Medical-marijuana dispensaries have until now been elusive in Kitsap County. While a couple of delivery services are available, actual brick-and-mortar storefronts have been a different matter. From time to time I’d hear of one in Silverdale or another in Bremerton, but by the time I called, they were already gone. I felt as if I were chasing flying saucers or Bigfoot.
With that kind of track record, I was expecting the same result when I called Herbal Healing Safe Access, a dispensary, located in Gorst (between Bremerton and Port Orchard), that I located on Weed Maps. But, happily, they actually answered the phone, and better yet they were open, so I was off to Gorst to buy my very first Kitsap storefront weed.
I was pleased to note, as budtender Sam (she’s very helpful) showed me through the menu of about 15 strains (there are separate cases for indicas, hybrids, and sativas), that all flowers have a donation of $10 a gram across the board. As I noted in last week’s column, some shops without any nearby competition engage in price-gouging; it speaks well of Herbal Healing that they don’t succumb to that unhealthy temptation.
I selected two indica-dominants, Plush Berry and Ace of Spades, and two sativas, Maui Wowie and Green Crack (I disapprove of that strain name, by the way—no marijuana strain should ever be named after hard drugs). Plush Berry’s beautiful, light-green, trichome-encrusted flowers are the result of a cross between Black Cherry Soda and Space Queen by TGA Subcool. The scent and flavor are berry-sweet; Subcool himself described Plush Berry as the best-smelling plant he’s ever grown. The strain is excellent for pain relief and relaxation; it produces a preternatural calmness great for stress relief.
Ace of Spades (Black Cherry Soda x Jack the Ripper) is another TGA Subcool indica; this one combines lemon and berry for a delightful sweet-and-sour taste in its thick, heavy flowers. These buds are a darker green than Plush Berry’s, but just as thickly covered with sticky resin glands. Toking reveals a smooth taste with hints of sandalwood. It’s a fast-acting strain; the 30 percent sativa in its genetic heritage hits first with a giddy onset, then the 70 percent indica asserts itself with a potent body stone.
Green Crack, as I mentioned above, should be called something else, as marijuana—even the most energetic sativa—is nothing like crack cocaine. Having said that, these fuzzy flowers—which, unlike all the others, appeared to have been possibly kiefed, or at least tumbled—make good daytime medicine in that you can use it and continue your daily activities without getting couchlocked. On the downside, the effects of Green Crack, while quick in onset, are also quick to fade.
Maui Wowie’s crystal-covered sativa-dominant flowers are redolent of pine and citrus and taste pleasantly hashish-like. It produces an active, uplifting buzz that also effectively addresses pain.
tokesignals@seattleweekly.com
Steve Elliott edits Toke Signals, tokesignals.com, an irreverent, independent blog of cannabis news, views, and information.
HERBAL HEALING SAFE ACCESS 3062 S.W. Hwy. 16, Bremerton, 360-813-3644, herbalhealing420.com. 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Mon.–Tues.; 11 a.m.–7 p.m. Wed.–Fri.; 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sat. (Closed Sun.)
