Taster's Choice
LA Times' Senior Features Writer on Cannabis Commerce and Culture, Adam Tschorn, on his favorite canna things.
FAV STRAIN
Ever since I picked up my first jar of Emerald Spirit Botanicals’ Farm Cut Pink Boost Goddess at The Woods a year or so ago, I’ve been loving it. While I love mixing things up and trying everything under the sun (oh, that reminds me, I’m smitten with sungrown), I keep returning to this cultivar over and over again. It’s got a minty sort of strawberry aroma and it’s heavy on the THCV which calms the munchies (I tend to go full bear-in-a-campsite in the kitchen when I’m baked). I feel focused, balanced, happy, and energized every puff of every sesh. I know that cannabinoid levels and terpenes can vary from plant to plant and season to season, but I’ve found this to be a reliable go-to year round.
PARTAKING HOUR
I very rarely partake alone and don’t often find myself doing so in the bright of day (the occasional weekend daytime notwithstanding). So it’s mostly after work hours and into the night. I like to say that two of my favorite things to do are: getting high and meeting new people. And when I get to do both of those things, it really scratches an itch for me. So heading off to an event where I know there will be both consumption and cannabis community conviviality is definitely a trigger for me. I absolutely will not even have a single puff and get behind the wheel of a car. So one of the fun things I like to do is go to a party where I know there will be consumption prepared with all kinds of herbal accouterments. I make sure to book one of those driverless Waymo cars for the ride home. Once I’m in the car, I pick the Jimmy Buffett music station and get chauffeured home in a driverless car through the streets of LA, stoned to the gills. It’s a treat to myself and there’s nothing quite like it.
SOCIALIZING
I’m a social guy so I usually steer clear of anything described as chill, couch-lock, etc. If the cultivar description includes “high-energy,” “focus” or any of those buzz words (pun intended), I’ll give it a shot. Same with “stress-relief” and anything that helps with being anxious. At last year’s Emerald Cup, Tina Gordon from Moon Made Farms handed me a bud off a Jack Herer Queen Cola and it was a high that ticked all the boxes. So I’ll go for her Jack Herer any time I can find it. And I think it was a limited-edition/seasonal thing, but someone at a party handed me a Sonoma Hills Farm Three Wise Women pre-roll that was a blend of Gelato x High Octane, First Class Funk, and Gastropop cultivars. It has the word “indica” on the packaging, which is usually not my jam but I found it very balancing.
TOO HIGH?
No, I don’t do that. But I have tried Russian Chemdawg’s flower, which had the highest THC level last year. When I smoked it, I got the giggles like a baby girl. And then promptly cooked an entire pound of bacon in my kitchen. I was not expecting that.
LOYALTY
I am pretty much constantly switching things up. Apart from my own homegrown, backyard flower, it’s a rare occasion that I smoke the same thing twice in a row. The only thing I’m loyal to is my delivery system—my trusty Proto Pipe.
PRE-ROLL
I’m a big fan of the dogwalker size (minis!) pre-roll so I like to experiment with those from any and all brands that makes that size. But if I had to pick a favorite it would be the ones that Sharoz Makarechi is doing under the Substance nameplate. That’s for a couple of reasons. The first one is practical; at .28 grams each they are the tiniest I’ve run across (12 to a pack). The second is financial; $8.46 from each pack goes toward ending mass incarceration. (The number references the last eight minutes and 46 seconds of George Floyd’s life.) Sharoz has partnered with a bunch of different growers to offer a couple different cultivars.
VAPE
I’m mostly a flower guy, and usually only hit the vape if I’m in a situation where quarters are close and smoke and fire seem like a bad idea. My go-to for that is the Pax Era with a live rosin pod.
EDIBLE
Marigold Sweets’ sea-salt-flecked caramels! And I’m a sucker for anything from the folks at Rose Los Angeles. Their edibles are kind of like a Turkish delight and they have some really cool partnerships and seasonal flavors.
I got the giggles like a baby girl. And then promptly cooked an entire pound of bacon....
HASH
I like to smoke hash under glass— stick a pushpin through a drink coaster and light a chunk of hash on fire. And you can only do that with dry sift (water hash just melts and drips). So whenever I can get my hands on some old-school dry-sift I’m happy. I have a chunk of Sitka Lebanese Gold from Washington state that was gifted to me by a hash wizard that I’ve had in my stash drawer for awhile.
DABBING
I’m not much of a dabber—in general I find concentrates make me feel like luggage. But I was at a dinner party a few weeks ago and someone introduced me to the Puffco Pivot, which is about the size of a mascara wand and super simple to get the hang of.
BONG
I don’t use bongs as much any more only because my lungs are thrashed from years of college bong rips. That being said, there’s a made-in-LA, beaker-style MOTA Glass bong that was given to me a few years back that reminds me of my grandmother—not because she did bong rips but because she loved owls and it is decorated with this colorful, majestic looking owl. I had it for years before I realized the owl’s eyes glow in the dark!
DISPENSARY
Generally, I like to check out the offerings at different places across the city just to keep informed about what’s going on. But I do appreciate places that bring a little something extra so I have a soft spot for Josephine & Billie’s, which has a delightful speakeasy theme.
LOUNGE
The Woods WeHo. The Ganja Giggle Garden is where I seem to end up the most. Part of that’s because of its proximity to where I live, but vibe-wise it’s pretty hard to beat; lush tropical greenery, a pond filled with badger-sized koi, a parrot with his own Instagram feed, and all kinds of Buddha statues tucked here and there. (My favorite game to play there is “count the Buddhas.”) Even if you weren’t high you’d feel high.
HAPPY PLACE
Sitting on my couch, in my living room after a long day. It’s my happy place. My brother lives on the East Coast and there’s a small window of time after my work day and before his bed time when we can occasionally connect for what we call “SpaceTime”—a getting-high version of FaceTime. We laugh and laugh and laugh.
