420 Fire Department - Santa Ana, CA - 7 Stars

**Please Note: Very recently the Lounge has been shut down. It may come back at some point, but for now it is not in action.**

Environment 2: 420 Fire Department is the Nuggetry\ Chubbs clinic now since CPA got shut down a good while ago. This spot is located in Santa Ana. From the outside it doesn't look like much and parking is kind of a bitch. Once you go inside that all changes. Similarly to the old CPA the waitingroom is massive. Check in was quick, the dudes working were cool - straight to the point. I was met at the door to the budroom by my bud tender who walked me down the hall to the bud room and gave me the run-down. 
  

I was immediately shown the lounge. The Lounge is about a 20x20 room with couches, tables, chairs TV's, Dab rigs, bongs, torches, lighters, hemp wicks etc ALL for your enjoyment. Really awesome. It felt very relaxed and chill there, a total Coffee Shop vibe. The budtender even told me, if you come in with a friend and only one of you purchases something, you can both chill and use the lounge facilities. Pretty sweet. 

The bud room is very organized, everything labeled. Everything super clean from the front to the back. They run a tight ship here. Bravo.

Staff 1.5: Good staff. The guys working were all cool, tried to give me a good experience. I did feel a little rushed which sucks, especially since it was my first time and I want to check everything out...just doing my job boys! I wasn't hit in the face with science and facts but I also wasn't fed a bunch of a bullshit. Chubs was even there serving people up...A lot of the guys in there were a bit star struck as Chubbs is a bit of a legend down here! Good stuff!

Variety 1: They have a decent selection - about 5 hybrids, 5 sativas, 5 indicas. Lots of high end edibles, clones, lots of high end wax. No low end here - everything is top shelf. I didnt see any CBD stuff but there was a topicals. Considering the quality, a really good variety. Would be nice to see some midshelf stuff here for those of us on a budget. 

Quality 2: Even though nothing is lab tested, you can tell everything they sell is high quality. You don't have to worry about getting some bunk ish from here.

 This shop is all about the dabs. They have some really nice shatter available. Its pricey...but as good as it gets. The flowers all looked good. I tried 4 different strains, all were good. Potent. Not super smooth, but not harsh either. 

Price .5: $50 8ths.  50$-100$ a g for concentrates.  $15+ for most edibles. No mid shelf. price wise, this place kind of sucks...but considering you can get some good topshelf and go chill with your buddies in the lounge, it CAN be worth it depending on what kind of experience you are looking for. FTP is a free G of what ever flower you want. so 4g's for $50 of some bomb...not to bad if you wanted to give them a shot and maybe say whats up to chubs. 

I really liked this spot. If it was more affordable I'd be all over it. But, its OC and they are doing what they can right now. The lounge is awesome, I'll definitely take all of my out of town buddies here to kick it. Cant complain about the quality of buds, but if you are going to charge $50, it would be cool to get lab results. Other than that they have good service, and the spot is imaculately clean. Chubbs is a OOOG and it shows.

Product Review: Magic Flight Launch Box - Maud Dib

MFG Website: http://sales.magic-flight.com/muad-dib-concentrate-box-kit/

I was able to take a dab off the new Maud Dib Concentrate Box Kit @ the Magic Flight booth in the Kush Expo Anaheim last night.
While a near by security guard saw us mid dab and shook his head in disapproval - I really enjoyed the experience! Sorry to the Magic Flight team if you got in trouble for that!!
I watched the MF team load up the hot plate inside the box and took a drag from the whip - tasted great, no weird burning taste like you experience with most portable dab rigs. I personally wont smoke a dab pen because the flavor is so disgusting, however this unit using a metal hot screen design with no threading inside.
AWESOME!! This is HUGE and a real game changer!!

The new battery allows you to take up to 60 dabs and the unit is pretty damned portable.
This unit is definitely worth it if you are a big dabber.
The unit retails for $170 and is on SALE today at the Kush Expo for $160.

Check them out on Instagram: @MagicFlight

Kush Expo - Anaheim Convention Center

The Kush Expo is happening this 4th of July weekend ending today, Sunday. The convention is located at the Anaheim Convention center from 12pm-7pm. Tickets are $25 at the door and parking is $15.
This is a very nice convention center, security are doing their job but in no way are ass holes (if you have been to a lot of conventions you know what I say this).

The Exhibit hall is tiny. only about 100 vendors. The majority of the hall is completely empty behind the booths curtains. There IS a medicating area out back, which is very cool. No DABS are allowed - they are lurking on your vape pens, be warned. Flowers are A-OK!. It smells amazing out there.
I went last night around 7pm, 2 hours before they close. 80% of the booths were long gone - materials already packed away for the night. BUMMER!
Typical stoner business practices - probably weren't too busy all day and everyone got anxious and left early. In my opinion this is super annoying - the festival should have shortened their hours or SOMETHING so people like me don't pay $75 to see tobacco shop quality products. Pretty let down.

There are some cool booths there, and pretty much everyone is offering SOME kind of deal.
If you have never been to a MMJ Expo before and this one is close and affordable, I'd say check it out.
Its always fun to see the new products, talk to the guys behind the companies etc.
However, this is a far cry from some of the higher end and bigger conventions - if you can wait, check out some of the bigger ones coming later this year.

California Heritage Market Farmers Market

Maybe you have heard of this new-ish concept to acquire your meds through THIS article from LA Weekly.
Basically West Coast Collective has started a new DBA called the California Heritage Market which opened its doors today. They are trying to give us a new way to get out medicine directly from the producers of it. This thus connects us with our growers, which is a must for the quality of our medicine to rise.
I decided to check it out on opening day and see what the hype was all about.

