WEED

Killer Mike Talks Better Marijuana Laws, Shares His Smoking Ritual, And Tells Us Why He Loves Indicas

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Killer Mike Weed
Uproxx

Killer Mike, one half of Run The Jewels and recent Ozark star, has long been a vocal advocate of marijuana — both as a medicine and as a creative tool that has helped pull his mile-a-minute mind in focus. Which made him a natural fit to host Weedmaps’ excellent new docuseries, Tumbleweeds. The four-part docuseries follows Killer Mike as he explores the unique cannabis cultures of Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York, and Chicago and chops it up with comedians, cannabis advocates, and business owners in an effort to paint cannabis legalization in a more positive light by showing how weed can tie communities together.

Tumbleweeds is a fun watch that remains as entertaining as it is educational, much of that thanks to Killer Mike’s personality — which can turn from jovial to intensely thoughtful on a dime. We experienced this first hand when we linked up with the rapper and activist to discuss the series, weed policy, restitution for the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) who helped popularize marijuana in the United States, and some radical (but necessary) efforts that states can — and should — make as we steadily march toward federal legalization.

Check out the full discussion below and be sure to catch the final episode of Tumbleweeds on May 8th or all four parts on May 15th on VICE TV and Vice TV Streaming apps.

Killer Mike Weed
Paul Tumpson

Something I really like and appreciate about the new series is that it takes what has been a familiar and frankly racist framework — this idea that “pot destroys communities” — and kind of flips that on its head to show how cannabis can be an integral part of communities. Was that the intention going in? Or was it more about exploring the unique cultures of each respective city?

I think it was all of that at one time. I think the best entertainer in the circus is the juggler. I think that when you can show the interconnectivity between things, the better. Not only do we show that pot is a healer, but pot also helps with PTSD, we show pot from an artistic perspective in the museum. We got an opportunity, we got a chance to show that pot smokers are normal regular human beings leading normal regular lives who use this plant versus other medicines.

We got a chance to show that local businesses that grow around pot — whether it was pizza or candy or fine dining — we got an opportunity to really see the interconnectedness of it all. If you look at pot culture from a pot smoker’s perspective, like say the Rastafarians, pot has been used in a bunch of different things. Everything from using hemp to create tools and papers to smoking marijuana, using it in religious rituals and things, so I think that the stoner community already knew that pot exists or cannabis exists in a lot of different places for a lot of different reasons.

What to me was the curveball but I really thought was interesting was adding comedians. Comedians… they take our pain and make us laugh at it and that brings joy. But they’re very, very observational… and usually very smart in some capacity, and I really enjoyed the conversations that I had with comedians.

I enjoyed going to local businesses, and enjoyed meeting the advocates too, but getting the chance to meet people who make people smile for a living and who are users of pot really was an interesting curveball that got thrown in, so it didn’t get too serious. It didn’t get too heavy. It didn’t get too long or instructional. Really remained fun from start to finish.

Is there anything you would say that you learned in this process that you didn’t know of beforehand?

Damn near too much shit to list. What I really enjoyed was talking to — and I’m sorry, I can’t remember her name [Charissa Jackson], “pot does rob the memory,” Kris Kristofferson said that. This young lady was a veteran and an advocate for veterans’ rights around PTSD and pot. I have a sincere reverence for people who’ve served in our US military. It’s not like I want a war machine marching across the earth but any young person who signs up from 18 to 22 and gives part of their life, a very young, whimsical part of their life… They give that to the United States military. I believe they shouldn’t have to pay interest on a home loan. I believe they should be first in line for lower taxes. I really have a reverence for them.

So to see someone give a damn about veterans in a way that made her an advocate for marijuana usage. Someone that’s helping on the Hill, helping Washington come to their senses about medicine via the cannabis plant versus appeal with the VA meant a lot to me.

Fab Five Freddy and the brother that moved from, I think it was down in Louisiana, who had served 13 years I believe for two joints. You have to understand, Fab Five Freddy in my life has been an art teacher, and music director. He has introduced me to culture and this is just from a kid watching him prior to MTV and MTV. But to see him now as an advocate and an ally in terms of pushing legalization or decriminalization were two things I can really say I walked away from the interview much smarter from and much more determined to help normalize cannabis in this country.

