ALBUM:

Best Buds by Mom Jeans (2016)

PRODUCER:

Self (Eric, Austin, Bart, & Sam)

GENRE:

Indie rock, midwest emo (but they’re from NorCal)

CANNABIS:

Viper Cookies (Viper City OG x GSC)

CULTIVATED BY:

Wood Wide

EFFECTS:

Chilled out but with a playful energy... think Goldblum or Murray Aroma: A tray of peanut butter cookies at an antique market

January 6th. A day that will live in infamy.

C’mon, I’m not talking about that J6. On 1/6/18, San Francisco kicked off the citywide sale of recreational cannabis. As I strolled down to Harvest on Geary (now Urbana), my mission was to procure a truly memorable, celebratory smoke: Viper Cookies. This incredibly potent cultivar was a favorite of mine— but alas, over the years, it has virtually disappeared.

That was until the Hall of Flowers event this past March. Meeting the Wood Wide team, I was handed a familiar jar capable of fluttering my cold, dead heart. It felt like running into an ex-flame, someone you’ve secretly still carried a torch for but remain dubious about how they’ve changed. After rolling one up, I can confidently state that Viper Cookies are BACK BABY and they haven’t lost a step! I’d credit the stewardship of Wood Wide and their small-batch cultivation. There’s just something special about this team. It’s clear they love and appreciate the nuances of this plant and the sense of interconnection it brings us all, which is reflected in the caliber of their product. Zero surprises that they’ve been stacking up awards; I can guarantee that the headiest of heads in your network are already well aware of them.

The aroma is intoxicatingly peculiar, a platter of Do-Si-Dos oatmeal cookies with their distinct hint of peanut butter, left sitting out in an indoor/outdoor antique mall. Sweet, diesel-y, and a tad rancid, it’ll lightly sting your eyes when freshly ground. Perfect for melting into your couch while still keeping an active mind, so reach for the comedy/horror, sports, or that videogame controller.

Best Buds by Mom Jeans fucking rocks. Fittingly, their music could also be described as “sweet and a little rancid.” My beautiful, kooky genius of a wife introduced me to them right around the same time I copped those Viper Cookies on Rec Day and we’ve had them in heavy rotation ever since. Best Buds, their debut album, kicks off with the one-two punch of “Death Cup” followed by “Danger Can’t,” which, if your tastes are anywhere close to mine, will sell you on this band immediately. Mom Jeans are nostalgic, relatable, a little awkward, passionate, fun-loving... so essentially how you’d describe a stoner. The Bob’s Burgers sample on the “Edward 40hands” intro should have been a tip off that they party.

Or the fact that the name of the band is Mom Jeans.

Or that they’re from Berkeley.

Or the constant mentions of weed.

ALBUM:

The World Ends: Afro Rock & Psychedelica in 1970s Nigeria (Part 1)

COMPILED BY:

Soundway Records

GENRE:

I’m sure you can figure it out

CANNABIS:

Drunk Baddie (Dr Wilson x Motorbreath 15) Live Rosin

CULTIVATED BY:

Fresh Press

EFFECTS:

Euphoric, goofy, and appreciative

AROMA:

Rotting papaya served at a truck stop

Disclaimer: I’m friends with this hashmaker. Even if I wasn’t, this brand is one of my all-time favorites and I’d have included them here anyways.

In the words of the man himself, Zack Vidal (in “Hash, Inc.” from our last issue), Fresh Press is premium indoor, small-batch, single-source solventless live rosin hash. Zack is a multi-format artist, a modern-day stoner Renaissance man who excels at drawing you in with his catchy, clever branding (Buzzball-style packaging, “Terp Deck” skateboard vapes, Fred Durst and Barbie parodies) and then keeping you hooked, as after you get a taste of the insane terpene profiles and buzzy, fun effects, there is no going back. The man knows this plant far better than you or I do... and he’s not a pretentious dick about it either.

Drunk Baddie is their flagship jar and one of my go-tos (that said, I just snagged one of their Garlic Juice All-In-One vapes and it’s a ripper, don’t sleep on their Papa Burger either). The terps are gassy, kushy, with a prominent sour, rotting fruit sweetness. Chemdog takes a beach vacation.

As a fellow music nerd, I wanted to do Zack justice with a more obscure pairing he’s likely to love, so I’m rolling with the 2010 compilation album The World Ends: Afro Rock & Psychedelica in 1970s Nigeria (Part 1). Now, I had no idea what to expect after buying this half-drunk (and the other half stoned!) at a Cha Cha Lounge-hosted record swap, but it’s an absolute banger. Psychedelic rock in varying languages always hits for me, which is probably why I’m such an Os Mutantes fan. Expect rolling grooves, blistering solos (drums, guitar), and constantly asking yourself, “Is that a new instrument or just some weird effect?” A musical melting pot for potheads. While we had the Summer of Love, they had a civil war—and with that, a bunch of youths balancing feelings of excitement, fear, and nihilism the best way they could, through creative expression. “Blacky Joe” by P.R.O. literally sounds like a Dead or Phish cover while the guitar and keys on “All Night Long” by Bongos Ikwue will melt your face off. “Soul Generation” by Big John Oaikhena closes things out in an epic fashion with its own dance. Big John walked so Soulja Boy could run.

