking compared to that of other recent batches – you can see the sugar leaves in the images above. However, I’ve seen much worse. The trim will deduct a half point from the rating in this category.
The cure, moisture, etc. is once again top tier quality for Florida medical cannabis. I particularly liked the shade of orange on the pistils of this strain – more vibrant than most.
All in all, another great batch of flower – just don’t start slacking on the trim, GrowHealthy!
Appearance/Cure Rating: 9.00/10.00
Smell/Taste
Brick House predominantly smells of mild, sweet lemon citrus, complemented by pine and musky floral notes in the background. It reminds me a lot of OG Kush, but not with quite the intensity of the smell as I experienced with Fluent’s Odra (OG Kush) flower.
The smell is intensified when the flower is broken apart or ground up, as is common with most all cannabis flower that I’ve tried.
When smoked, I taste sweet citrus on the inhale, followed by a spicy exhale. This isn’t a particularly notable strain in the smell/taste category, but it’s pleasant enough.
Smell/Taste Rating: 7.50/10.00
Effects/Medical Use
I find Brick House to be both cerebrally invigorating/stimulating, and heavily relaxing/borderline sedating on the body. This isn’t quite heavy enough of a strain for it to be a reliable bedtime strain, but it is heavy enough that I reserve it for times that I know I won’t have to do much physically or mentally demanding activity. Even writing this review has me feeling slightly scatterbrained (with two cups of coffee no less), but with effort, I can focus the cerebral effects of the strain to remain productive. I would much prefer a sativa or sativa-dominant hybrid effect strain for an activity like this, but I am still functional.
The warm-body relaxation effects of Brick House have been good for both pain and gastrointestinal issues that I’ve been having recently, so this seems like a medicinally useful strain in that regard.
All in all, GrowHealthy has other indica strains that I enjoy more, but Brick House is nice. At the end of the day, I’d say it reminds me of a more heavy/sedating OG Kush.
Possibly good for treating:
Depression and related anxiety
Relief of minor to moderate aches and pains
General relaxation
Relief of minor GI issues: IBS, etc.
I’m definitely no medical doctor, so please take the preceding conditions only as my own personal observations from using this strain and having experience with a multitude of different cannabis strains. Everybody is different, and every body reacts differently to various medications.
Effects Rating: 7.50/10.00
Overall Rating: 8.00/10.00
Overall, I would best describe Brick House as a “very good” indica strain from GrowHealthy.
Though not necessarily one of my favorite indica strains from GrowHealthy, it seems that it’s another strain they grew to near-perfection. I always remind my readers: just because a certain strain isn’t my favorite, doesn’t mean that it won’t be one of your favorites. Most strains are always worth at least one try (especially if the price is right), in my opinion – just because we never know what might work best for our unique physiology and endocannabinoid system.
Be well, and stay healthy. I appreciate each one of you and all your support, and please know that all that positivity will come back to you.
Be sure to join our email subscriber list and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with all the latest in the Florida medical cannabis industry! You can find a quick-subscribe button in the righthand column on this site. Thank you for taking the time to read; we genuinely hope you find this site beneficial to helping you as a patient.
Hey everyone! Hope you’re all doing well. Today is August 24, 2020, and we here in the northwest Florida panhandle are currently enjoying a steady trickle of rain from Tropical Storm Marco as it approaches the Louisiana coast to our southeast. I digress, lest we go completely off-course into a weather blog – GrowHealthy has released another new strain lineage with multiple phenotypes, and as always, I was more than eager to pick up an eighth of one whenever it became available at my local dispensary. If you need a refresher on what phenotypes are, be sure to click that link above – it’s a great source to familiarize yourself with this useful cannabis knowledge, because it does have impacts on our strain selection when we’re looking for specific medicinal effects.
Mandelo appears to be the “main” strain of this line, which crosses Herijuana with Orange Skunk to produce several citrus-forward phenotypes. My local shop only received Mandelo, but I’ll definitely get to the other phenotypes if they come around in the future, because I’ve found that I really enjoy these genetics.
My “Phenotype Campaign”for Florida MMTCs
I am a firm believer in the concept of every MMTC labeling and selling their various strains’ phenotypes as completely different strains with unique names, because the variance between phenotypes can be just as much or greater than the variance between entirely different strains/genetics.It’s a “win-win” for the MMTC and the patient: more product variety from a single variant for the MMTC, and more ease with nailing down the best strain/phenotype for the patient and their unique physiology.
If you agree with this position, be sure to let your favorite MMTC know! They do listen to the community, and this has been proven multiple times in the past. The more patients that ask for something, the more likely it is to become reality!
For some reason, my label does not have a scannable QR code – the area where the code would be is blank. If anyone has the terpenes for this batch, please drop them in a comment or shoot me an email! (My email address is listed on the contact page for this site.)
Appearance/Cure
I try not to sound like a total GrowHealthy fanboy, but more often than not, their flower really impresses me. I’ve seen many different batches of flower at this point, so it’s a little harder for a particular eighth to “wow” me – but man, this eighth of Mandelo did exactly that.