Why were the cities of Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York, and Chicago the cities settled on in the series? As someone who was born and raised in and around Southern California’s cannabis culture, I actually appreciate how you skipped over Los Angeles, which I feel gets too much of the spotlight.

Los Angeles is a hell of a city but Northern California still has better weed. I just got to be frank about that. Shoutout to Satellite OG, shoutout to Berner and Cookies, shout out to Lemonade, shoutout to a few other brands that I’ve smoked great weed from but those hippies in Northern California sure know what the fuck they’re doing.

Illinois as a state is lightyears ahead of the state I’m in, Georgia, and I thought Illinois decriminalizing and making use for recreational use was brilliant. Chicago was dope in terms of the artwork that I got to see there. It was dope in terms of comedy and it was dope in terms of having some fire bud in that motherfucker, I gotta be frank,

Vegas… in my opinion, gambling doesn’t want anything to get too in a way of gambling, some of the restrictions were a little tighter for me, a little more uncomfortable until you got into shops. Once you got into the shops, the people were amazing, the way they educated you about the brands was amazing. But in terms of the laws, you can tell that Vegas is not going to let cannabis and prostitution compete with gambling.

When I was walking back into the casino, I remember one of the doormen, he was a young Black guy, he walked to me and said, “Mike, I’m not tripping on you but I’m gonna tell you sometimes they trip on guys who come in with the Cookies bags and whatnot so next time just put it into your bookbag” and I was like “oh, shit.”

The casinos really don’t want you so high that you can’t leave your room, they need you out there pulling that slot machine.

New York is much more conservative than I thought it would be. I can literally buy weed right on the corner in front of the store where we were eating CBD chocolates. But yet it hasn’t made it inside the store. But they don’t trip about you standing around smoking weed, so I’m not tripping on that, but I’d like for them to get a little more progressive.

SF is just the capital of marijuana in my mind. If you’re not talking Amsterdam, you’re talking Northern California. When I’m in Amsterdam, they ask you for Northern California seeds. So shouts out to Northern Cali because that’s just the best OG Kush in the world.

Killer Mike Weed
Paul Tumpson

In the past, you’ve mentioned that BIPOC deserve a considerable share of the marijuana industry for helping to popularize it. Agreed, can you tell us how you envision that specifically?

I would envision it the same way politicians who envision bullshit laws that allow six licenses for a whole state would envision it. If Georgians are made up of 35% Black people, then 35% of the licenses should go to Black people. And those Black people should have to partner because you’ve got the Black bourgeoisie, being from Atlanta I’m gonna tell you, you got Black Republicans, you got Black bourgeoisie, Black circles that want to keep it in there. You should have to partner with someone convicted of a marijuana felony. Now that’s radical, and that’s some American shit because we were started by a group of motherfuckers who didn’t want to pay taxes.

What I would say is you would have to partner with say a group of Black money or capital investors, they would have to partner with a former Kingpin and then I would bring in business mediators and help those people build the industry from the ground up and I would allow those licenses to be free-flowing and not be so constricted that no one else could make it into the market.

Our first Black mayor was a man named Maynard Jackson and Maynard Jackson made it so that if you wanted a city contract with the city of Atlanta, at least 29% of your company had to be black or people of color. So all of a sudden you saw businesses opening up partnerships and opening up subcontractors and things of that nature and it grew a Black working class and middle class and it gave us 60 years of successful mayors, our economy has grown, even through this COVID thing, our economy is great.

I’m only speaking locally because I do my work locally — 35% of these motherfuckers Black? 35% of licenses should be Black! They should have to partner with people convicted of marijuana convictions, and in terms of dispensaries, there damn sure should be an unlimited amount you put out there. You should be able to open up a dispensary with the minimal amount of shelf, you shouldn’t have to have $150,000 liquid and no shit like that you should be able to open up a dispensary if you’re an old lady, you grow your plants and you sell it curbside like a lemonade stand in the summer.

…If you can’t tell I put a little thought into this.

