h........h

This pleasant strain has a real kick on the back end. The experience of smoking is not unlike the narrative trajectory of an X Files episode - pleasant confusion and mystical insights giving way to terrifying intensity or, conversely, disappointing malaise. But the initial intake is quite nice -- ideal for light writing or movie watching. Eating mango or coconut water helps about an hour in.

Despite the stupid name of this weed, Jack Herer (ugh) is a reliable smoke for doing just about anything. Those who like to wake up and bake without the concomitant headache should sample Mr. Herer's (ugh) wares. While I want to slap - actually slap - the moron who named this weed, the drug itself provides a nice psychic bed for creative and recreational activities, an equally good high for experiencing the Getty Museum or a hike through the Glendale mountains. Again, I would like to have a long conversation with whoever named this superior weed, and explain to him/her that it would be like naming "Batman" "Fly Person Guy."

I smoked this for a week straight in a craftsman home in Glendale, CA watching the entire series (so far) of Breaking Bad while lounging on a couch that was two feet too short for me to lie down on, but I did anyway. What else can I say? It enabled me to do the above activity, which could land either way on the spectrum of desirable activities for a grown man to participate in. That said, I was able to chart the entire trajectory of Walt's descent from a well-intentioned family man to a ruthless methlord while under the steady influence of Green Crack; those unemployed or looking to switch from a heavy drug to one that simulates the same effects, look no further.

Like that third tier friend you call when you have no one else to hang out with, Sour Diesel is always there, but hanging out can sometimes be an ultimately disspiriting experience. This strain always leaves you feeling like you should move to a another city to start over, as you sip your iced coffee and stare at the sun extinguish itself over the Williamsburg bridge. Still, this old standby is good for movie watching and bike riding. Less good for social occasions, which turn one into a blurry-eyed silent monster.

Your mind is dirt and Cheese is a bulldozer. For some reason, I smoked a lot of this for a three month period, probably because it was the only strain available from my delivery service, which in New York is often "take what you can get." I would often wonder why I had holed up in my room and canceled all my appointments that day. If you feel like sequestering yourself inside and being in your own mind for hours on end, this is the weed for you. (And, honestly, a good weed for beating video games.)

I would sample this regularly at the local-skewing Smoke Palace in East Amsterdam (southeast corner of Oosterpark) and it got me through many days of cycling and writing in that city. A kind, gentle friend, Blueberry Haze acts like a kitten nestled in your mind, safely buoying your more creative impulses into fruition, without clawing at your hand later. All in all, a solid "every day" smoke. This little gem can sustain a full day of smoking without any of the lag you get from more powerful strains.

I saw Prometheus at a huge theatre on Amsterdam after smoking a huge joint of Amnesia Haze. Consequently, I thought the movie was pretty good, which meant that the drug had worked its eponymously-inferred magic. Not an "every day" smoke, as the afternoon proved to be blurry in not a good way, and I involuntarily ate three Febo cheeseburgers. But a good gentle ass kicking weed.

Fine. "Getting by" weed.

At Cafe Amnesia in Amsterdam. Sat outside of the cafe at a table and stared at a canal for a half hour listening to the pixie waitresses inside blast Dre's 2000. Negative come down, in that you feel like eating everything and also experience some temporal problems. (Biking, say, is hard, when usually the reverse is the case.) Worth a try, for sure, but not an every day weed.