I’m not sure what GrowHealthy does differently with their flower compared to other Northwest Florida MMTCs, but it is definitely consistently on an entirely different level from anything else that I’ve tried. It appears that GrowHealthy may cure their flower for a full 3 weeks, indicated by a harvest date of July 13 and a package date of August 6 on the label for this Mandelo flower. Whatever it is, it is consistently working – this eighth is incredible.
The most impressive physical aspect, in my opinion, is a tie between the near-perfect cure and the thick caking of trichomes all over the buds. The large nug in the images above weighs 2 grams on the nose, and it’s hard to see its green color on account of all the dusty golden trichomes that cover it.
This is extremely sticky flower as well, and though the grinder does pretty well with it, it is physically a bit difficult to break down. Phenomenal job, GrowHealthy.
Appearance/Cure Rating: 9.75/10.00
Smell/Taste
The Mandelo fruit is also known as a “cocktail grapefruit” – it is similar to the grapefruit, but slightly smaller and sweeter, often used in mixed drinks – hence the nickname.
With that being said, Mandelo flower was very appropriately named, as it has a very prominent orange citrus aroma – likely inherited from its Orange Skunk parent. I find the citrus smell to be on the sweeter side, with a hint of more musky/sour tangerine terpenes lying underneath. There may be the slightest hints of diesel, and possibly pine, when the flower is broken down or ground up. Compared to other strains I’ve tried, the smell reminds me of a cross somewhere between MÜV’s Clementine and Trulieve’s Mandarin Dreams; if any of you reading this have tried either of those strains, you may recognize some of the same terpenes in Mandelo. This strain also slightly reminds me of GrowHealthy’s Jilly Bean (Phenotype 3).
(Please note that the linked review in the above paragraph is for Jilly Bean Phenotype 5, which I found to have a much different smell than Mandelo or Jilly Bean 3. This is another great example for why naming different phenotypes is so important!)
The taste when smoked does not really reflect the orange citrus terpenes; instead, the inhale is mostly spicy and earthy, and the exhale is spicy with a slight hint of diesel.
Smell/Taste Rating: 8.90/10.00
Effects/Medical Use
Mandelo has been a very relaxing strain for me, surprisingly heavy for being a seemingly limonene-dominant strain, which tend to be more uplifting and sometimes energetic.
The effects of this strain come on gently, invoking the body and mind with warm and dreamy relaxation. Soon after the first draws, I find myself in a cozy haze that seems to envelope the entire body like a warm blanket. In some ways, Mandelo reminds of my first experiences with cannabis many years ago – when time seems to slow down, and all worries melt away. I love strains that are able to replicate this feeling, and it seems like GrowHealthy’s indica strains often find a way to do that for me. Mandelo is a great addition to that lineup, and I hope these genetics are here to stay.
Though I am functioning well this morning after smoking a bowl to write this review, I generally recommend Mandelo for afternoon and evening usage. This isn’t a knockout sedative strain for me, but it is heavily relaxing and borderline sedative in higher doses.
Another note: While the effects of sub-15% THC strains often seem to wear off quicker than higher percentage strains for me, that didn’t seem to be as noticeable with Mandelo.
All in all: Great medicinal strain.
Possibly good for treating:
Depression
Anxiety
Moderate aches and pains
Moderate nausea/gastrointestinal issues
General Relaxation
Insomnia (possibly in higher doses)
May be a good strain for being social/talkative
I’m definitely no medical doctor, so please take the preceding conditions only as my own personal observations from using this strain and having experience with a multitude of different cannabis strains. Everybody is different, and every body reacts differently to various medications.
Effects Rating: 9.20/10.00
Overall Rating: 9.28/10.00
Overall, I would best describe Mandelo as another “outstanding” indica strain from GrowHealthy.
Again, I’m really glad to see GrowHealthy leading the charge on labeling different phenotypes. It’s something that the entire industry needs to adopt as a standard practice, and I look forward to seeing others follow suit soon.
Mandelo proves to be another great example of strong genetics and superior growing skills from GrowHealthy. I look forward to trying the other phenotypes of this strain soon!
Be well, and stay healthy. I appreciate each one of you and all your support, and please know that all that positivity will come back to you.
Be sure to join our email subscriber list and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with all the latest in the Florida medical cannabis industry! You can find a quick-subscribe button in the righthand column on this site. Thank you for taking the time to read; we genuinely hope you find this site beneficial to helping you as a patient.
Fluent’s “Lab” Releases marked a new line of products that were released in early to mid 2020. Per Fluent’s website:
Fluent Lab is an initiative that gives early access to newly developed cannabis products that have not been made available yet. These releases will feature small batches of unique routes, strains, and other innovations.
AK-47 is a strain I’ve heard of long before I became a medical cannabis patient, and one I’ve always wanted to try. A cross between 4 different landrace strains, AK-47 is known for having a “tough name” but mellow effects.