All of the fun, with none of the harshness. That’s my take on both.

ALBUM:

Hair (self titled)(2020)

GENRE:

ROCK

CANNABIS:

Mixed Light Z

CULTIVATED BY:

Preferred Gardens

EFFECTS:

One of those days where everything goes completely right

AROMA:

A blue bag of that famously trademarked candy

You either understand the power of a ~$20 Z(kittlez) that delivers such a high degree of rich flavor, leaving your mouth coated with funky fruity oils, or you haven’t tried it yet. This will take the Pepsi Challenge with any Z out there, all while not massacring your wallet. I’ve painstakingly performed the head-to-head tests and this one punches above its weight, massively. Not convinced? In the Proper Doinks High Rollers Z Contest, surrounded by a field of indoor options, it took home the grand prize. It won the largest cash purse ever awarded in a cannabis competition at Proper Smoke’s Invitational. My God, it burns so smoothly, consistently, and deliciously. All yours for less than a smoothie at Erewhon.

You know who else is punching well above their weight these days? A real sleeper hit band? Hair.

Sure, they may look like a gang of four off-duty Big Bud Press employees you’d find getting high outside of Walt’s in Eagle Rock but I can assure you, if we had reserved just 1/1000 of the hype bestowed upon Greta van Fleet for this other hard-rocking ‘70s revival band chock-full of Midwesterners, they’d be on every TV set in America by now, goddamnit! The talent is there.

By the time the vocals hit on “All He Can Be,” you’re already captivated, as it reminds you of what’s been sorely missing from the Top 40. There are beautifully hypnotic soundscapes (“Drifter”) sitting alongside outlaw country (“Light Another Cigarette”)... like a soundtrack to a Linklater film that never was.

Hair delivers an updated, stonerific album free of any skips. The harmonies on “OK” will resonate deeply into your soul. They’ll throw in an occasional cowbell too.

Hair are LA locals, so keep an eye out for their next show. You won’t need to bring any of this Z to ensure you’re having a blast, as the energy Hair brings to their sets is genuinely next level.

ALBUM:

God Does Like Ugly by JID (2025)

PRODUCER:

Tons—but Christo Executive produced it

GENRE:

Hip-hop, rap

PRODUCT:

Extra Strength Sour Belts from Kanha

CANNABIS:

Tropicana Cherries

EFFECTS:

These smack at 25mg/each, a buzzy head high

AROMA:

Green Sour Punch straws in a cherry Slurpee

Let me save you the Google—both “J.I.D.” and “JID” are used interchangeably as the stage name for Atlanta rapper Destin Route.

Now, JID’s earworm of a track “151 Rum,” released damn near a decade ago, is what first put him on my radar. The speed at which he delivers each bar is nearly on Tech N9ne’s level—at very least, on par with Busta or Eminem.

God Does Like Ugly is now his fourth release—and my favorite hip hop album of 2025 (yes, over Supreme Clientele 2, Alfredo 2, and Let God Sort Em Out). Five. Long. Years. JID spent working on this album, a full 57 minutes of lyrical fury, accented with guest verses from heavy-hitters like Vince Staples, Westside Gunn, and the aforementioned Clipse.

For the uninitiated, this is music that demands to be paired with high-test edibles.

Blaring the album through my home system while positively flying on a full 100mg of Kanha’s “Higher Power” live rosin candy belts (thankfully the wife’s out of town), I’m constantly discovering new details in each layered track. “Community,” “On McAfee,” and “WRK” hit harder than a sledgehammer while “Wholeheartedly” shows off his softer touch.

This album is the result of taking a kid raised on Sly Stone, Lil Wayne, and Outkast, signing him to J. Cole’s Dreamville label, and further developing his skills with his role in rap supergroup Zoink Gang alongside Smino, Buddy, and Guapdad 4000. You’re getting some of the most innovative production in the game, instantly-memorable bars, and flow that takes more twists and turns than the Euphrates.

The taste on these sour belts is fine but that’s not really my core focus when I’m reaching for the extra-strength bag. I’d chalk it up to my personal distaste for artificial cherry flavoring, caused by getting burnt out on cherry Slurpees at the movies over the years. If you’re a novice edibles user, start with a nibble. Even though they’re nano-infused and hit quickly, I’d suggest waiting at least a half hour before reaching for more. Personally, the full 100mg kept me pleasantly medicated—it was a full 4+ hrs before I ever thought about lighting up.

God does like ugly... check your flaws and insecurities at the door and em- brace getting stoned off your ass and bumping speed rap.