You mentioned some states and they all approach cannabis differently. In your opinion, what state is really doing it right and how can others do it better? Aside from what you just laid out, of course.

I like what Illinois did going straight to recreational — I don’t think they did the hump of a strict medical thing first. I like how Colorado was putting money back into the school systems and improving the school system. I don’t think we have had the best version yet. Because we do not have the right people advising. We need people convicted of marijuana convictions at the table with lawmakers making the law, it should not just be conglomerates and lobbyists or corporations that want to get into medical now.

It should be Black farmers who have been for the last 80 and 100 years cut out of many industries in this country. It should be people who were victims, people you would call Kingpins of bullshit drug laws, many of which our current president helped to instate. It should be those people at the table and it should be common folk, recreational marijuana users helping to shape the laws that are going to go forward. We should not be restrictive like the prohibition was with liquor, we should not only allow four, five, or six licenses and we should not cut and carve regions so that only politicians and their friends, or companies get them, we should make it less restrictive.

We should have less licensing in terms of keeping a tight hold on the money that gets sucked into taxes. We should make it from day one, the time you open your dispensary, the time you get your first dollar for a marijuana sale, you should be able to bank in the United States. You should be able to put that money in a bank, it is a shame that people who run dispensaries have to worry about robbery, have to worry about seizures, have to worry about ATF, and the alphabet boys because they simply cannot bank. So all those I would bring to the table and I would put a particular interest in Black banks like my bank Greenwood, like Citizens Trust Bank, like Carver — I’d put a particular interest in Latino banks because who were the people used to villainize marijuana? Black people and Mexicans.

I’d try to make some restitution by providing opportunity. I’d allow the people to shape the laws on the ground to be everyone from everyday stoners and smokers that go to work to people that have served long, lengthy marijuana sentences for kingpin drug laws. I’d bring people who are already in the industry as outlaws the people who are growing and people going against the government now and choosing to do it in terms of helping the free, I’d make sure the people who’ve been involved in NORML for the last 40 years have a seat at the table and get an opportunity to talk.

It’s time for the people that use marijuana to make the rules for marijuana and not the other way around.

Killer Mike Weed
Paul Tumpson

I know you’re a fan of indica strains, I’m just curious, what about indicas appeal to you particularly?

I’m naturally hyper — my mind naturally is moving on 100 different things at 100 miles per hour 100 times a day. And indicas allow me a very dense body high, and even cerebral, that allows me to focus in on one or two things that I need to get done. Even when I go for my walks in the morning or running around the gym, with a indica high by the time I realize I’m in pain the workout is almost over.

Although sativas are credited with being cerebral, I think if you’re a person whose mind moves a lot that indicas are great for you because they put you at calm. When I wake up in the morning and do breathing exercises or yoga or tai chi or whatever the fuck my wife has me doing, it’s cool to take a couple of puffs off one of these [gestures to the lit joint in his hand] and settle myself and not think about the other things that are going on.

And that the grandfather of it all, that OG Kush — I like to smoke it. Curren$y’s a big fan of it. There’s just nothing that’s as mellow and cool. Indicas fulfill the stereotype of marijuana being a thing that puts you in a very cool vibe, you know what I mean? It’s one of the reasons I love it.

And just as my last question, I’m curious– and you kind of alluded to it a little bit just now — if you could take us through your typical smoking ritual.

I get up and roll three of these a day. I wake and bake, I get up and do my walks, or I do the tai chi or yoga stuff. I smoke about a quarter of this and then when I’m done with that, I’ll finish the other three quarters over the process of the next two hours or so. I’ll grab food in the afternoon, I try to wait to eat till about 12 or 1 now. Usually, after I’m done with that one my wife starts moving around, we’ll share one, go have lunch, talk about the day, and do some business.

That will hold me until say about 5 or 6, just do whatever, kick it with the kids. If I have a late meeting or something I hold it and usually I smoke the last one right before I leave wherever I’m going or I’ll sit in the driveway, look at the stars on my truck bed and smoke the other half and that was my three grams for the day.

