If you’ve read any of my recent reviews (RIP your sanity, I guess), you may have stumbled across the fact that I can’t really handle sativas these days. My anxiety has been sky high (don’t ask), and while sativas used to be my freaking jam, they amp me up to a pretzel worth of knots these days.
Or, at least I thought they did.
It turns out that not all sativas are anxiety-producing monsters for my brain. I learned this by smoking Rise and Shine, a sativa-dominant hybrid from The Green House in Durango.
I hadn’t smoked this strain prior to this review for obvious reasons. I am scared of being a panicked little nerd rocking back and forth in the corner. One bad experience with too much of a good thing and it scarred me for life.
But, as a pothead with a job, I knew I needed to overcome my hesitation about this strain.
Well, as you may have gathered, I’m glad I did.
Now, I didn’t really know much about this strain prior to reviewing it, but I knew by the name alone that it was a sativa of some sort. Rise and Shine made me think of waking up, stretching, and getting my ass amped for the day (you can imagine what a task THAT is), and I figured it would be hell on my wound-up personality.
Spoiler alert: It wasn’t.
I decided to spark up a bowl of this strain, which has a pretty manageable amount of THC, by the way, in the early evening hours. I figured if I smoked it before dinner, I’d be over my anxiety coma at a relatively decent hour so I could go to bed.
I needn’t have worried, though. I could apparently smoke this strain at any hour of the day and be just freaking fine.
Before I get to that, though, let’s talk shop about this strain. Rise and Shine was created by crossing Green Crack with Sour Bubble, and reeks like a rotten mango mixed with weed. It’s a strange smell, for sure.
But that’s about the only thing that’s strange about this strain. Everything else was awesome. The tiny nugs are unassuming and soft, and it burned so nicely from the moment I lit it up.
The smoke, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as unassuming. It caused me to cough quite a bit, but I’m used to that. If you aren’t into heavier smoke, though, this may not be the one for you.
And, I wasn’t surprised how quickly the effects set in. The coughing AND the fact that this strain leans toward sativa both clued me into the fact that I’d be feeling it fast.
What I wasn’t clued into, though, was the fact that this strain would not act like a sativa to my brain. Rather than making me jittery or overstimulated, I was just very, very high instead.
My hands felt a little numb, and I felt that old familiar glow of THC wash over me by the time the bowl was cashed.
From there, it was smooth sailing. My brain knew I was high, but it was a comfortable feeling in which I felt alert but not anxious. I was awake, stoned, and happy instead.
And, it made me pretty freaking giggly too. That one I was not expecting.
I was trying to tell what should have been a very boring story, but for some reason (the weed), I could not get the words out. I only got out spurts of laughter instead.
It took, I kid you not, at least 12 tries to get out the one-sentence story. And, once it was out into the world, I proceeded to spend the next 15 to 20 minutes doubled over in laughter over the fact that I couldn’t get the words out.
And, it continued in a similar fashion for a couple of hours after. I was happy, oddly content, and freaking starving, none of which are effects that I would typically equate to a sativa.
I guess the best way to describe it was that everything felt right, nay, better than right, with the world. I didn’t have a care in my brain.
Well, that’s a pretty darn good feeling, so I’m not gonna knock it. I’ll take the blame for my unfair treatment of sativas. I shouldn’t have been as judgy.
Will I run out and stock up on super racy sativas now? Heck no. But I will keep Rise and Shine on hand. It’s a great mix of effects for me, from the giddiness to the feelings of contentment it washed over my soul.
It’s definitely worth copping if you’re into giggle weed, too. If the feeling of sore abs and a laughter hangover are something you’re into, you’re going to love this one.
DGO Pufnstuf
