Author: David Downs

[ad_1] 100 points out of 100Price: $45/eighthBatch size: 20-30 poundsOne of Seed Junky Genetics breeder J Beezy’s favorite current smokes, Tropical Burst is basically a perfect Zkittlez. It’s a cross of (Orange Push Pop x Banana Cream Cake) to Zkittlez bx2. So it’s refined Z with more creamy orange and some banana cake. Wow. You can see the Cake in the better size, color, structure and density of Tropical Burst compared to original Z. It’s bigger, more white with resin, and less spongy. The tropical fruit syrup and cake smell bursts from the well-designed mylar bag. It’s really loud, and…

[ad_1] Two out of three ain’t bad, readers. Leafly News got it right 66 percent of the time in December 2022 when we made 51 predictions about weed in 2023. We scored 34 accurate prognostications, nine misses (sorry New Hampshire legalization), and eight maybes.What will 2024 hold for the wide world of weed? Leafly senior editor David Downs and Great Moments in Weed History podcast host David Bienenstock burn down the list of likely things to happen. The podcast will be out later in December. But here’s our full predictions list.2024 weed politicsHippie Hill on April 20th, 2023. (David Downs/Leafly)Will Congress…

[ad_1] New York’s two-and-a-half-year-old legal cannabis program is like a fueled-up rocket just steaming on the launch pad, waiting for ignition. The state’s regulators have nearly run out of ways to fumble the ball, and stores are finally opening on a near-daily basis. The New York City metro area has about 2 million weed smokers, but up until now had just a handful of retail stores. That’s all changing, so we’ve started this NYC Weed Visitor’s Guide post to get you oriented, hooked up, and having fun in the big city. Let’s freaking go.What’s NYC’s weed rules?Weed is now legal for…

[ad_1] 85 points out of 100Price: $55/eighthYou can’t go to New York without sampling some Piff. This Piff Haze outdoor flower from Ithaca Organics has a rich, sweet, durban-like terpinolene note heavily blended and spiced with beta-caryophyllene, plus something else truly unique. The small, airy nugs were a classic old-school haze. It tasted like it smelled, only thinner, with an instant rocketing and electric sativa effect. Piff was getting New Yorkers zooted, even before Sour Diesel. Ithaca Organics collaborated with keepers of the Piff Coast Farms—who gave Ithaca a more agronomized piff that would finish in a more optimal amount…

[ad_1] Want to try your hand at growing Permanent Marker? A lot of people will—now that it’s Leafly Strain of the Year 2023. Available first as clone in 2022, then as feminized seeds and crosses, Permanent Marker has hit grows big and small. It’s hyper-refined Gelato work, comprised of (Biscotti S1 x Sherb Bx1) x Jealousy F2. Here’s what we’re learning about growing it. Permanent Marker is an indoor-tested strainConsider that Permanent Marker was developed as an indoor strain in Northridge, CA, with large yields, big bling, fashionably intense flavor, medium stretch, and a solid finishing time.Seed Junky Genetics’ founder…

[ad_1] 80 points out of 100Price: $55/eighthWe got actual notes of sour, orange, diesel, and kush from this 2023 sungrown light-dep strain in New York’s nascent legal market. The green nugs proved to be medium-density of varying sizes—and we got the sense that they had been a tad overdried. The Sour Orange Diesel Kush ground up nice and fragrant, but we wanted the taste to be more full-bodied and terpy. However, the hybrid effects did deliver, and put a zest in our step as we explored Washington Square Park and more of Manhattan. I don’t think a newby New York…

[ad_1] Step aside, sketchy bodegas—NYC locals, as well as the city’s millions of visitors, can now buy legal, tested cannabis from the state’s recreational program right near the iconic intersection.A new push to get 2023’s fresh outdoor crop into the hands of smokers before it goes stale has resulted in multiple “Cannabis Growers Showcases” popping up around the Empire State this winter. The offerings include the Hell’s Kitchen Cannabis Collective at 356 W 40th St., just blocks from Times Square, where we bought the Ithaca Organics Piff Haze—which was fully amazing.The HKCC Showcase is open 11 am to 9 pm every…

[ad_1] Deep in a freezing cave, two hours north of San Francisco, many of the world’s best cannabis breeders, growers, and hashmakers gathered to sow the seeds of 2024’s cannabis hype-cycle and keep its eternal flame burning. Near midnight on Sunday, Dec. 10, they succeeded. Here’s who won The Ego Clash Invitational 2023—a private, invite-only global cannabis industry competition in Mendocino County, CA for: best indoor flower; best outdoor flower; best rosin; and best full-melt. Now, look upon the flavors set to dominate the cannabis conversation into 2024.Best indoor flower—Ego Clash 2023Blue Lobster. (Courtesy of Maine Trees)More than 30 growers…

[ad_1] Go ahead and have a sniff—the hype new cannabis strain Permanent Marker has earned Leafly Strain of the Year 2023.Tingly, chatty, and arousing, with sweet, deep marker fumes of grape candy, creamy berry, and solvent—Permanent Marker became the fastest-growing new strain on US menus this year according to Leafly, which hosts over 3,000 dispensaries in North America. Permanent Marker went from 10 store menus in August 2022 to 587 stores in November 2023—an increase of 59x.Permanent Marker doesn’t look backward like Lemon Cherry Gelato from 2016, either. It’s a refinement of Jealousy, Leafly’s Strain of the Year 2022. Los Angeles…

[ad_1] The race is on—Leafly Strain of the Year 2023 Permanent Marker has become a searing hot commodity. Supplies will not last. How do you get your mitts on it?First off, Seed Junky Genetics grows Permanent Marker and its crosses for the legal markets in California, Michigan, and New Mexico—so start there. In California, Seed Junky is in 400 stores through Kiva distribution. Also look for drops from Doja Pak in California dispensaries and at Dojadirect.com.We’ve seen the strain grown in California, by CAM, LA Family Farms, Seed Junky Genetics, Connected, UpNorth, Doja Pak, Jelly Wizard, West Coast Cure, and…

[ad_1] Permanent Marker has become Leafly Strain of the Year 2023, capping a two-year tear into the mainstream of weed. But what is it? Here’s the genealogy that explains what’s going on with the hit strain from Seed Junky Genetics.Think of Permanent Marker as ultra-refined Gelato work.This story begins with Northern California grower Jigga, and associate Berner and the Cookies strain—aka Girl Scout Cookies, GSC—that launched the global lifestyle brand and changed the game in the 2000s. GSC begat Sunset Sherbet with Pink Panties. Sunset Sherbert begat Gelato with a type of GSC, Thin Mint.Gelato kind of begat everything, including Biscotti.Lemon Cherry…

[ad_1] Deck the halls with Lemon Cherry Gelato—this berry, creamy, and fuel-smelling indica-hybrid became a crowd favorite in 2023, and now it’s our Leafly HighLight for December.Let’s get this right out of the way: Lemon Cherry Gelato is not Leafly Strain of the Year 2023. We announce that winner on Tuesday, December 5.But LCG has had a heck of a year either way, so singling it out for our monthly spotlight, Leafly HighLight, felt right. Around since 2016, LCG is now the #4 strain in the US. It started as #3 in New York, took the first spot by May…