Nothing says holiday cheer like weed. From the piney, Christmas tree scent that accompanies the opening of a nice jar, to the mellow glow over the entire body that makes one feel a sense of peace and good will towards men, to the stress relief provided by its helpful terpenes, marijuana can help to make the season bright. This makes it an ideal gift, and the fact that it usually comes in small packages means all of these products will fit easily in a stocking, should you choose that method of exchange.
The one thing to consider about it this year, these items cannot be bought online and shipped. You need to have an in-person conversation, pay cash and show photo ID. I’ve personally had good experiences with Blaze On Demand, tokr and Golden Leaf Scientific for curbside delivery. Many dispensaries that do not offer delivery but do have a Weedmaps menu, like my old go-to HPRC in Mission Hills, will allow you to pick your items over the phone ahead of time, thus minimizing your time in the shop. As such, think about making a list, checking it twice, and then buying everything you need all at once. Don’t forget to pick up something for yourself; Christmas shopping is stressful.
Here are some suggestions for items that are sure to delight any grass enthusiast in your life. If you haven’t checked in with your giftee on their habits lately, find a way to subtly ask about their preferred method of intake – are they into edibles, tinctures, concentrates or good old fashioned smokin’ weed? Once you know that, you’re ready to shop. And if your heart is pure and your spirit is generous, you can’t go too far wrong, so don’t worry about it.Let’s get high and go Christmas shopping.
EDIBLES
These items are popular among the curious. Please make sure that if your recipient is not experienced, that they know not to eat the whole thing. Overconsumption is no treat. Items dosed out to 5mg per piece seem about right, small enough to let you tailor your dose.
Gummies are a lot of folks’ preferred method these days, the least amount of food to consume relative to the THC delivered, and I’ve been using the Plus line of products. Their Unwind gummies are perfect for the low-dose evening where the mellow mind and deep sleep associated with pure indica are needed. Having both blackberry and lemon-flavored candies in the same box keeps your taste buds from getting bored. And they’re physically small relative to the dose, keeping the sugar content reasonable.
Of all the major infused chocolate makers, Kiva has long been my favorite, for both flavor and potency. Their Dark Chocolate Blackberry bar tastes good enough on its own, that you would be well advised to have some non-infused dark chocolate with blackberry sitting nearby, to prevent going over the desired dose due to munchies.
While it could be tempting to go for the wintery themed edibles, like Kiva’s seasonal Peppermint Bark if you run into it, don’t go crazy if you can’t find any. Let’s admit that edible weed products are not often purchased with their flavor being the main draw. “Good enough to swallow and gets you high” is good enough. Buy some non-infused gourmet Peppermint Bark if you love that flavor during the holidays.
TINCTURES
These sublingual concoctions have become very popular since legalization, offering a way to imbibe that is faster acting that an edible, sugar-free and a bit different psychoactively. When I was suffering chronic pain recovering from an injury, this is what I took. Releaf by Papa & Barkley was the unanimous recommendation. I used both the 1-1 balanced formula with equal amounts of CBD and THC, and the 30-1 THC rich formulation, both with very good results.
CONCENTRATES
I haven’t used any of this stuff myself for a while, but if I was going for something in this vein, I would make sure to go solventless – no butane used in the extraction process – which would put you in the category of live resin or rosin. Alien Labs now makes something called hash rosin that I would be willing to try, just based on their rep as a super premium cultivator. These products are pricey, plan to drop between $50 and $100 for a good jar or cartridge, but I do not recommend dropping your standards and getting cheap wax.
GOOD OLD-FASHIONED SMOKIN’ WEED
Who wouldn’t love a jar or two of beautiful, friendly herbs dropped in their lap for the holidays? If you’re buying in the LA area, here are my recommended brands at four different price points. If in doubt, I tend to use the harvest date as the tiebreaker, more recent is better. Anything with 20% THC or higher is going to be pretty potent, with 33% being as high as you are ever likely to find. The more potent products will cost you more, on average, although some luxury brands do make milder strains nowadays.
Here’s where I would go at three different price points:
Bargain Brands $25 And Under: Dime Bag, Pacific Stone. These are likely to be among the cheapest things in the store, and they’re honestly not bad. THC content varies wildly, and if your giftee prefers it on the lighter side, this could be the best choice. Get ’em a quarter if you’re feeling like spending more.
Mid-Grade Brands $30-$35: Cypress, Elyon, Glass House Farms, Lime. These jars will run just a bit more than the cheapest, but the extra $5 is worth it. They consistently have the test and smell of expertly grown craft bud at a reasonable price.
High-End Brands $40-55: The Cure Co., King’s Garden, Los Angeles Kush, Maven. These are fancy and luxurious weed products from some of the nation’s most skilled growers. Open a jar at your party, and you will have people in the next room sniffing the air, exclaiming “WHOA!” and coming over to wish you a merry Christmas and offering you a light, hoping you might pass a nug their way. Remember, no passing pipes at holiday parties this year, but you are free to exchange buds in a socially distanced manner.
Luxury Bands $60 and up: I mentioned Alien Labs above as having the reputation for extra-special powers in cultivation. An eighth of this is likely to be the most expensive thing in the store, so if you are the kind of person who hands out Rolexes at the holidays, this is what you want. Everyone is sure to be impressed and compliment your exquisite taste.
Infused joints – weed plus hash oil and maybe some kief – are kind of like the new hash, something a little stronger than usual for the proper occasion – hey, like a holiday! They make nice stocking stuffers around the $15 to $30 mark, something people would enjoy but not necessarily buy for themselves. My favorite out there today is the Caviar Gold Cavi Cone, which will give even the headiest hesher a heavy headrush. You can smoke them one puff at a time and place them back in their tube. a perfectly moderated dose in the form of an old fashioned joint. I recommend the Strong Berry indica formulation, but any of them will be a treat.
Happy holidays, dear readers, and whatever you do, don’t freak out! The season will be over soon enough.
