From time to time, I meet a budtender who’s so damn good at what he does that I leave the access point happy, excited, and dazzled. I’m not talking about run-of-the-mill “adequate” budtenders, but the kind who actually listen when patients talk and try to match them with the cannabis medicines that will help the most. I met one of these last weekend: Roland Brigham from North Seattle Med Co in Greenwood.
Effectively asking a patient his or her medicine preferences, and in so doing establishing a personal rapport, is an art not found in all dispensaries. In fact, a lot of the personnel at Seattle-area access points could really use some customer-service training. But Roland gets it. It’s no wonder that when he recently took a little time off to visit family in Texas, North Seattle Med Co was inundated by variations of the questions “Where’s Roland? And when will he be back?”
The shop has a not-huge, but still impressive, selection of about 18 strains of cannabis flowers. With Roland’s help, I selected Hawaiian Kush, a 70 percent sativa; Larry OG, a 65 percent indica; and Grand Raskal OG, another 65 percent indica. All were $10 a gram, $35 an eighth-ounce.
Hawaiian Kush smells a little like a pine forest—that is, if a skunk had walked through the day before. It is an energetic smoke, true to its sativa dominance, at least for the first few tokes. But be advised that if you continue to smoke it, the 30-percent-indica portion of its genetic heritage will definitely manifest itself in the form of a heavier body stone.
Larry OG (OG Kush x San Fernando Valley OG) is a staff favorite at North Seattle Med Co, and after toking it I can understand why. This is a profoundly comforting smoke, and you don’t have to mess around and wait once you light it up; pain relief is almost immediate, within two or three tokes. I did learn that Larry OG’s pleasantly piney taste, while reducing stress and anxiety very effectively, can also lead to sleepiness. You may find yourself nodding out in the middle of the afternoon if you toke very much of this 20-percent-THC strain.
Then there’s Grand Raskal OG, which comes in at 17 percent THC, and, crucially, 4 percent CBD (cannabidiol). CBD has shown very promising results as an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever, possibly being even more effective at these functions than its fellow cannabinoid THC. Strains with elevated levels of CBD typically don’t have much of a high, since CBD works to block the psychoactive effects of THC, but Grand Raskal has enough THC to get you high anyway, so you have the best of both worlds. (If you want a less incapacitating CBD strain, go with the sativa-dominant Harlequin, which has a whopping 11 percent CBD along with its 11 percent THC). E
tokesignals@seattleweekly.com
Steve Elliott edits Toke Signals (tokesignals.com), an irreverent, independent blog of cannabis news, views, and information.
