Just a few weeks ago, I started noticing the green cross on Aurora Avenue, on the right, when headed north into Shoreline. Finally this week I was able to move it from the “must check out” column into the “flying colors” column, having had a pleasant visit to the shop with the distinctly unpretentious moniker Smoke Time.
Budtender/receptionist Mr. Kush (yes, that’s the name he goes by in the shop) was on the phone when I entered, but he still did a good job of communicating what I needed to do to get checked in as a patient. As soon as the phone convo ended, all was forgiven as Mr. Kush revealed himself to be an engaging, knowledgeable, and downright humorous guy.
Entry to the bud room revealed a $9 shelf (yes, just $9 for top-shelf strains) and a $7 bargain shelf. Besides these two price points, Smoke Time had two of the “Cookies” strains that are the rage du jour in the cannabis world: Girl Scout Cookies (sativa-dominant) and Platinum Cookies (indica-dominant). These two ultra-designer, California-bred strains go for $14 a gram.
That’s expensive for weed, and on principle I’m generally opposed to such pricing. But proprietor Lee told me that real clones of the Girl Scout Cookies strain go for $4,000 (!) apiece, so that certainly makes the pricing a little more forgivable. (Beware: According to Lee, fake “Girl Scout Cookies” clones are going around town for $100 apiece.)
I was unable to stop myself from getting a little of each of the two $14 strains; I really hate leaving a shop without the best weed in the place. In addition, I also got two $9 strains: the indica-dominant old favorite Afgooey and the 50-50 indica/sativa hybrid Hawk Dawg.
Girl Scout Cookies’ nugs are incredibly dense, especially for a sativa-dominant strain. To me, at least, they don’t smell like Girl Scout cookies; the strain isn’t very aromatic at all, actually. But about four tokes in, I got my answer to “What’s all the fuss about?” I was suffused with a deeply centered inner glow, which increased with each successive toke; around toke seven, it was enough.
The Platinum Cookies flowers were even more dense—not surprising since it’s an indica. I know nothing of the genetics behind this strain, but I can tell you it looks like a cross between Afgoo and G13, combining the former’s large, trichome-covered sugar leaves with the latter’s hard tightness. The smell was also, interestingly, in the middle, with faint hints of Afgoo’s sweetness and G13’s tartness. If you crumble your weed by hand, you’ll find just how sticky-sweet Platinum Cookies can be.
As for the Afgoo and Hawk Dawg, either is as good a strain as you’ll find in town at the price. Afgoo’s pillowy-sweet indica-dominant potency and Hawk Dawg’s hybrid headiness are both absolutely unbeatable for $9.
tokesignals@seattleweekly.com
Steve Elliott edits Toke Signals, tokesignals.com, an irreverent, independent blog of cannabis news, views, and information.
SMOKE TIME 18820 Aurora Ave. N. #206, 629-5642, americangoodwill@yahoo.com. 10 a.m.–9 p.m. daily.