Curren$y Drifts Through His Massive Catalog In His 4/20-Themed Tiny Desk Concert

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I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, but it’s April 20, and I’m sure you know what that means (although what with the traditional festivities endorsed for this unofficial holiday, you’d be forgiven for not knowing what day it is anymore). So it’s only right that for this week’s Tiny Desk Concert debut, NPR has tapped one of hip-hop’s patron saints of the devil’s lettuce, Curren$y, who stops by for an at-home set from a garage alongside one of his many, many cars (this one’s a lifted 1965 Chevy Impala).

Of course, with so much music in his rearview — over seventy projects and counting — the New Orleans native has plenty of product to pull from, opening the set with “Sixty-Seven Turbo Jet” from 2012’s Cigarette Boats with Harry Fraud. Then, it’s “Address” and “Breakfast” from 2010’s Pilot Talk, “Airborne Aquarium” from Pilot Talk II, and finally, “Mary” from 2013’s New Jet City. It’s kind of mind-boggling to think he could have done a ninety-minute set without crossing 2015.

Early in the set, he teases his band for not having their own 4/20-inspired products on them, although he allows that all three members of the trio need both hands to keep the music going.

The Best Songs About Weed

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Image via Getty/Rick Kern

  • Ludacris f/ Sleepy Brown, “Blueberry Yum Yum” (2004)


  • Rihanna, “James Joint” (2016)


  • Missy Elliott, “Pass That Dutch” (2003)


  • D.R.A.M., “Broccoli” (2016)


  • Jhené Aiko f/ Rae Sremmurd, “Sativa” (2017)


  • A$AP Rocky, “Purple Swag” (2013)


  • 50 Cent, “High All The Time” (2003)


  • MF DOOM, “America’s Most Blunted” f/ Quasimoto (2004)


  • Sean Paul, “We Be Burnin” (2005)


  • Ty Dolla $ign f/ Wiz Khalifa , “Irie” (2013)


  • Danny Brown, “Blunt After Blunt” (2011)


  • Chance The Rapper f/ Future, “Smoke Break” (2016)


  • Busta Rhymes, “Get High Tonight” (1997)


  • Sublime, “Smoke Two Joints” (1992)


  • Cypress Hill, “Hits From the Bong” (1993)


  • Clipse, “Gangsta Lean” (2002)


  • Curren$y “Breakfast” (2010)


  • Young Thug, “Stoner” (2014)


  • KC & the Sunshine Band, “I Get Lifted” (1975)


  • Three Six Mafia, “Where’s Da Bud?” (1996)


  • ESG, “Smoke On” (1994)


  • The Pharcyde, “Pack The Pipe” (1992)


  • Birdman and Lil Wayne, “Cali Dro” (2006)


  • Cab Calloway, “Reefer Man” (1932)


  • Rita Marley, “One Draw” (1981)


  • Mister Grimm, “Indo Smoke” (1983)


  • Method Man, “Tical” (1994)


  • People Under the Stairs, “Acid Raindrops” (2002)


  • Outkast, “Crumblin’ Erb” (1994)


  • Fats Waller, “The Reefer Song” (1943)


  • Afroman, “Because I Got High” (2000)


  • Beastie Boys “Hold It Now, Hit It” (1986)


  • John Holt, “Police in Helicopter” (1983)


  • Tone Loc, “Cheeba Cheeba” (1989)


  • Cypress Hill, “I Wanna Get High” (1993)


  • Amy Winehouse, “Addicted” (2006)


  • Bone Thugs N Harmony, “Weed Song” (2000)


  • Dr. Dre f/ Snoop Dogg, “The Next Episode” (1999)


  • De La Soul, “Peer Pressure ” (2001)


  • Society of Soul, “Peaches n Erb” (1995)


  • The Steve Miller Band, “The Joker” (1973)


  • Lil Kim, “Drugs” (1996)


  • Black Sabbath, “Sweet Leaf” (1971)


  • Gang Starr, “Take Two and Pass ” (1992)


  • Devin The Dude, “Doobie Ashtray” (2002)


  • Wiz Khalifa, “Still Blazin'” (2010)


  • Rick James, “Mary Jane” (1978)


  • Redman, “How to Roll a Blunt” (1992)


