Every once in a while, a strain comes along that makes me question whether I ever know what the hell I’m talking about. (Spoiler alert: I don’t ever know what I’m talking about. It’s all pretend.) This particular version of Lemon Skunk was one of those strains.
Here’s the thing. I was told that this particular bud was Lemon Skunk – normally a sativa-leaning hybrid – and it was more of an indica, which would knock me right the eff out. Needless to say, that was confusing. Most of the Lemon Skunk strains out there are considered sativas, and this one… wasn’t. How…?
Well, it isn’t common to test a plant’s genetics, and there are no industry-wide standards for growing strains. And, we know the genetics, as well as the environment it’s grown in, can cause major variations from plant to plant. So unless you’re buying bud from the exact same cut, the Lemon Kush you buy at one dispensary is probably a family member of the Lemon Kush you buy at another, but it sure isn’t a twin. They won’t be genetically identical. (I tried to call Aurum Labs to chat about this, but ain’t nobody return my calls.)
Most of the time, all you can do to be sure you’re getting the strain you ask for is to (a.) have a little faith in your dispensary, and (b.) educate yourself on the qualities the strain SHOULD have – like the color/smell/insert other quality/qualities here. Pretty scientific, eh?
While I knew the bud I had leaned toward an indica, it sure seemed to pass the initial sniff test, and smelled like a skunk washed with lemon Pine-Sol. It passed the visual test, too – the bud was deep green and sticky to the point that it clogged my grinder. The kief it left at the bottom of my grinder was plentiful, and the smoke tasted lemony, which checked another box.
But, the physical effects weren’t those of the typical sativa-leaning Lemon Skunk. This strain definitely had the effects of an indica. And what I mean by that is, I was frigging stoned.
Like, legit frigging stoned. It was only a few puffs of this magic dragon – three or four, to be precise – before I felt the high creep into every inch of my body. I immediately had cottonmouth and dry eyes, which tends to be an indica thing for me. My notes simply describe it as, “Yuuuuuup, stoned.” before launching into the typical “Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy” observations one conjures up while deep in the cannabis abyss.
And, then I passed out, just like I always do with indicas, right after I get a severe case of couch lock. There were no sativa effects to be found. Nada. Zip. Zilch. No energy, no flowing burst of creative ideas, and certainly no incessant talking. Just sleep. If you’re looking to combat insomnia, this is your magic ticket.
Can I be sure it was an indica version of Lemon Kush? No, I cannot, because I am not a scientist capable of testing that stuff. I am just a lowly writer. But, I’m pretty darn sure that’s what it was. It looked, smelled, and tasted like a skunk. So, logically, it IS a skunk. A Lemon Skunk, and a strong one to boot.
DGO Pufnstuf
