Here’s what you need to know about what’s new and trending in the world of cannabis consumables, devices, live events, and media.
What’s good, folks?! Welcome to Heat of the Moment, my monthly column about dope products and happenings in the cannabis industry. Words Never Said is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Each month, I’ll tell you about some delicious smokables and cool cannabis devices, as well as merch drops, events, and media to check out.
Let’s get right to it.
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Cannabis consumables
These are some of my favorite products to smoke and eat over the past couple of months.
1. Fig Farms: OG x OGKB flower
Dog, that Fig Farms flower is some of the best weed I’ve ever seen and experienced. I could sit here and tell you about every fire strain it has, but one that’s really stuck out to me is its OG x OGKB. WHEW.
The flavor on it is crazy, bursting with those Kushy notes of gas, funk, spice, and citrus. But also, the effects of it are crazy. It’s the perfectly potent euphoria that will have your eyes low and spirits high as you frolic throughout your day. You know, that type of feel-good high that makes you think/say, “Yeah, man. That’s why I smoke weed.”
2. Space Gem sour gummies
If you need a good night’s sleep, these sour Space Gems will do it for ya. I had a couple of weeks away from flower because of a weird cold, and these solventless tasties were right on time. Each pack comes with a randomized assortment of flavors, out of the brand’s 23 different flavor possibilities. So every time you crack a tin, you’ve got options.
At Hall of Flowers, I asked Wendy Baker, the founder of the Space Gem, about what makes those edibles so damn good. Her answer: “They’re soft, they’re chewy, they don’t stick to your teeth, and the flavors are divine.” About the recipe, she continues, “That recipe is completely my own. I wanted to be different and stand out because no one is doing what I’m doing. There’s nobody doing it with ice water hash. It’s not rosin; it’s ice water hash.”
What made Space Gems special for me is the chewiness of the gummy. They don’t stick to your teeth but also don’t instantly dissolve; you really get a chance to spend some time with the candy. The effects, too. Oftentimes, I’ll eat a gummy and it won’t really hit for me, so my thought turns into, “Cool. I could’ve just bought candy at 7-Eleven.” That’s not the case with these.
3. Saucy x Tempo Honey BBQ chips
These edibles were a collab between Saucy, which makes infused sauces, and Tempo, which makes infused crackers.
If I hosted football game-day types of events, I’d have to toss those Saucy x Tempo Honey BBQ chips on the table for the people. I caught a pack of them in the wild some time ago, and the way they pretty much tasted like smokey Cheez-Its blew me away. With 5mg of THC and 8mg of CBD per chip, you get a nice little balance of effects, too. But for me, it’s really the taste that sets them apart from the other non-candy edibles I’ve had recently.
After Hall of Flowers, I spoke with Tess Taylor about these tasty little morsels and asked what makes them so great.
“For me, the effect is amazing. It’s some of the best sleep I’ve ever gotten,” she said. “I love how when you’re eating the cracker, there are multiple flavor experiences happening back to back. It’s that experience of going from the powdery dust seasoning on the outside, to the cheesy cracker, I even get a hint of the terpenes on the back end.”
4. Squintz: Valley Girl flower
I don’t know the genetics of this strain, but my guess is that there is some SFV OG (San Fernando Valley OG Kush) in the mix, if it’s named Valley Girl. Regardless of the genetics that made it, I will tell you this flower was some of the best-smoking weed I’ve seen and felt in a cool minute. The high blew me away with how long it lasted. And the flavor? Gassy, sour, spicy, all the things that made me feel like there was some OG Kush in the mix.
Everything I’ve ever smoked from Squintz has been delicious, so this Valley Girl has me really hyped to try The Liz, a collab with rapper Westside Gunn that the brand is rocking out with now.
5. Heady Heads: Zkittlez joints
When I first got introduced to Heady Heads, my first thought was “lmao, bro why are these joints so big?!” Heady Heads comes with three big-ass 3.5g joints in the box. They’re honestly the perfect smoke for a sesh where you’ll have a bunch of heads on a single joint, so if it leaves your hand, it might not come back. These jammed joints always make it back in the rotation.