Apparently I wasn't the only one. Doors opened at 10am... I arrived around 11 am to this massive quarter mile plus line. I decided to stick it out and wait through the slow moving line to check out the wares. Apparently the reason for the long line, is because this is technically just normal dispensary, you have to get signed in and verified per the usual. We were given a small half sheet of paper to sign date and initial.  As camera crews, police officers and food truck vendors started to line the street, we saw people walking past who had already been inside and asked them how it was. There were mixed reviews. There was plenty of security to keep everyone informed on what we needed to do to stay legal and safe. 

After a 2 hour wait outside and in the waiting room (while I was being verified) I finally gained entrance to the "farmers market".

The warehouse space was quite nice. Plenty big, clean and cool temperature wise. 

There were 4 rows of booths with 6-8 vendors in each. Vendors offered: potpori, clothes, glass, vapes, edibles, concentrates, flower amongst other items. There was a place to sit down, dj spinning some tunes. Pretty sweet.

 I personally came to look at flower with the expectation I would get to speak directly to growers about how the plants were grown, their lineage and be able to get a good price on my meds.

Upon inspecting the booths I didn't find much. The average price per 8th from most of the booths was $40 and most had OG's. It was pretty packed around the "good booth" which was offering $8 G's and some pretty decent deals - however the line was at least another 30 minutes. There was not much organization for the booths - it was hard to tell what each booth offered and what their prices were. As much as I wouldnt mind killing an hour possibly 2 looking for some good deals, 3 is really pushing it. After that 2 hour wait outside I just couldn't bring myself to wait around for saving a couple bucks, if that.

There was a decent variety of products offered, but mostly edibles. The flowers I saw were just OK, some decent concentrates. Prices were honestly higher than I usually pay at my regular clinics, quality wasn't anything special. Perhaps the one "good booth" could have changed my mind a bit, but I think most of us were expecting quite a bit more offerings. Perhaps they were not anticipating a 500 person turn out  and ran out of material early on.  I left empty handed.

The Farmers Market is a great idea, although not the first in Southern California. I think more shops should adopt this business model as I think there is TONS of potential. I am happy I went to experience this event today, its a sign of great things to come. I think it could have been executed better in selection and pricing of material - a lot of us were coming to buy in bulk and save, but many of us did leave disapointed.

I hope this project moves forward and grows, the potential impact this can have on the MMJ community in SoCal is huge. This is definitely a step in the right direction. 

Anaheim Patient Care (APC) - Anaheim, CA - 9 Stars

Environment 2: Centrally located off the 5 Freeway in Anaheim, about a mile west of  Disneyland. About as convenient as you can get for most people in North County.  The parking lot has been plenty big, I have yet to have had any kind of trouble finding the place or parking. Big easy to read signage out front and probably a friendly gaurd to kindly great you as you walk to the door. Check in process is quick, just 1 sheet to sign. Waiting room is very clean, decently sized, furniture and decorations coordinate well while ot too elaborate. The bud room is HUGE! 3 different display shelves stocked with all of the various strians in stock. All herb stored in glass jars. Everything felt very organized. Everything had an area, the bud tenders were not scrambling to find stuff, they knew right where everything I asked to see was. This room too, very clean... so clean it makes me think this may be a new location...either way, bravo. 

Staff 1.5: Solid staff, all of which are above average looking and in their young 20's. This could be a bad thing, especially for a negative bastard such as myself. But these girls are good. Quick, nice, but not forcefully slow. They want you to have a good experience. If you want to go quick, they will go quick. If you want to go slow, they will go slow. They listen to what you have to say, and really try their best to get you what you want. I didn't quiz them too much on concentrates and what not, but I asked for smooth and well grown herb, and I was given exactly that. I really have nothing to complain about, but I didnt feel like I was dealing with "weed experts"... as much as I want expert tenders who are very knowledgeable in growing techniques, concentrates, genetics , its really not likely in SoCal, there just are not enough people with that knowledge to fill the positions in the hundreds of dispensaries we have. 

Variety 2: Kid in a candy store. Top notch herb, top notch oils, top notch edibles even hashes. They have clones including a the CBD rich strain Cannatonic. If you want concentrates edibles or flower, $50 8ths or 20$ 8ths this place has it. Big, not huge selection. 

Quality 3: Over 15 lab tested strains. AWESOME. These guys flowers are the REAL DEAL. Almost all of their top shelf is tested, and are tested very high. I got 5 strains and the lowest was 23%. I was skeptical tho, high THC content does not mean well grown... I was afraid the flowers would be harsh. Quite the opposite, VERY smooth. If you guys want to see what I'm talking about with smooth smoke and white ash, check out these guys topshelf. You may notice on their weedmaps they also test for molds\mildews... most shops leave this out of the testing to save a couple bucks... I really appreciate them doing that extra step and the bud selection speaks for itself. Huge selection of concentrates, all the big brands are here. Same for edibles. Totally impressed with this place. 

Price 1: OK well you can't have it all right? Topshelf are $50 8ths. Edibles are not the cheapest. Concentrates are not the BEST priced... but they do spend more money keeping the shop clean, stocking lots of selection, paying for so much lab testing. Keeping all that in mind, the price is pretty fair. Could they come down a little bit? Sure they could. They charge a little more, and give you a little more. My grams were all weighed out slightly heavy. FTP deal is $10 g's on up to 5 strains. I love that I could try 5 different strains with out being told I can only split an 8th once. This is a high end shop, and you gotta pay a little more for the high end experience. They do have a decent looking mid and low shelves if you are on a budget. Totally fair, however not for everyone.  

Super impressed with this place. I'll definitely be a regular when I want something special, and I will give their lower shelves some attention as well. 

Candy Jack 9/10 - Over 26% - 8/10 smoothness. Very Sativa Dom. Must try.