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When I was in my graduate program we used to drink a shot called the Lemon Drop. Vodka was shaken over ice and then strained. The shots were chased by biting on a sugared lemon. I used to love them. Citrusy sweet, and slightly sour. While browsing through OCPC’s waxes this week, I was looking for something more glassy. I’ve just had a real dry Blue Dream wax that was troubling to use in my pen, so I was looking for something that would vaporize easier. However, hidden behind a stack of darker budders, I saw this golden gram of Lemon Drop wax and decided to take it home. I’m a sucker for the Limonene terpene that gives some strains their lemony flavor, and I was hoping to get a big dose with this donation. This Lemon Drop wax melted well in my Cloud Pen, if not a bit slow. I had to make sure to get it right down on the heating coil to get a full hit. Although it was wetter than some waxes, I still ended with crumbles in my Oil Slick jar when breaking pieces off the rather sizeable 1g moonstone I picked out. Like clay from a cave, it was pliable but grainy. Having a light brown color, it wasn’t the purest of waxes I’ve seen, but it was clearly free of most particulates. There was a nice and sweet lemon scent, similar to Super Lemon Haze, but less aromatic than a well cured flower. The vapor is thin, and so is the taste, both of which were a disappointment. However, it hits heavy to the cheeks and forehead when it does finally heat up enough to vape well. I had lazy, drooping eyes that made me look higher than I was. Lemon Drop was actually quite clear headed and creative in low doses. But giggly and euphoric during longer sessions. The medication seems to lean sativa, but it is clearly a sativa/indica hybrid. It offered a two part high. While there was good tension relief in the head and neck and I found it effective for migraines, Lemon drop also worked well for stress and anxiety relief. The relaxing of both the mind and body is perfect to make it through your tougher days at the office. http://ocweedreview.wordpress.com/

There have been some beautiful late harvest buds around the OC lately, busty and plump, with coatings of amber trichromes. Sour Candy Apple has dark leaves and light emerald flowers, flush with pale hairs. There is a fruit scent similar to an apple or pear. It’s a bit piney also, but barely so. The buds I got were really fresh, making them hard to break up. Once they dried after a moment or two on a dish, they were much more workable. Smoking it gives a really harsh hit, but the exhale is all fresh apple and slightly sour. It isn’t overwhelming like a sour patch kid, though. More subtle. More bearable. Sour Apple is a mix of a heavy Kush indica and Sour Diesel. I’m not sure where the “Candy” in the name comes from, but the obvious choice would be a work in of Candy Kush. The high left me with a nice warm tingle in body, like a warm spiced wine enjoyed in front of a fire. It was heavy in the eyes and comfortingly sleepy, a kind of drunk feeling. I was still able to function on lower doses, and it was mellow and smooth. I found it to be a great wake and bake strain on a weekend, when you want the dreaminess of morning to continue. However, it is a bit too distracting for a work day. The more I smoked, the more couch-locked I got. When used late enough, it put me down swiftly to sleep. This hybrid seems to swing far to the indica side, making it perfect for all kinds of pain relief and insomnia. http://ocweedreview.wordpress.com/

I’ve been on a bit of a tropical themed run here as of late, and Maui Wowie, often seen as Maui Waui, adds to this ongoing motif. After enduring a month in frigid Chicago and getting to know the term polar vortex well, I’ve been spending as much time under the palm trees of SoCal as possible. It isn’t the taste, but the spirit of this strain that makes me think of warm, sunny beaches and bathing suits. These buds were lumpy and long and markedly sticky. This is no surprise since an abundance of cloudy amber-colored late harvest trichromes can be seen across the nuggets. Maui Waui is a ginger lady, and orange hairs stick out like cowlicks. It wasn’t the look but the the scent of this strain that sold me in the dispensary. Diving your nose into the jar grabs thick wafts of pine and lemon cleaner, similar to Chemdawg strains, but sweet like Super Lemon Haze. There is also a minimal baking spice aroma as well that comes through in a big way in the aftertaste. The smoke is thin and not expansive, making medicating a pleasurable after thought. I love a flavorful strain, and this is as fragrant and tasty as they come. Popular among the hippy crowds in California during the late sixties, Maui Waui was an early high THC plant, desired for its potency and uplifting sativa high. I place it in a category of what I like to call brain strains: sativas so erudite and sophisticated that they make you more capable. I love to work on strains like this, since they pique your creativity, expand your imagination, and enhance your problem solving. With no noticeable indica effects, strains like Maui Waui will drive your productivity and are exceptional daytime, mid-week highs. However, it is just as appropriate a medication for your times of repose. http://ocweedreview.wordpress.com/

Sour Sage, often listed as Sage n’ Sour, is a combination of two potent sativa expressive hybrids, Sour Diesel and S.A.G.E. As we saw in a previous review, Sour Diesel is much like sex. Even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good. Mixing with this euphoric sativa is S.A.G.E. (Sativa Afghani Genetic Equillibrium). S.A.G.E was bred to be the perfect 50/50 hybrid. I feel a bit dirty messing with perfection, but the addition of Sour Diesel is simply the refining of an otherwise impeccable strain. The buds of Sour Sage are light and airy. My budtender had to practically shove the pop top closed, as the nuggets were overflowing the container. They are oddly misshapen, almost pyramids, but only in the minds of the most devout cubists. A blueish greenery is accented by topaz hairs and a fuzzy frosting of crystals. When I dipped my nose into the jar, I was hit with the scent of herb garden greenery. There was hardly a hint of the astringent lemon or diesel smells common of Sour Diesel. Instead, there was an herbal tea aroma and a warm, pungent earth smell. It was quite sweet and enjoyable, like a big bowl of mother nature. The taste was imperceptible until the exhale. Especially with the green hit, the smoke was sweet and organic. There is little smoker’s fatigue, and the smoke is thin and vaporous. S.A.G.E.’s perfect equilibrium is ruined by the addition of Sour Diesel, making for a sativa to indica ratio of 3 to 1 in its genetics. However, you will hardly feel like you have anything less than an improvement on your hands. The high is expansive and dreamy. There is a strong disembodiment and a disconnect from the world. Highs like this are an experience all their own. Slightly hallucinogenic at high doses, a blunt made me lose myself for hours at a time. Sour Sage is a great daytime high, but save it for weekends. It will help you escape your troubles, and any stress will simply recede. http://ocweedreview.wordpress.com/

