There are at least two schools of thought when it comes to naming a medical-marijuana dispensary. The first is to name it something bland, respectable, and medicinal-sounding; the second is to name it something everyone will remember. The shop I visited this week, Oh My Kush, is definitely in the second category.
Oh My Kush occupies the location in Lake City formerly used by Green Diamond Depot, which closed around six months ago. I never got to visit Green Diamond, but I liked Oh My Kush, thanks in large part to know-ledgeable budtender Leah, who guided me through a menu of $12 top-shelf, $10 medium-shelf, and $7 and $5 bargain-shelf strains.
The strain selection isn’t huge at Oh My Kush. In fact, they had only around 10 strains available the day I visited, even counting the bargain shake (that’s where the $5- and $7-a-gram prices come in). But Leah gave me the lowdown on practically everything on the shelves, and mentioned her personal favorites.
I selected a $12 indica, Melon Gum; a $10 sativa-dominant hybrid, Blue Dream; and, since I can’t resist a bargain, the $5 Qrazy Train bottom-of-the-jar shake.
The Qrazy Train was about what you’d expect jar-bottoms to be: finely crumbled bits of sugar leaves and flowers, reasonably potent, a little harsher smoking than pure buds, and producing a serviceable buzz. That means it’s worth $5 a gram, but if I had paid $10 I wouldn’t have been satisfied.
The Blue Dream was a solid but unspectacular expression of that strain, whose popularity is based on the fact that it’s an 80 percent sativa that offers effective pain relief like an indica strain, but without the debilitating couch-lock or sleepiness associated with many indicas. The rather loose trim had left on plenty of sugar leaves, which doesn’t particularly bother me, but does seem to be an issue for some patients (I personally think we get a more medicinal mix of cannabinoids from a looser trim).
And then there was the top-shelf Melon Gum, a pleasantly fruity, enjoyably loopy indica that was the only one of the three strains with a pronounced “Heeey, that’s some good stuff!” factor, about four tokes in. Effective pain and nausea relief coupled with stress reduction and a softly comforting, pillowy high make Melon Gum worth $12 a gram—and I speak as a guy who normally doesn’t like to pay more than $10.
Parking can be a challenge in the area just off Lake City Way where Oh My Kush is located; street construction was greatly complicating matters on the day I visited. The check-in process is quick, efficient, and painless, and new patients get a free gram of flowers of their choice.
Oh My Kush, in addition to cannabis flowers, also has a small selection of concentrates (hash and oil), medibles, and sodas. They even have a couple of brands of rolling papers, which just may save you a stop at the Mini-Mart on the way home.
Steve Elliott edits Toke Signals, tokesignals.com, an irreverent, independent blog of cannabis news, views, and information.
tokesignals@seattleweekly.com
OH MY KUSH 3305 N.E. 125th St., 257-4953. 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Mon.–Fri.; 10 a.m.–10 p.m. Sat.; noon–9 p.m. Sun.
