Strains & products

Area 51—Pure Sunfarms, British Columbia, Canada winter 2024

Published on March 15, 2024 · Last updated June 24, 2024
enormous oval-shaped marijuana nug in various shades of green positioned diagonally
(Amelia Williams/Leafly)

90 points out of 100

Price: $28 CAD/eighth

Vancouver has slowly caught on to the Cookies strains craze, but I find they still aren’t big on hybrids; there’s a lot of Kush, a lot of Haze and Sours, and mainstays like Blue Dream. I wanted to find something that would grace the shelves of the Bay Area—creamy, cakey, balanced bud in shades of purple. And of course, with the THC numbers to match.

Area 51 (not to be confused with Alien Labs’ Area 41) is MAC 1 x Gas Cake per the Pure Sunfarms website, and it indeed has that chunky, violet-green-orange bud look. But if you like doughy, vanilla-laden strains, this may not be for you; Area 51 was savory and umami gas all around, with sharper notes of pink pepper, rosemary sourdough, and a minty mouthfeel. This truly strikes both the mind and body, soothing my aches after a long hike in the Vancouver woods and putting me in a silly, gleeful mood for both going out and staying in.

(Amelia Williams/Leafly)
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Amelia Williams
Amelia Williams
New York-based freelance cannabis journalist Amelia Williams is a graduate of San Francisco State University's journalism program, and a former budtender. Williams has contributed to the San Francisco Chronicle's GreenState, MG Magazine, Culture Magazine, and Cannabis Now, Kirkus Reviews, and The Bold Italic.
View Amelia Williams's articles
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