When I saw that this strain was available at my local Fluent, I eagerly ordered an eighth. This was in late May 2020 – I am a very slow smoker, and have several strains, so I’m just now finishing my last bowl for this review.
How does Fluent’s “Aria” stack up to reviews of the legendary AK-47 strain? Let’s dive in and see!
This batch of Aria was pretty good quality on the cure. The buds were mostly small, but had a good moisture content and seemed to be cured well. The plants may have been harvested early, as the trichomes seemed a bit shorter than on recent flower from other Florida MMTCs .
AK-47 is known for having an abundance of bright orange pistils, and those genetics came through well in this batch of Aria – most buds had a generous covering of them.
This isn’t the best flower I’ve seen in Florida, but it’s far from the worst. Fluent seems to have kept around the same flower quality for roughly the past 8 to 10 months – good, but not great.
Appearance/Cure Rating: 7.00/10.00
Smell/Taste
I didn’t know what to expect for the smell of AK-47/Aria; for some reason, I thought this would be a more gassy or skunky strain. That didn’t turn out to be the case. Aria smelled predominantly fruity – somewhere between sour apple and grape, with a herbal or earthy aroma lingering in the background.
This is the first strain of flower I’ve found in Florida that smells anything remotely like green/sour apples, so that was nice to find – I like green apples.
The taste when smoked is spicy and sweet on the inhale, and sweet and floral on the exhale, with a hint of spice. Overall, I found the taste and smell of Aria to be pleasant.
Smell/Taste Rating: 7.50/10.00
Effects/Medical Use
This batch of “Aria” had really nice, mellow effects – just as I expected after reading various literature about AK-47. I find it to be a pretty well-balanced hybrid that leans slightly to the sativa end of the effects spectrum, with energetic and uplifting cerebral effects being the star of the show.
As the effects progress, and in higher doses, this can be a heavily relaxing strain that actually managed to induce couch-lock a couple of times for me. Like many hybrids and even some indica strains, I found Aria great when coupled with leisurely activity like watching TV, movies, playing video games, or even taking walks outdoors.
The effects were probably the best part about this strain – very happy, and great for eliminating depression in my case.
Possibly good for treating:
Depression
Anxiety
Minor to moderate aches and pains
Headaches
General relaxation/relief
Relief of nausea and other gastrointestinal symptoms
I’m definitely no medical doctor, so please take the preceding conditions only as my own personal observations from using this strain and having experience with a multitude of different cannabis strains. Every body is different, and every body reacts different to various medications.
Effects Rating: 8.00/10.00
Overall Rating: 7.50/10.00
Overall, I would best describe this batch of AK-47 (or “Aria”) flower from Fluent Cannabis as “very good”.
I could definitely see myself buying this strain from Fluent again in the future, especially if the grow team tightens up and becomes more experienced; I think the genetic potential is definitely there in Fluent’s cut of AK-47, it just seems that it wasn’t fully grown to its potential this time around. By no means was the flower, bad, however – I’ve just had better at this point.
If you like AK-47 or uplifting strains in general, this is worth a try if it comes back around.
Be sure to join our email subscriber list and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with all the latest in the Florida medical cannabis industry! You can find a quick-subscribe button in the righthand column on this site. Thank you for taking the time to read; we genuinely hope you find this site beneficial to helping you as a patient.
It’s been almost 7 months, since our last industry overview, and frankly, we’re living in a totally different world since that update and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. And while the reality of our world is certainly stressful and anxiety-laden at times, the fact is that the past 7 months have not been all bad for the cannabis industry; in fact, Florida’s cannabis industry has only continued to grow – proving itself to be a mutually beneficial industry for patients, MMTCs, and investors alike.
While my previous updates such as this one have focused almost entirely on the flower and product selection of each MMTC, that becomes increasingly time-consuming as each MMTC offers more and more products through time. With that being said, I will focus more on providing a “snapshot” of the MMTC and its operation at any given time. I’ll offer two sections for each MMTC: “strengths”, and “areas needing improvement”. Since my location in the western panhandle current doesn’t have access to all of the MMTCs, I will rely on social media consensus from patients (and my own observations) for the following operations:
RiSE
Harvest
Columbia Care
One Plant
The Botanist
Perkins Nursery, Inc.
State of the Florida Cannabis Industry: August 9, 2020
As has been the case for pretty much the entire existence of the medical cannabis industry in Florida, Trulieve dominates the market; in fact, they have ramped up production and created an even bigger gap between them and the closest competitors as of the last update. All MMTCs now offer a flower product, and almost all of them have nearly constant availability of flower. Flower quality across the board continues to improve, and most of the major MMTCs now have multiple tiers and prices for different qualities of flower. To be frank, it’s truly a great time to be a cannabis patient in Florida, and it’s only going to get better this year.
