It's not uncommon, when perusing the wares at a dispensary, to get the good old-fashioned upsell from your budtender. "Oh you like X?" they'll say. "You have to try Y. I have some of this myself and it's the best!" They are salesmen, after all.
Usually, as with most upsell situations, I politely wave away the suggestion. But on a recent trip to High Profile in Sunset Hills to pick up some flower, I got a tip from the store's employee that was too good to pass up.
The man in question asked if I'd tried any of the Keef brand cannabis-infused sodas commonly found in most dispensaries. "Yeah, I've had the root beer kind," I replied dismissively.
"No, but have you tried this one specifically?" he asked, gesturing to a can of Purple Passion grape soda. I admitted that I had not, and that's when he let me in on a little secret.
You see, the regular Keef sodas (as opposed to the large ones) normally come in at about 25 milligrams of THC, and that's the amount advertised on most dispensary websites. But by government regulation, the manufacturer must put a little sticker on the front of the can that reveals its actual THC content — and the latest batch of Purple Passion that High Profile got clocked in at a considerably higher 32 milligrams per can.
-Check out our Reeferfront Times coverage for more cannabis news and reviews"When I saw that I bought four four-packs just for myself," my budtender told me, his excitement palpable.
So, never one to pass up a deal, I opted to give a can of Purple Passion a go. At $14 before tax, it was among the most expensive sodas I'd ever purchased, while simultaneously being one of the cheapest things I've ever bought at a dispensary.
Now, as mentioned, I'd tried a Keef soda before: For my very first dispensary review, I bought one of their large, 100 milligram root beers and made a root beer float out of it. As I recall, I downed the whole thing in about five minutes, having wildly overestimated my tolerance for edibles, and wound up having to lie down for a while. But 32 milligrams seemed to me like it might be the sweet spot.
Keef somewhat recently rolled out new resealing mechanisms for their cans, to help with dosing and to allow consumers to save any beverage they don't immediately need for next time. This comes in the form of a little plastic piece that you pop and slide open. I didn't need such a device for this sampling, as I fully intended to drink the whole thing in one go, but especially for their 100 milligram offerings I can see it being quite handy.
With the top of my pop popped, I took a pull. The taste was damn delicious, a really good grape soda flavor, super sweet and refreshing, with a noticeable weedy aftertaste. I sipped on it leisurely over the course of a half hour or so, and would have gladly done so even if it weren't infused with THC — it's a tasty soda.
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The high began to kick in after about a half hour. Keef uses all hybrid strains to manufacture its sodas, in order to offer balanced effects and a smidge of consistency from flavor to flavor. The drinks are named after the strain that the THC was extracted from; in keeping, I did my research and knew my beverage was made using an indica-leaning hybrid. Surprisingly, though, I found myself quite energetic after drinking it — an hour and a half in I realized I was up and around and cleaning my house, which all of those with whom I share a home will attest is not my usual behavior. I was also chatty and chipper, relaxed but not stoned, and, as I put it in my notes, "pretty in the zone." This stuff would be great for a party.
All told, the high lasted about two or three hours, leaving me with a powerful hunger by the end (or maybe I just worked up an appetite with all that cleaning). I found it to be a delightful experience from start to finish, sweet and sugary in all the right ways, and phenomenal in effects. A sincere thanks to that High Profile budtender on a successful upsell — damn good looking out, sir.
And while I can't say definitively what difference those extra seven milligrams of THC might have made, I can say one thing for sure: I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the number on those little stickers going forward.
Thomas K. Chimchards is RFT’s resident cannabis correspondent and alias haver. Email him tips at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @TOMMYCHIMS.
