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While Denver has only one licensed cannabis lounge,there are several places outside of your home where you can smoke a joint with friends — and we’re not talking about a park or alleyway. Private cannabis clubs that allow members to smoke weed have been operating in Denver since before the recreational dispensaries showed up, with varying degrees of success with city agencies and varying degrees of harassment by law enforcement.

Although a Denver program was adopted in 2017 to license businesses for social pot consumption, that program bans smoking indoors, so the vast majority of social consumption businesses have chosen to stay private. Prove you’re at least 21 with a valid ID, sign up for a membership, and you can go inside and blaze up as much as you want. While a new state law may finally let some private clubs get licensed and continue to allow indoor smoking, Denver is still in the early stages of considering these more expansive opportunities.

Self-quarantines and sitting at home as events and public gatherings are canceled because of coronavirus concerns will lead many of us to break out the bong, but try to keep those smoking utensils to yourself, warns our resident Stoner.

“Start smoking out of your own devices and stop sharing mouthpieces with others — not just because of COVID-19, but because of germs and viruses that cause colds, flus and other sicknesses, too,” Herbert Fuego shared in a recent Ask a Stoner column.

Mouthpieces are natural resting places for germs, and can still carry them even after being wiped down with alcohol — and the coronavirus is definitely on the minds of most cannabis users no matter how much they smoke.

The FlyHi 420 Festival, part of the annual celebration of the unofficial 4/20 holiday at Denver’s Civic Center Park every April 20, has been canceled over coronavirus concerns.

Shortly after Mayor Michael Hancock banned all on-site service at Denver bars and restaurants as of March 17, and days after Governor Jared Polis temporarily banned any public gatherings of over 250 people, 420 fest organizers announced that the festival and free concert set for Monday, April 20, at Civic Center would be canceled.

Natives, try not to get flustered at this admission: It took me about three years of living here to realize that February was Colorado’s worst month. If it weren’t for all the stouts that breweries pour in February, the month would turn Denver into a cold pit of despair for those of us who aren’t avid snowboarders or skiers. Thankfully, March brings some warm stints and sunny reprieves, but I’ve learned not to get suckered into thinking spring is here in March, either. That doesn’t come for certain until fucking June.

To make sure I didn’t get lulled into a false sense of summer-bound security, I went with a strain called Snowball during a recent trip to the pot shop, to remind me of the impending dumps that Mother Nature will take on us in March and April. Consider me chilled and refreshed, though I’m still not certain I’ll be able to walk for another week after getting frozen to my couch.

Snowball is a cross of The White and Chem 4 OG (a hybrid of Chemdog and San Fernando Valley OG Kush) from Ethos Genetics, and it’s name is well deserved.

Get out your tiny violins, because you’re about to hear a complaint from a spoiled cannabis consumer: Shopping for weed can be sort of difficult after a long day. With so many strains, smells and highs available, sometimes you just want the simplicity of a weed dealer telling you to “take it or leave it.” All I needed on a Monday night was some classic, skunky nugs that reminded me of a different time, back when we returned for the same bag for months in a row because it was the only kush plug in town. We didn’t know which strain it really was, but we knew what smells to look for.

Citral Flo smells, looks and smokes like some of that classic mystery dank — only we know what it is. A cross of Sour Flo and Citral Skunk, Citral Flo’s throwback smell and flavor are almost like going back to a hometown hangout. It doesn’t take long to trace the strain back to Flo, Citral, Skunk, Sour Diesel and OG Kush on the family tree, and those genetics combine for a beautiful blend of Eastern and Western cannabis varieties.

In sports, the super team is usually disliked by the masses. We want our best athletes to put a team of role players on their backs, and we’ll poop on any collection of superstars who’d rather win faster and easier by joining forces. If we felt that way about cannabis breeding, we’d never have Durban Kush.

A hybrid of Durban Poison and a Chem D and OG Kush cross, Durban Kush is the equivalent of a big three in basketball. But in every big three, at least one of the stars has to make significant sacrifices for the team’s best interest. Ray Allen did it for the Celtics. Chris Bosh did it for the Heat. So which one of Durban Kush’s big three takes a back seat for the greater good?

Soda was recently cut out of my diet, but giving it up wasn’t hard; candy, pie and cereal are much more important to my sweet tooth. The few times I do indulge in a pop, however, I like to go with the old-school varieties, like root beer, cola or red, orange and original cream sodas. Black cherry is another great choice, highly underrated and hard to find — to the point of having to buy it in an overpriced glass bottle at the grocery store.

Or you can find an alternative for your favorite flavor in the cannabis world (or at least fool yourself into thinking that). So I was interested to see whether Black Cherry OG would provide a worthy substitute for that old soda flavor I craved.

Cannabis doesn’t share the same connection to Valentine’s Day as alcohol, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with the plant on romantic occasions. Although we’ve never pushed the concept of “aphrodisiac strains,” smoking pot can very much heighten an already existing mood between lovers.

To get that special someone warmed up for Valentine’s Day (or any other special night), here’s a mix of sweet and relaxing strains for getting intimate. Just smoke slowly, you ol’ dawg.

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