Florida MMTCs: Brief Overview & Outlook
Top 3 Suppliers of Flower in Florida (by number of oz. sold as of the one week period before the last OMMU update):
Trulieve – 20,161.865
Surterra – 5,141.749
Curaleaf Florida – 3,453.923
Trulieve
Trulieve: Black Tuna flower – Image courtesy of Reddit u/Conflixshuns
Love them or hate them (it seems to be either/or for most people), Trulieve remains the “giant” of the Florida cannabis industry, easily producing almost four times the flower of their closest competitor as of the last OMMU update.
In my opinion, Trulieve’s recent flower quality hangs up there with the best in the state when they really get it right and nail down a good batch. Some examples have been the recent releases of their “Sunshine TruFlower” (in collaboration with Sunshine Cannabis), and the newer genetics that they have recently released.
With over 55 storefront locations now, Trulieve has pioneered patient accessibility to cannabis in Florida. Their expanded product selection also ensures that there is an option for everyone, and most of the time, they have at least something available in each product category.
Trulieve’s main issues, based on patient complaints posted on social media, seem to be website functionality, longer than average wait times, and issues with patients receiving the exact strain they ordered due to it being sold out after their online order was confirmed.
All said, I’m generally a fan of Trulieve. They get it right much more often than they get it wrong, in my opinion – and they are often the first to voice their support for various social causes: including LGBTQ+ civil rights, the Black Lives Matter movement, Breast Cancer awareness, etc. I know this doesn’t necessarily pertain to anyone’s experience with Trulieve, but as a human being, I see value in using a large voice for just causes.
Full disclosure: I am also a shareholder of Trulieve stock, and encourage other investors to check them out as well. I see them retaining their position as Florida’s industry leader through at least the end of 2021 – possibly longer if vertical integration and/or no Adult Use Cannabis remain in effect in Florida.
Strengths: Accessibility, product selection, affordable options, customer service, return policy, using their voice for positivity and progress
Improve: Better website (I’m a huge fan of I Heart Jane), more consistency with online orders (not selling product to someone else), continue to deal with large volume of patients (and their safety during COVID-19)
Curaleaf
Curaleaf: Afghani flower – Image courtesy of Reddit u/BritneysHigh
Curaleaf has remained as one of the top 3 flower producers in Florida for the past 7 months, and their quality seems to steadily improve. The main issue that most patients complain about, is that there seems to rarely be flower (or the any of products that they want) in stock.
However, Curaleaf continues to grow, and recently made headlines by being the first Florida MMTC to offer sublingual tablets, and bringing the popular “Select” brand of vape carts to Florida.
I’ve personally tried one eighth of Curaleaf’s Afghani, and the quality was close to Trulieve’s average from around the same time period. It will be interesting to try them again in the near future, and see how they have held up.
Full disclosure: I am a shareholder of Curaleaf stock, and encourage other investors to investigate them as well. Their presence in multiple states that allow medicinal and adult-use cannabis, coupled with sustained growth, seems to be a good formula for growth – especially as more legislation for cannabis legalization is passed.
Improve: Better & more consistent pricing, better consistency with keeping products in stock, continue to improve product quality relative to price
RiSE
RiSE: Wonder Skunk flower – Image courtesy of Reddit u/Dro0412
RiSE continues to offer some of the best quality of flower in Florida, and patients regularly rave about it on social media; this has been consistent for well over a year now.
The issue is that only a select few patients are able to get anything from RiSE; they have not opened any new locations since our January update – there are only 6 storefront locations as of the time of this update, almost all of them in South Florida.
Perhaps one day they will expand, but for now, it seems RiSE is focusing on maximizing potential with their current locations (and possibly expansion elsewhere, as they are a Multi-State Operator in the USA) before they invest in expansion throughout Florida.
Improve: Expand access throughout Florida, expand product selection
MÜV (Altmed Florida)
MÜV: Orangeade flower – Image courtesy of Reddit u/GerthySausage
MÜV continues chugging along with its recently ramped-up flower production, retaining the #4 spot for flower production in Florida.
For me personally, MÜV has been somewhat “hit or miss” with the flower quality. It’s never been bad or terrible – it’s just their best batches are among the best in the state, but their others can be more average. If MÜV can nail down the consistency of their best batches, they will absolutely be mentioned up there with the best quality flower in Florida.
MÜV also leads Florida MMTCs with some of the most innovative products – like their cannabis inhaler, and some of the best selection of cannabis concentrates in Florida.
Strengths: Outstanding flower quality when they get it right, product selection & innovation
Improve: Be more consistent with flower quality
GrowHealthy
GrowHealthy: Key Largo flower – Image courtesy of FLMCC.
If you’ve read any of my recent GrowHealthy product reviews, it’s probably no secret that I’m a huge fan of their flower. In my opinion, the quality is unmatched – with the exception of some of Trulieve’s recent best batches – and they have been consistent since they opened up a location in my area back in April of this year.
Their parent company (iAnthus, of which I am also a shareholder) seems to be having quite a run of financial troubles in 2020. I’m not sure what this means for their future in Florida, but I hope they can get it together, because the quality of their product (particularly their flower) is truly something special. GrowHealthy could also do well to expand the variety of their concentrates, as they currently only offer distillate and RSO.