  • Curtis Mayfield, “Pusher Man” (1972)


  • KRS-One, “I Can’t Wake Up” (1993)


  • Bob Dylan, “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” (1966)


  • Kid Cudi, “Day ’n’ Nite” (2008)


  • Bob Marley, “Kaya” (1978)


  • Styles P, “Good Times (I Get High)” (2002)


  • Ray Charles, “Let’s Go Get Stoned” (1966)


  • The Luniz, “I Got 5 On It” (1995)


  • D’Angelo, “Brown Sugar” (1995)


  • Snoop Dogg, “Gin & Juice” (1994)


  • Peter Tosh, “Legalize It” (1976)


  • Redman and Method Man, “How High” (1999)

Idris Elba Reveals He Used to Sell Weed Before Finding Fame

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Idris Elba Tapped To Portray Knuckles In 'Sonic The Hedgehog 2'

We all know Idris Elba from “The Wire” or even the “The Office”, but what many don’t know is something he recently revealed on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Podcast. He joined the podcast to promote his latest project “Sonic The Hedgehog 2” which is currently in theaters now.

The podcast spoke on topics outside of his latest project. Like many celebrities, he did not make it big right away. They spoke about the start of his career. When he was in London there were plays and side projects that he would take on. However, when he moved to America and a lot changed for him. There were things he had to do to make sure he could “pay the way”, and some of those things used to be selling weed.

Dave Chappelle only recognized him at first due to the fact that he previously purchased weed from Idris. But selling weed was not the only side hustle he had. He also DJ’ed and was a doorman at Caroline’s Comedy Club.

Selling weed is legal now and is a side hustle he can always revisit.

The post Idris Elba Reveals He Used to Sell Weed Before Finding Fame appeared first on The Source.

Watch The Trailer For Killer Mike’s New Weed Docu-Series ‘Tumbleweeds,’ Dropping Just In Time For 4/20

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4/20 is on the horizon and as you gear up with some great weed and good snacks to enjoy on the big day, don’t forget you’re going to need some content to watch while you relax and roll up. Enter Killer Mike’s new four-part docuseries, Tumbleweeds.

Made in collaboration with Weedmaps and premiering on Vice TV, Tumbleweeds finds Killer Mike exploring cannabis smoking hotspots like Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York, and Chicago and speaking with comedians, cannabis advocates, and business owners, and exploring dispensaries, clothing stores, restaurants, and whole neighborhoods to learn how cannabis positively shapes, affects, and builds community and inclusivity while exploring the impact and evolution of cannabis culture in America.

It’s a simple premise, but America has a long history of anti-cannabis (and frankly, racist) propaganda that has often positioned cannabis as something that outright destroys communities, so it’s dope (pun very much intended) to see Killer Mike and Weedmaps flip the script and modernize that conversation, bringing it to a more honest place in line with marijuana’s increasingly mainstream status.

Check out the exclusive trailer for Tumbleweeds above and be sure to catch the first two episodes (Las Vegas and San Francisco) on 4/20 on Vice TV and Vice TV streaming apps.

Rapper-Owned Weed Brands, Smoked And Power Ranked

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Rapper Weed Brands
Ralph Ordaz

The world of rapper-owned weed brands features more smoke and mirrors than a Miami megaclub. While there are some bangers in the genre, most of these “brands” aren’t really brands at all. It’s far more common for a rapper to work with a preexisting company and drop a limited line of products or bag up some janky shit in mylar through a white-label grow operation, than it is for them to launch an autonomous cultivation project of their own. Half the time when you search for brands owned by rappers, the websites are defunct, the Instagrams don’t exist, and the products aren’t available. It’s as if, aside from the press release, a handful of blogs, and a lone lavish launch party, the brand ceases to exist at all.

Why?

Most rappers launch weed “brands” for clout rather than wanting to actually enter the cannabis space. And who could blame them? The weed industry is an expensive headache for entrepreneurs. It is ironic, though, because rappers are the celebrities most likely to be accepted by the discerning consumers of the cannabis community. Not only were they some of the earliest vocal proponents of cannabis in mainstream culture, but some famously sold weed prior to fame (and have served time for it).

