So many dispensaries now package their own cones or joints, but few have gone to the work of producing a product that actually discourages you from rolling your own. Leave it to quality-based  Altitude Organic Medicine to put forth such a line: the wholesaleable Black Label takes their regular ground-nugget Canna Cones to a new level with Colorado Gold, their branded solvent-free organic hash. As the brand slogan accurately suggests, “Anything else is just a joint.”

Our sample pack had a nug base of Dr. Who. Fresh aromas exploded from the box, a mixture of citrus and organic tart of…

The nice thing about Dr J’s syringes of CO2 Cannabis Oil--other than their overall simplicity and sleek design -- was that the crisp, amber-colored liquid therein did not clog, but was still semi-stable enough to put on a dabber without leakage. One critic compared the oil to “illuminated honey” as it flowed from the vial; like the flashy package it came from, the syringe was a beautiful demonstration in the merging of science and alchemy.

 RXtraction comes Indica, Sativa and Hybrid-specific, and we tried the indica version. Our first hit immediately sent us swinging through the jungle like a…

Charlie Sheen may not be the cool superstar that he used to be, but the memory of his younger, vibrant self still lives on in Charlie Sheen OG, a social strain with a long-lasting high. It’s the the kind of bud you’d expect to find living it up on the shores of Malibu, and we got ours from the always-impressive RedEye Releaf.

 The nug reeked like a spicy kush, tending to the chemmy side but certainly in a pleasant way. It wore a subtle purple hue and was covered in both dense crystal and blood orange hairs. Cracked open, the…

The combination of Bubble Gum and Juicy Fruit (Fruity Juice) is the recipe for any sweet-toothed cadet, if not for the exotic, soaring effects, then at least for a taste that strikes you like ripping open a pouch of Big League Chew™. BubbleGum has been refined over the years to capture that exact palate, matched with head-in-clouds-high, and Juicy Fruit is the mouth-watering union of pure Afghani and Thai genetics in a quintessential hybrid. So you can imagine how pumped we were to sample a shatter version of the strain from Karmaceuticals, albeit with some OG thrown in for good…

Edible: Cherry Cheesecake StarBarz from Dr. J's (also comes in Dark Chocolate, Milk Crispies, and White Chocolate Raspberry)

Hands down, the Star Barz were tempting from the start. Dr. J’s uses some beautiful futuristic packaging - still very childproof -- but inside is the mouth-watering chocolate. Pulling out the creamy white bars, speckled with red cherries--we felt like kids at the candy store, enjoying a gourmet feast. And at 80mg, or eight 10mg servings, the candy bar was conveniently enough to split between two of our heavyweight critics for the ultimate test of potency.

 It broke apart cleanly, magnifying the…

Maybe it’s Purple Cotton’s diverse heritage that lends to its broad range of tastes and effects: you have all the signatures genetics and effects from Kush and Afghani landraces behind Purple Kush, juxtaposed upon the remarkably delicious global medley forming Cotton Candy’s lineage. Chronic Therapy supplied a delectable sample that delivered the entire spectrum we hoped for, from the full-body bliss to its lip-smacking sweetness.

The taste alone was enough to recommend from the start: the combination of genetics amounted to the spicy dark roast of spun sugar, pungent and intense. It was followed by second and third notes: berry…

Every now and then, a strain emerges that has you scratching your head - why hasn’t anyone else thought of that? So it is with the nonchalant cross of the popular strains Blueberry and OG Kush; Blue OG is ultimately the match-making cadet’s way of saying, “We finally got those two together.”

 Our specimen came in from Medibis, a quiet and dark bud, ruminating with spice from tiny pine cone clusters. The grind extracted some berry hues, with the musky sweet aroma of bellflowers. The taste was true to blueberry, but dried blueberry at that. We loaded a tall bowl…

Chunky D is not just a diesel; it is a hybrid of polar extremes, the pure indica Deep Chunk and the invigorating sativa Sour Diesel. Both have distinctive hallmarks each to their own, exciting to witness right off the bat from our sample from Buddies Wellness. Dark, she wore splotches of indigo amidst mysterious green clusters of leaves, and full reddish beard. The bud was sweet and sugary, with the botanical tart of the Deep Chunk pine, musky spice and all. Her palate was woody, even like caramel chocolate.

  From the first go, our heads skyrocketed into a spacy fog…

In almost every issue we critique a strain bearing a moniker from Star Wars lore. Many celebrate the recognized icons like Skywalker and Death Star, while nerdier ganja gurus go for alien strains like Ewok, Chewbacca, and the aptly-named Ponda Baba. So we were excited to introduce ourselves to Wookie--signature bud from A Cut Above--and a furry, plump specimen with dark hues like eggplant, all shimmering in frost. “She was like a crystallized ginger tree with caramel tentacles,” wrote one critic. “Her aromas reminded me of sweet coffee and crisp air on a snowy morning.”

  Wookie’s high was romantic and…

Circulating around the state’s extract market these days is the new medical-company Colorado Extract Company (CEC), fresh on the menu but certainly not strangers to process. The company takes a proud artisan approach: they are best known for their fresh frozen, hand-trim water hash. Our sample, from the Lemon Skunk strain, carried the fresh, salubrious look of sun-bleached brown sugar in tiny crumbles. Within the jar lingered notes of grape soda, while the sample itself revealed a creamy-tart bouquet of cowberry and orange.

  On the editor’s sampling table were both rig and vapor pen - she puffed smoothly either way…