GrowHealthy has recently seemed to have trouble keeping products in stock due to a change in regulations for product testing. Hopefully, this will resolve itself soon.
Improve: More consistent with product stock, expand product variety (especially concentrates)
VidaCann
VicaCann: Ghost Toast flower – Image courtesy of Reddiut u/AntifekaPR
VidaCann gets the FLMCC award for “steady consistency” for this report. They’ve opened up 1 additional dispensary since our last update, but the quality of their products continues to remain steady in the midst of a growing and changing industry. When VidaCann is at its best, it has excellent flower, and its Tikun Olam line of products has some of the medicinal effects of all medical cannabis products in Florida.
VidaCann should work to improve its variety of concentrates, which it recently did by adding RSO to its product lineup – before, they only offered distillate.
Strengths: Consistently good flower quality, excellent medicinal effects of Tikun Olam product line
LHS: Mango Sapphire flower – Image courtesy of Reddit u/MiamiDasher
The biggest complaint about LHS continues to be its low quality of flower relative to the rest of Florida’s industry; however, there are indications here and there that this could be changing. The image above came from a post that hailed a much-improved cure, overall quality, and smell of LHS’s flower. Whether this is an outlier (as unfortunately has been the case many times before), or a sign of a new standard going forward, remains to be seen.
Beyond that, LHS continues to expand access with their distillate and vape lines with various partnerships, and recently, their partnership with Papa’s Herb announced the future release of their live resin in Florida.
Fluent: “Blue Note” flower – Image courtesy of Reddit u/budbro420
While Fluent had ramped up production and was a contender for one of the top 3 flower producers in Florida as of the time of our last update, it has been largely left behind by the industry now. While others have ramped up their production by a factor of 2, 3, or even more, Fluent only produced just over 1,000 ounces of flower last week, while MMTCs like Surterra, GrowHealthy, and Curaleaf managed to charge ahead with growth.
Fluent has alienated many patients with the price of its concentrates, and the use of its own naming system for strains rather than using established and familiar strain names. The quality of their flower seems to consistently fall in above average to sometimes good, but it has not managed to repeat the statements it made with the batches of flower it released in early summer 2019.
Strengths: Storefront accessibility, consistent genetics/effects with products and strains
Improve: Better product quality relative to pricing, more affordable products
Surterra Wellness
Surterra: GDP flower – Image courtesy of Reddit u/Irishbuffaloforyou
The Surterra of 2020 is certainly not the Surterra of 2018 or 2019 – this MMTC now regularly keeps flower and various concentrates like shatter and crumble in stock, and has fully embraced this change – a stark contrast from the previous stances of the company.
Surterra recently introduced a line of indoor grown flower ($45/eighth vs. their previous standard $30), and indications are that this stuff may actually hang in there with other producers in the state. I have not been impressed with any other flower I got from Surterra in late 2019 or early 2020, but I may have to try some of this new indoor line.
I fully welcome this new incarnation of Surterra Wellness that embraces cannabis in its natural flower form – and I’m sure their earnings reports do as well. With their flower production and storefront locations being second only to Trulieve, and a new focus on increased flower quality, Surterra might be a real contender for the “Number 2” position in the Florida MMTC rankings.
Strengths: Accessibility, products consistently in stock, affordability, improving product quality
Improve: Continue to improve product quality
Harvest
Harvest “Gingerbread Man” flower – Image courtesy of Reddit u/dfreeds
Harvest has managed to do a complete 180 since our last update. At the time, nobody was talking about them or their flower – and what little talk there was, was negative – mentioning bad flower quality with no smell or taste, and weak effects.
A few months ago, something changed. I don’t recall exactly what shifted in Harvest’s operation, but suddenly, they started producing flower that had patients talking on social media – and they were actually saying good things.
Like RiSE however, Harvest is not accessible to many, with only 6 storefront locations. Hopefully, they will continue to expand and improve their product quality.
Improve: Expand accessibility and product selection/variety
One Plant
One Plant: MAC 1 flower – Image courtesy of Reddit u/NaturesGiven
One Plant is consistently mentioned among the ranks of the absolute best flower in Florida. Any time a batch of their staple MAC 1 flower is released, dozens of image flood social media, with influencers and patients alike pushing and raving about the product. There is no denying that these guys grow flower differently, and it appears that they and GrowHealthy might be the top 2 contenders for the best flower in Florida. (I haven’t been able to try One Plant as they do not deliver to my area, so unfortunately, I cannot offer my opinion here.)
Where One Plant continues to generate much controversy, and therefore shoot itself in the foot, is by making less than ethical statements on social media. I won’t go into too much detail here, but a quick search of One Plant in the Florida Medical Trees community (which I am one of the moderators for) will reveal just about anything you want to find. Be warned: the comments in many of the threads can take a toll on one’s mental health, so if you have depression and are easily triggered, tread with caution.
