Late in 2018 while in the thralls of the honeymoon phase of my relationship with Maryland Cannabis, I purchased a $35 8th of Sunmed’s AC/DC. The flower had tested below 1% THC and close to 20% CBD. I had read good things about CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties and understood it to not only be non-psychoactive but anti-psychoactive. CBD was purported to be an antidote of sorts for the sometimes negative cognitive side-effects of THC and to have no psychoactive properties of its own.

The next morning was a Sunday and I packed my vaporizer largely to get a taste (grassy) but expected to not really “feel” anything. I was surprised by what I can only describe as 2/3 of the cannabis experience. My muscles were noticeably relaxed, my mind was noticeably at ease. Each draw of the vaporizer was akin to a sip of hot coco or chicken noodle soup after a day of playing in the snow. What was lacking were time-distorting, performance diminishing cognitive effects of THC. I was enthralled. Later I learned that by mixing some CBD flower with THC dominant flower would result in a more well rounded experience devoid of the tinges of anxiety or confusion that sometimes accompanies the use of THC. It was a familiar experience that made me wonder how much CBD was in the mix in the untested illicit cannabis of decades past.

I was startled by one other unexpected side-effect of this experience the next morning while on a jog. It took me a block or two to realize it but I was pain free. The rhythmic charges I had come to expect with each impact of foot on pavement had vanished without a trace. To all who read this, a grain of salt, I am but one man and this very likely could have been coincidence or the placebo effect. Regardless, I have been converted.

An Outdoor Hemp Crop in Oregon

Google searches for CBD dominant flower strains brought yet more surprises. Farmers and vendors from states across the country were offering legal, tested high cbd flower for sale online at prices well below the $35 per 1/8 I had paid for that first 1/8th. How could this be legal? A few farmers who had taken part in federally authorized, state regulated industrial hemp programs chose to produce hemp flowers below .3% thc for smoking and vaping. The 2018 farm bill clarified the legality of this market and of sending and receiving state sanctioned hemp products across state lines via the USPS. This led to an explosion in both perpetual indoor and outdoor hemp crops planted in 2019 and online vendors selling to all 50 states.

I was surprised over the Christmas holiday with a generous assortment of flower samples from one such vendor, Industrial Hemp Farms headquartered in Colorado Springs Colorado. The flower all came in sealed bags like those used by Harvest with boveda packs to maintain moisture. QR codes on bags links to basic testing data showing macro cannabanoid and pesticides was included but no terpene data. The flower ranged from their top level Indoor “Premium Top Shelf” to the more budget oriented but still seedless outdoor 3rd tier of “House Bud Strains”.

In coming days I will give provide brief reviews of the flower IHF sent me. All flower arrived and as pictured and described. I did not pay for these samples but am not being reimbursed in any way for expressing my opinions or posting links. If your experience differs from what I am showing and describing I would be keen to hear about it:

Birthday Cake CBD

Despite its $45.00 per oz $325 per pound (!) price point as a “House Bud Strain” the dense, resinous, fragrant buds with orange hairs of Birthday Cake CBD test over 23% cbd and have proven to be my preferred CBD strain to mix in with the HMS GSC flower I picked up on a recent Wednesday from Curaleaf Gaithersburg. HMS GSC is tasty, actually resembling the odor of a certain thin mint cookie, but it is on the dryer side and at 30% THC beyond my comfort level for a straight consumption. Mixing anywhere from a 5/1 to 3/1 ratio of Birthday Cake/GSC has made for a tasty, slow burning and not overwhelming experience. I tend to smoke this blend when I am not intending to sleep as GSC is leans “sativa” for me and the Birthday Cake is soothing but not sedating like some of the other CBD flower varieties I will be reviewing in days to come.