Winners of a Best of New York contest for joints, Heady Heads has many different flavors, including Zkittlez, OG Kush Cake, Biscotti, and Gelato. What I’m most looking forward to is the Heady Heads x The Association collab they’ve been teasing on Instagram. It mixes the Heady Heads joint delivery system with The Association’s Bazquiat flower. Bazquiat was one of my favorite strains over the past couple of years.
Cannabis devices
6. Puffco Proxy
The Puffco Proxy is basically a pipe for concentrates. I think it’s an excellent device for people who are just getting into dabs, or people who want a compact dabbing device to keep on your person when you’re stepping out for the night. It can also convert into a flower pipe, thanks to the Puffco Proxy flower bowl, which makes the device a pretty good buy for smokers of all kinds.
7. Ardent MINI
Have you ever wanted an easy bake oven for edibles? Ardent’s products are probably the one for you then.
Recently, it dropped the Ardent MINI, a more compact and portable version of its infusion device. If you’re into infusing a variety of products at the crib, it’s definitely worth your time and money.
I had the fortune of speaking to Shanel Lindsay, the company’s founder, about what made them innovate with the Mini.
“The Nova was the original, my first patented product. We wanted to upgrade the Nova,” Lindsay said. “As [the first version of the] product, it had things left to be desired. The Mini has three settings now. It’s optimized for CBD, and also CBG and CBC. There are more cannabinoid settings and she got a little bit more sleek.”
Lifestyle brand collabs
8. HUF x Kiva’s Lost HUF collab
Can’t even front here, HUF makes some damn good clothes. I’ve got some fire four-panel shorts from them and these carpenter-like pants that got me through a whole Eurotrip of recycled outfits. Now they’ve teamed up with Lost Farm by Kiva Confections, an edibles powerhouse that makes some damn good-tasting gummies, to release HUF’s first-ever cannabis collab.
It launched to the public on Oct. 7, and, according to the brand itself, included a merch collection alongside limited-edition chews and gummies that uniquely blends skate and streetwear roots with the strains, as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles cultures. Lost Farm x HUF will be available in dispensaries across California, for purchase at HUF locations, and Zumiez for a limited time.
Upcoming events
9. Black CannaBiz Expo 2022
From Nov. 3-5, 2022, Black CannaBusiness Magazine returns to New Orleans with its third annual Black CannaBusiness Expo & Conference (Black CannaBiz Expo). It’s an event aimed at being the largest gathering of Black and Brown cannabis industry participants. Sure, it’s a month away, but you should know about it right now so you can cop tickets, booths, and whatever you need to attend.
This year’s Black CannaBiz Expo will feature keynote speakers like Chris Ball, founder and CEO, of Ball Family Farms; Toi Hutchinson, President and CEO at Marijuana Policy Project; and Gary Chambers Jr., US Senate candidate.
Media to peep
10. Operation Pipe Dreamers
A few weeks ago, I ran into Jason Harris, aka Jerome Baker, the legendary glass blower, at the San Francisco airport. We chopped it up for a little bit and he told me about his show Operation Pipe Dreamers. I peeped, and if you’re super into glassblowing and its culture, it’s a great show for you.
Operation Pipe Dreamers is a six-episode show hosted on Altrd.tv that takes 12 glassblowing artists from around the nation and puts them in a contest for who can create the most unique piece. Winner gets 10 racks ($10,000).
The show was created by Jason Wald, the director of the World Series of Poker, and Harris to highlight a culture that has never been seen in the mainstream.
“The show itself is a piece of art. It’s six episodes that highlight flame working. This is a very ancient art. By bringing it to mainstream media in the form of pipes, which represents a culture, we feel like this show crosses boundaries,” said Harris, the 30-year glassblowing veteran.
Something else dope about the show is when it’s all done, all of the pieces from the show, which would sell for tens of thousands of dollars, are to be auctioned off for charity.
“The pieces are going to be auctioned at Glass Vegas, a trade show we’re going to have in Vegas in January. We’re going to have a live online auction so people can bid on the pieces. Half of [the proceeds] will go to the Pilchuck Glass School, the other half goes to the artist’s choice charity,” Baker told me over the phone.
He also said, for people who want to keep up with Season 2 and perhaps even be on the show, follow Operation Pipe Dreamers’ Instagram for news and updates.
This post was originally published in Words Never Said, Danté Jordan’s weekly newsletter about the intersections of personal growth, travel, cannabis, and lifestyle.
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