My personal view is that I would love to try One Plant’s flower, as it looks like it is seriously high quality. However, I will never support the ways they choose to message their patients & customers on social media, and some of the content of their marketing campaigns. I have pushed this issue a lot in the past, and will continue to voice my disapproval for any marketing/messaging that contains any sort of negativity, malice, or anything that doesn’t otherwise uplift or hinge on the quality of the product. Life in 2020 is challenging enough as it is; leave out all the negative fluff and focus on making more outstanding flower and expanding throughout the state. I am neither a fanboy or a “hater” – I am simply a reporter offering my perspective. I believe this MMTC could lead Florida’s industry if they would seriously focus on more positive messaging and interactions, and focus on expanding access and storefront locations.
I do commend One Plant on offering both ounce pricing for bulk purchases, and for offering grams, so patients can try more strains on a budget. These both should be industry standards.
Improve: Work on social media messaging & advertising content
MedMen
MedMen “Lemon Skunk” flower. Image courtesy of Reddit u/ChunkyStew
MedMen seems to be in deep financial troubles, and it is uncertain how much longer they will remain in operation.
The quality of their flower was around average to good, but it seems nobody is posting their products anymore.
It appears MedMen may be the first Florida MMTC to die. RIP? We will see.
Columbia Care Florida
Columbia Care: “Pineapple Express” flower – Image courtesy of Reddit u/Conflixshuns
Columbia Care is another name that gets tossed around for having extremely outstanding flower quality. A recent mold incident has turned off some patients, but it is apparent that their flower quality is among the best in Florida.
Though Columbia Care has expanded its presence with 13 stores now open, it seems to be struggling with production (possibly due to the mold?), next to only The Botanist and MedMen with the least flower produced last week (just over 300 ounces sold.)
Columbia’s future seems to have potential after it recovers from the recent contamination incident. Most all Florida MMTCs have dealt with mold at least once at some point, so I wouldn’t hold it against them as a mark of a rocky future.
Strengths: Excellent flower quality
Improve: Ramp up production, expand access
The Botanist
The Botanist: “Orange Dream Machine” flower – Image Courtesy of Reddit u/knowwhatimtalmbout
One of the newest MMTCs in Florida, The Botanist hasn’t had much time to establish a presence yet. It seems they exclusively sell flower for now, but not a whole lot of it; in fact, they produced the least in Florida with only over 100 ounces sold at their single storefront location.
Reviews of the flower indicate that it looks nice, but it is some of the driest in the state, with many reports of it “crumbling in between patients’ fingers”.
We’ll give The Botanist more time to establish themselves before we offer any opinions on them.
Perkins Nursery
Response regarding Perkins’ operations in Florida – Image courtesy of Reddit u/Ronald1s
Perkins Nursery is the newest MMTC to begin operation in Florida, and the latest OMMU report indicates they delivered half an ounce of flower last week. However, I could not find any images or reviews online. We will continue to monitor for the latest updates from this new MMTC; when we find anything substantial, you can be assured it will be shared here and/or on our social media.
Closing Thoughts
Cannabis has proved itself to me an American staple during the COVID-19, and Florida has been no exception for that. Despite dealing with a changing world and new procedures in response to it, Florida MMTCs have all mostly managed to expand both their presence/patient access, and their product quality in the 7 months since our last update. This makes me even more confident in my continual assertion that cannabis is here to stay in Florida; the industry will only continue to grow through 2020 and beyond, benefiting all who are vested in the cannabis industry. For MMTCs, investors, and especially the patients: the future of Florida medical cannabis has perhaps never looked brighter.
Be sure to join our email subscriber list and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with all the latest in the Florida medical cannabis industry! Don’t forget to join our email subscriber list as well; this will ensure that you stay up-to-date will all develops in the Collective and the Florida medical cannabis industry! You can find a quick-subscribe button in the righthand column on this site.
VidaCann is the second dispensary that I’ve gotten GSC from at this point – the other is Trulieve (review here). For readers who aren’t aware, GSC is the name for the strain that used to be known as Girl Scout Cookies; that is, until the Girl Scouts of America decided they didn’t like having their name attributed to ‘at damn dope!
All kidding aside, GSC has been a staple medicinal strain for some time now, known for its balanced mind/body effects and desirable aroma and taste of freshly baked cookies.
I always love a chance to try a strain from multiple dispensaries, especially when the experiences with that strain are consistent from company to company. It shows that there is a legitimacy to choosing strains based on their medicinal benefits, and that despite the slight variations from batch to batch, we can be confident that GSC (for example) will affect us the same or mostly the same even if we buy different batches a year or more apart from another.
Let’s see how VidaCann’s GSC holds up to my past experiences with this strain.
Unfortunately, VidaCann doesn’t make their lab reports available unless requested, so I have no terpene percentages to provide for this strain, as I have not received the report at this time. Whenever this information becomes available, I will update this section with the terpenes and their percentages.
Appearance/Cure
Apologies for the somewhat unsightly images. I forgot to take pictures before I smoked about half of the eighth…whoops.