If any genre of celebrity deserves to be in the weed space, it’s rappers. Period.

So today, we’re checking out some rapper-owned brands that actually exist and don’t totally suck (I don’t like them all, but none are fully trash). From the many rapper-weed collabs, we’ve chosen five strains to smoke, rank, and rant about from the floor of my living room. Sound fun? Let’s get stoned!

Ready 2 blaze
Uproxx

5. China White Preroll from Saucey Extracts by Jim Jones

Saucey
Uproxx

I attended the launch party for Saucey Extracts a few years ago. It was insane. At a Beverly Hills mansion, giant glass candy jars full of nugs dotted sprawling gardens to the pool. The weed literally overfloweth. I ran around with a celebrity stoner’s daughter stuffing branded tote bags to the brim with nugs. Jim Jones made an appearance. It was everything the launch party of a rapper weed brand should be. Wish I could say the same about the weed itself.

First of all, I always feel a little wary when an extracts brand launches flower, because that usually means they didn’t grow it themselves. White labeling is a huge issue in the cannabis community, a super common practice because the overhead of cultivation itself is so massive. Most brands, especially the big ones, don’t grow their own flower. That’s why they’re rich. It’s way cheaper not to. However, what you gain monetarily, you lose in quality.

For this test, I popped open the Supreme-esque plastic packaging of the China White pre-roll pack. Four joints of mechanically trimmed flower burst forth, smelling like hay. I took a dry hit, which is when you take a hit of an unlit joint to experience the flavor of the flower, known as the terpene profile. It was pretty mild, fruity, a little citrusy. Not mad at it, but it could have been more flavorful for sure.

I lit up. The flavor wasn’t bad. Delicate, citrusy, fruity, but overall pretty mids. I immediately felt upbeat, and definitely wanted to give them props for the integrity of the joint structure. These burned cleanly and evenly, not too tight or loose.

The high was upbeat, spacey, and a little trippy. I felt cerebrally invigorated while my body relaxed. Definitely a good daytime work weed, which is not usually the kind of flower that rapper brands deliver. A welcome change.

Bottom Line:

This weed is not bad, but it’s not great either. I think the price is a little high, but we love Jim Jones and will blindly support anything Dipset does.

Buy it here: $55 for a pack of 4 prerolls

4. Monogram #3 by Jay Z

Monogram
Uproxx

Monogram is Jay Z’s weed brand. I’m not a huge fan of their sleekly packaged, overpriced mids. But some people seem to like them, so let’s check out their #3 strain.

The first red flag here is that this flower is 35% THC. Not only is that physically improbable, but it’s also just plain silly. No one needs that much THC, and when you get a number that high you are totally destroying the natural balance of the chemicals within the plant. I’ve always felt that this brand has a weird air of being out of touch due to the fact that Jay Z has never been part of the cannabis community. He doesn’t publicly smoke weed or advocate for its use prior to entering the legal space in the most corporate way possible. Maybe if he had, he’d know better than to jack his THC up that high.

Anyways, the flower looks pretty good. Chunky, green, orange with little violet leaves. It doesn’t really have much of a smell and seemed a little dried out, but often you can’t really blame the cultivator if the weed shows up a little dry — it’s often a distro issue.

Based on the THC percentage, I was afraid to smoke this at all and be rendered useless for the rest of the afternoon. But I took a bong rip anyway. For journalism!

The flavor wasn’t strong, but it wasn’t bad either. Fruity, a little floral, grape forward. Immediately my head became swimmy as I felt a wave of far too much THC sneak into my mind and crash over my eyes from behind. Relaxed, euphoric, the colors seemed brighter. It’s definitely very potent, but not a particularly nuanced high. That’s the problem with these absurdly high THC cultivars. They make you feel high on THC, but that’s about it.

Then, the stupor hit. Staring into the horizon beyond the window, limp, my mind moved slowly. Even in writing this single sentence, I drifted into a world unknown for about four minutes. Some people may like this kind of high, but it’s not for me, a high functioning, all-day stoner.

Bottom Line:

It’s not terrible, just overpriced and way too juiced up with THC.