After reviewing four straight indicas, I've lately felt run down and tired. I have always preferred uplifting sativas, the type that set you going and give you the feeling like you can take on the world. OCPC has grabbed a winner with their Strawberry Diesel. Although there is some Afghani indica tucked into the NYC Diesel, overall, this was the euphoric sativa for which I was looking. The buds of this strain are a flush green. Blended in among the flowers are hairs so faintly red that they are almost pink, a nice touch for a strain with strawberry in its name. If you think you see a seed pod in the picture above, you are correct. It has just been the one seed so far, and it has gone in my drawer for a future grow. One seed aside, this is a nice looking strain. It is slightly sticky from the dusting of trichromes. There is a clear odor of strawberries, fresh and organic, not sweet like artificial candy flavors. Unmistakably, fuel and grapefruit are also present in this strain’s profile. The taste favors the diesel flavor of NYC Diesel. Much of the fruitiness you notice in the smell gives way too harsh fuel when burnt. However, even with this gruffness, there is little smoker’s fatigue. What I missed most during my run of indicas was the cerebral relief that sativas bring. Along with arthritis pain and migraines, I often use my medical marijuana for work stress, anxiety, and at times, depression. Strawberry Diesel is perfect for all three. The high is happy and energetic. The truest sign for me of whether a strain’s effects fall sativa or indica is what I do immediately after smoking. If I sit there, mindlessly watching tv or messing around online like I have been all week, it’s most likely an indica. If I get up, grab my keys, and get out the door or take out my computer to start working, like I have been with Strawberry Diesel, then we are dealing with a top notch sativa. I’d recommend this strain as a daytime treatment for any number of psychosomatic symptoms. It will leave you hopeful and excited, roused to take on the day. http://ocweedreview.wordpress.com/

John Muir, while discussing the redwood forests of Northern California, remarked, “Going to the woods is going home.” The comforting, warming high of Redwood Kush is reminiscent of sitting by a campfire, surrounded by friends and the company of looming sugar pines. Cozy and satisfying, there is something familiar about this strain, like it’s taking you home. While I wouldn’t classify these nuggets as popcorn, they are small, bite sized buds. Redwood Kush would be a deep forest green color if it weren’t absolutely drowning in pale amber trichromes. The buds look like a pair of dirty khakis after being worked into Sequoia National Forest for a hike. The aroma continues this theme. Much of the scent is pepper tree and cedar. However, the scent is so sweet in its woodiness, that there is even some over-ripe berry and musky earth, turning it sour in the end. I was pleased by how this indica smoked. It wasn’t harsh at all, and it had fine moments when it was like balsam or sandalwood incense. Everything about the aesthetic side of this weed reminded me of northern California. The high of Redwood Kush is noticeably indica, meaning it exists mostly in the body. I prefer the cerebral effects of sativas and sativa hybrids, and don’t often donate for pure indicas. However, Redwood is a breezy body high that is perfect for minor aches and pains. It helped ease my arthritis and shoulder pain considerably, but did little for a migraine I came down with one night. I also enjoyed this strain because there is no couch lock, no laziness, and no drowsy yawning. This was the most dynamic indica I’ve smoked, since coming to Southern California, and it is perfect as a sunny daytime medication. http://ocweedreview.wordpress.com/

After the release of the popular stoner flick by the same name, many people assumed that Pineapple Express was a fictional strain, but the truth is it is a very real bud, a cross between Trainwreck and Hawaiian, both heavily influenced by sativa genes. It is this background that makes Pineapple Express such a popular strain. The jubilant sativa high can completely change your day and is very different from the mostly indica based strains popular on market. You will want this medication in your life, and you will become giddy when you see it on a menu. Pineapple Express is a shiny bud, bright with trichromes, making for a pale green bud. Juxtaposed against this pastel flower are orange hairs grouped in thick clumps. When I broke it up, a fine layer of kief was left on the bottom of my dish, speaking to the number of crystals covering these buds. The smell of this strain is sweet and succulent and lingered on my fingers long after I handled it. There is a mouth watering effect when the tropical aroma is deeply inhaled. While pineapple is assumed, it is more mango and pear: both luscious and juicy. Tearing into this bud is like ripping into an off-the-branch-fresh fruit. The flavor, although sweet in the green hit, is astringent in the exhale and can be harsh. This can be the case with some sativas types. Although Pineapple Express has some Afghani indica in its Trainwreck heritage, this is a predominantly sativa high. It’s been touted as the happiest of highs--completely relaxed and carefree. Medicating with Pineapple Express is a bit like going on vacation. Even though it is mellow and cheerful, there is little chance you are going to get much work done. This strain is distracting, and I had a hard time achieving much of anything. It is much better enjoyed when responsibility can be shelved and the high can truly be enjoyed. I’d strongly recommend this strain as an effective antidepressant. It helps you forget yourself and unwind. In today’s hectic world, it can be your stolen moment to center yourself. http://ocweedreview.wordpress.com/