It is often said that GSC plants have a genetic predisposition to produce smaller buds, and that has been true in my experience, including this eighth from VidaCann.
This eighth seems to be on the dry side – not terribly, but enough that it stands out to me. The buds easily crack apart with application of a small to medium amount of force. The trichomes seem to be a bit harder to find on this flower as well, which makes me wonder if the plant was harvested too soon.
I have seen better cures from VidaCann, definitely. This batch wasn’t terrible, but I know their team is capable of much better quality.
Appearance/Cure Rating: 6.50/10.00
Smell/Taste
This batch of GSC doesn’t have much smell in the jar – maybe a faint hint of herbal, sweet, and earthy terpenes.
When the flower is ground up, however, the smell is more noticeable. This isn’t the sweetest or most cookies-smelling GSC I’ve come across, but it has enough of the typical GSC terpenes to be recognizable. I also seem to smell more citrus in this batch, possibly indicating higher limonene content in VidaCaann’s cut.
The taste when smoked, however, is very close to the best GSC batches I’ve had. The warm, earthy, sweet, herbal terpenes all come together to make a sweet taste reminiscent of warm sugar cookies on the inhale; a well-rounded sweet, earthy, spicy finish is noted upon exhale.
This wasn’t the best GSC cut I’ve found in the smell/taste category, but it wasn’t the worst either. I need to do some more exploring of this lineage; either I’m not a huge Cookies fan like most people seem to be, or I haven’t found the exact right cut for me yet.
Smell/Taste Rating: 6.90/10.00
Effects/Medical Use
VidaCann’s cut of GSC feels almost identical to Trulieve’s cut as far as effects are concerned. The typical, balanced effects that are characteristic of GSC are present in this batch as well. A warm cerebral invigoration comes on in the first 15-20 minutes, making the surrounding environment feel cozy and inviting as I type this review. My enjoyment of music seems to be enhanced. (This is the station I listen to while writing every single review I’ve ever written, ever since the site was founded.)
As the effects progress, body relaxation creeps in and becomes increasingly apparent. While GSC never is a particularly sedating strain for me, it can be heavily relaxing in higher doses. I’ve often said GSC could be a “desert island” strain for me – because of the versatility of the effects.
Being medical cannabis patients, effects are the most important aspect of any flower strain to us. Expanding on a point I made at the introduction of this review, it’s refreshing to see that the effects are consistent between two different cuts from two different dispensaries. If anything, VidaCann’s cut might lean a little more indica, as the effects seem to be a bit “deeper” than Trulieve’s, if that makes sense.
Possibly good for treating:
Depression
Anxiety
Moderate aches and pains
Moderate nausea/gastrointestinal issues
General Relaxation
Insomnia (possibly in higher doses)
I’m definitely no medical doctor, so please take the preceding conditions only as my own personal observations from using this strain and having experience with a multitude of different cannabis strains. Every body is different, and every body reacts different to various medications. https://c0.pubmine.com/sf/0.0.3/html/safeframe.htmlREPORT THIS ADREPORT THIS AD
Effects Rating: 9.00/10.00
Overall Rating: 7.46/10.00
Overall, I would best describe GSC as an “very good” hybrid strain from VidaCann.
As I’ve said before, GSC is a good “staple” strain to keep around, for its versatile medicinal effects. I haven’t found a batch that totally “wowed” me since full flower sales started in early 2019, but I will try a few more times before I conclude that I just may not be a Cookies fan – and that’s all good too!
This is a strain that is good to use at almost any time of the day, and due to its popularity and versatility, I recommend every medical cannabis user try it at least once.
You can be assured I’ll continue to be here to try and review all the newest strains, so be sure to hit that subscribe button on the sidebar or bottom of the screen, depending on your platform. I love connecting with all of you!
Be well, and stay healthy. Thanks for reading!
Be sure to join our email subscriber list and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with all the latest in the Florida medical cannabis industry! You can find a quick-subscribe button in the righthand column on this site. Thank you for taking the time to read; we genuinely hope you find this site beneficial to helping you as a patient.
Trulieve first released GSC (formerly known as Girl Scout Cookies) on March 1, 2019, in their flower vape cups (review here). At the time, I was really hyped to finally get to try this strain that I had heard so much about (especially on that Disjointed show that ran a couple seasons on Netflix), and the results of my purchase exceeded my expectations. That batch of flower really did smell and taste like some sort of cookie, and it made me feel great.
I’ve picked up a couple of batches of the full flower form of GSC since then, and for some reason, I always forget to review it again. I have been sitting on this batch that I have now since about February (I’m a slow smoker), and luckily, I realized I needed to review it before I finished it off.
In my recent reviews of the Florida Keys phenotypes, I commended GrowHealthy for being the first Florida MMTC to label and market different phenotypes as separate strains. I think this should be an industry standard, as some phenotypes may have significantly different effects than the “main” strain in the line.