Buy it here: $70 for 4 grams

Khalifa Kush by Wiz Khalifa

Khalifa Kush
Uproxx

I like Wiz Khalifa because he’s a fucking stoner. He’s so in the mix that it’s not uncommon to see him at weed parties around LA. Also, he has BDE, minds his business, and gets high on stage. Vibes.

Unlike most rapper weed I get sent, I was actually looking forward to trying Khalifa Kush because you can tell this man truly cares about flower. I imagined it would be good. And it was!

The dry hit was so impressive! Super mango diesel flavor, it had that kind of syrupy dry hit quality where you can taste that the terps and chemical compounds are alive on the plant matter. I lit it. There was a fantastic smell-to-flavor translation, which is another sign of good weed. It kind of had a fruity sage flavor that I was super into. Smooth smoke, great joint overall.

I was thinking there was not a lot of head change, and then BOOM BITCH that shit hit. And it hit hard. I got suuuuuuuper languid and dreamy feeling, and it made this difficult to write (again). This is high quality dreamy daytime weed — euphoric without being sleepy.

Bottom Line:

Perfect for taking the day off work to smoke weed in public like Wiz Khalifa.

Buy it here: $20 for 1 gram preroll

2. Plane Jane by Fiore x Roy Woods

Plane Jane
Uproxx

Plane Jane is a strain collab by Fiore and rapper Roy Woods. Fiore was started by the owners and head cultivators at Cookies (rapper Berner’s megabrand) and is the only Cookies micro-business. So this is actually a rapper weed squared strain collab. And a perfectly executed one at that.

I popped open the bag, and was punched in the face by gas, pine, and tropical fruit. Though I’m not usually the biggest fan of indoor flower, Fiore fucking crushes it everytime. Unbelievably pungent, soft nugs were easy to break apart, unlike those mechanically trimmed balls of THC everyone seems to be hawking these days. This flower was beautiful in every way… so I smoked it!

The flavor was as pungent as the smell, but less gassy, with more notes of pine and fruit. Immediately I felt focused, dreamy and upbeat. This is the kind of weed you can smoke to calm down and beat depression or anxiety when you still need to get shit done. It’s actually really nuanced and vibey. It has a holistic healing effect, tingly in the body and the spirit, and the mind.

Bottom Line:

Elevating and exciting, it’s not the kind of indoor that gets you dumb for 30 minutes then tired. This weed is vibrant and alive, and really, really good. Definitely worth a cop!

Buy it here: $42 per eighth

Insane OG by B-Real

Insane OG
Uproxx

And now, the love letter begins. I have been a massive fan of Insane by Cypress Hill’s B-Real since I first tried their flower a year or two ago. This dude has been in the weed game forever and facilitated a lot of what we know as modern cannabis culture prior to entering the industry. He was on Hits from the Bong, bro! Idk if there is a higher stoner accolade than that.

I think this Insane OG strain is some of the best and strongest weed on the market. When I say strong, I don’t just mean high in THC. This is a fully immersive stoner experience. You feel so much with this flower. It’s full-body, full mind.

The bag opens to a rush of powerful terpene smell waves. Diesel, pine, and lemon. Deep pine forest energy. The nugs are crunchy and sparkle with trichomes. Frosted and cute, I felt as if the nugs were staring back at me.

I took a large hit of the bong, as instructed. A rainbow burst of forest flavors overcame my palate and I felt filled with joy immediately. The high is cerebral and fun. The body high is euphoric and relaxing. Together it’s a balanced high that leaves you feeling floaty, elated, and ready for anything.

Bottom Line:

This weed is simply a must-have. It’s perfect in every way, and there is no one more qualified to sell it to you than B-Real.

Buy it here: $50 for the eighth

Jas Prince’s’ Slapwoods Brand Provides A Luxurious Hand-Rolled Smoking Experience For Your Top Shelf Bud

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Slapwoods Review
Filmfoot/Uproxx

There are few smoking experiences that rival the pleasure of smoking a properly rolled blunt. A good hand-rolled cigar burns slow, steady, fills the air with the aromatic tones of tobacco and dark chocolate, and produces a smooth and flavorful smoke. Done right, a blunt makes your toking experience as much about savoring the taste of the cigar paper as it does about getting high.

Having said that, rolling a proper blunt is a straight-up pain in the ass. Huge hassle all the way around.

When it comes to rolling blunts, you’re dealing with a lot of potential issues — sourcing quality tobacco leaves, grinding a bunch of weed, and getting it all rolled up without dropping product all over the floor. Worse still is having to deal with disassembling a corner store Swisher Sweet (or Phillies Blunt or Backwoods cigar) and filling it up with your weed. Sure, this works in a pinch but it’s wasteful and can muddle the quality of your top-shelf herb with chemical-tasting artificial fruit flavors or dusty dry leaf notes.

Happily for us, we’re living in an age where stoners are spoiled with choices and tools geared toward making the blunt rolling experience easier. And one of our favorite options is Jas Prince’s Slapwoods (a tongue-in-cheek reference to OG cigar brand Backwoods, perhaps?). Prince is an entrepreneur, mogul, and the founder of the Young Empire Music Group. More importantly for today’s purposes, he’s a stoner — which is probably why his Sapwood’s products feel tailor-made for a better smoking experience.

Let’s break it down:

Slapwood’s Cigar Cones/ Cigar Wraps

Slapwoods Review
Dane Rivera

If you hate the hassle of rolling blunts, Slapwood’s Cigar Cones makes life waaaaay easier. The cones are packaged three to a pack and feature thick aromatic wraps pre-assembled in a tall conical shape with a corn husk tip filter. The packs have everything you need for the perfect blunt — each cone is loaded with a Slapwoods insert that helps the virgin cigar cone retain its shape and serves as a funnel for your bud, which can be better-packed thanks to the wooden pick that comes supplied in each pouch.

The leaf itself is pretty sturdy, without being dry, and can handle a dense pack with a lot of handling. Nothing is worse than ruining a wrap because you have rough hands. When I tried Slapwoods, it was able to stand up to some considerable abuse.

Be warned though, you’re going to need a lot of weed to fill one of these things, and I mean a lot.

Slapwoods Review
Dane Rivera

I double ground 1.5 grams of fresh herb and still had more room than I’d like to spare, but each cone can be easily cut or folded in to make up for any gaps. This makes the wrap perfect for sharing with a circle of friends, a loved one, or for a sustained smoking session for those Snoop-level stars who like a long session.

When I finally lit up, soothing coffee-like tones filled my immediate vicinity (important to consider if you have smoke-hating neighbors, this stuff is powerful) and the Russian Cream flavored cone helped add some smooth vanilla and earthy tobacco and chocolate notes to my bud, supplying a smooth drag with a savor-worthy flavor. The quality of the tobacco leaf is great, it’s hand-rolled in the Dominican Republic, burns evenly, and never comes across as harsh or dirty tasting, like more low-quality leaves.

The Cigar Cones are definitely worth picking up if you love smoking blunts but hate rolling them, but let us make the case for Slapwoods Cigar Wraps as an even better option.

Slapwoods Review
Dane Rivera

I know I just spent paragraphs applauding Slapwoods for making the act of hand-rolling rolling cannabis in tobacco leaves more convenient, but the wraps are where it is truly at. They slap. Coming five to a pack in an easily resealable pouch, these are made to retain freshness. You still get that same smooth luxurious Russian Cream flavor, with leaves that are a noticeable step up in quality. They’re remarkably supple, soft to the touch, and incredibly natural. They feel like… well, exactly like a dried leaf, and if all you’ve ever had is a Swisher wrap, this is a whole other world.

It’s like comparing well-level Jack Daniels to a Lagavulin 16. If you’re smoking high-quality bud that is truly worthy and wanting of a premium delivery method, you have to make it Slapwoods Cigar Wraps.

The Bottom Line:

Slapwoods Review
Dane Rivera

If you value convenience, grab the Slapwoods Cigar Cones. If you’re all about a supreme and luxurious experience, you have to go with the Cigar Wraps. Either way, at the end of the day Slapwoods levels up your smoking game like few brands can.

Shop Slapwoods products at the official Slapwoods site.