Why did I bring this up, and what is a phenotype, exactly? If you need a refresher on phenotypes, here is a good link I have been using in my other reviews.
I mention phenotypes because I believe this batch of GSC is a different phenotype from the other batches I have purchased from Trulieve in the past. The smell, taste, and appearance are all different enough that I was suspicious; however, I really thought I might be on to something when I realized the description of the Thin Mints phenotype of GSC closely matches the eighth that I have.
“*” denotes the two dominant terpenes in this strain
*Beta-Myrcene: 0.223%
*Trans-Carophyllene: 0.922%
Carophyllene-Oxide: 0.180%
R-Limonene: 0.224%
Linalool: 0.162%
Alpha Humulene: 0.248%
Total Terpenes: 1.959%
Appearance/Cure
This batch is from February 2020, around the time that Trulieve hit another significant improvement in the quality of their flower. Trulieve flower has always been grown and cured well relative to the rest of Florida’s market, but I started seeing some changes near the end of Q1 2020 – like the trichomes being allowed to mature much more, like in the above image of this GSC.
This batch looks physically different from all other batches of GSC that I’ve gotten from Trulieve. I have found GSC to typically have really small buds, but these were more medium-small to medium. The color was darker, with more almost-black than green, and a bountiful covering of dark orange pistils.
The cure is excellent, with dense, slightly sticky buds that are cured to an almost perfect moisture content – though this batch could have gotten away with being ever so slightly drier.
This flower is actually 6 months old now, but it has preserved its freshness fairly well.
Appearance/Cure Rating: 8.90/10.00
Smell/Taste
This is what really makes me suspect that this is a different GSC phenotype – this stuff smells really minty to me. Previous batches of Trulieve’s GSC smelled more like warm, fresh, sugary cookies to me – like when they’re fresh out of this oven. This batch, however, is much more herbal, peppery, earthy, and significantly minty.
I must admit that I preferred the other batches to this; I am not a fan of the earthy, herbal, minty terpenes when they are as dominant as they are in this eighth.
When smoked, I taste a strong earthy sensation on the inhale, followed by a spicy and peppery exhale. Unfortunately, I don’t particularly enjoy these tastes. This is entirely subjective, however, so remember that my “meh” could be your “whoa!”.
Smell/Taste Rating: 6.00/10.00
Effects/Medical Use
The area that this batch of GSC most feels like past batches, would have to be the effects. I have always experienced very balanced “indica” and “sativa” effects from this strain, and that was no exception with this eighth.
Cerebral invigoration is the forerunner here, lasting for a full 20 minutes before warm body relaxation sensations begin to creep in on the downslope of the effects. I’d say this is a suitable strain for just about any time of the day: morning, afternoon, evening, night, or anything in between. Though this wouldn’t be a “desert island” strain for me in the smell and taste department by any means, I think I could get by if I only had GSC to smoke – and maybe that’s one of the main reasons this is such a popular strain – its versatility. There are few strains that I find suitable for use at all times of the day and night, but GSC is one of those rare genetic wonders. For this reason, I believe it’s an outstanding medicinal strain.
I do tend to feel a bit sleepy on the comedown of GSC if I medicate with a large amount, but not really enough to warrant a full couchlock. I’d say this cut might be slightly sativa-dominant in effects, as there seems to be more cerebral uplift than anything else.
GSC is a good staple to have around. And if I can consistently find the batches that taste like fresh cookies, it’d be that much better.
Possibly good for treating:
Depression
Anxiety
Moderate aches and pains
Moderate nausea/gastrointestinal issues
General Relaxation
Insomnia (possibly in higher doses)
I’m definitely no medical doctor, so please take the preceding conditions only as my own personal observations from using this strain and having experience with a multitude of different cannabis strains. Everybody is different, and every body reacts differently to various medications.
Effects Rating: 9.00/10.00
Overall Rating: 7.96/10.00
Overall, I would best describe GSC as a “very good” hybrid strain from Trulieve.
It seems like Trulieve is only getting better at growing flower through time. I hope that their grow team sees this review and knows that their efforts are noticed – the quality is seriously on another level than it was this time last year, and it’s nice to see this batch from February and remember when Trulieve really begin to take their quality to the next level.
As far as this being the “thin mints” phenotype – maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. Regardless, I encourage all Florida MMTCs to begin labeling and selling their different phenotypes as different strains entirely. This is a win-win for both the patients and the MMTCs: the dispensaries have a larger variety of products with the same amount of raw material, and patients can lock in the best strain for their conditions with more ease and consistency.
You can be assured I’ll continue to be here to try and review all the newest strains, so be sure to hit that subscribe button on the sidebar or bottom of the screen, depending on your platform. I love connecting with all of you!
Be well, and stay healthy. Thanks for reading!
Be sure to join our email subscriber list and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with all the latest in the Florida medical cannabis industry! You can find a quick-subscribe button in the righthand column on this site. Thank you for taking the time to read; we genuinely hope you find this site beneficial to helping you as a patient.
