Things have been up in the air and I’ve been juggling. There are so many parts of my life that are changing. A new relationship, applying for jobs, and starting some side photography projects has kept me busy. However, I have had enough down time to appreciate some new strains. Here’s how I came upon Rude Boi by Indiva.
There were a few bags of weed that I got around to before purchasing Rude Boi. I had the wonderful opportunity to buy weed for my new girl thing. We were going out that night to hang out with her friends and neither of us had any weed. I was in a foreign neighborhood, so I looked up the local shops and their menus. We settled on The Joint. I had never been before, even though it was a big chain of stores I had seen in multiple cities. Their menu online was great. I tried to be quick about choosing, and quickly settled on Artizen’s Grape Ape. I chose it because everyone in the party except me seemed to have a very low tolerance. I’m talking 1/4 of a bowl carefully cornered or they’ll get completely whacked out. Grape Ape is good for low tolerance people for a few reasons.
Grape Ape a cross of some nice landrace-ish strains like Afghani, Mendocino Purps, and Skunk No. 1. I love that Skunk No. 1 sounds like a perfume. My kind of perfume. Anyways, this is a nice balanced strain that isn’t pulling any dumb party tricks to get you high. It’s solid. It has a big obvious flavor that newbies can pick out: GRAPE. Purple strains also tend to be very relaxing (in my experience). I recommend Afghani strains to anyone with anxiety. It’s a deep body relaxation. So skunk keeps it interesting while the purps and Afghani chill you out.
The group was very pleased. I think people are satisfied when they can taste a fruity obvious flavor like they know what they’re talking about. Someone remarked that it felt like “more of a body high”. We were all happy, cozy, and chill. We watched The Great British Bake-Off and resented that we didn’t have pastries at hand.
IMPORTANT: smoking out newbies is very “with great weed comes great responsibility”. You might be relaxed but these are drugs that will give a new person a whole new take on reality. Don’t smoke someone out and ask them for their consent to do anything but get them snacks and a blanket.
Lower tolerance people tend to have concerns about anxiety. This is a totally common and relatable thing. I’m glad that I have a knowledge of weed so I can avoid the strains that annoy me. A strain with buzziness that annoys me is usually a strain that can give someone with low tolerances a load of anxiety. For me this usually comes from strains associated with Durban Poison. Durban Poison is a “pure sativa”, having no indica-like ‘downer’ characteristics at all! Sometimes it is stabilized in a way I like, like in Cherry Pie (Durban Poison and Grand Daddy Purple), or GSC crosses with more than two strains. I think that’s because it can give an intensity to the high when the headyness is balanced by other effects. A lot of other strains that are made from Durban Poison give me an annoying headyness. For me, that can be from strains like GSC and its decedents. Some ‘Cookie’ strains that include a citrus profile give me a headache. Call me particular.
I’m going to be writing a full feature about how to go about properly getting consent and assisting someone with a new weed experience. My new girl thing had this horrible story about taking too huge of a dose. She thought someone was offering her a “juul” (nicotine pen), but they handed her a dab pen! Talk about a new take on reality. Dabs are like the effective part of the flower squooshed all together as tiny as possible and then used all at the same time. It’s like smoking a whole nug of flower out once, kind of. You have to know what you’re getting into. She got pretty whacked out, but she was safe.
After this lovely weekend I finally found time to buy weed for myself. I had a kerfuffle this week where I had lost my wallet. I went to a party with a coat check and left my purse with my jacket. I had a friend fetch something from the purse, which is when I’m assuming it fell out. I was scared that it might have been stolen, but after an email to the party planners and a quick message back it was in the mail back to me. It took a while to get back to me, two weeks! For someone that uses their ID as much as I do, it was a hindrance.
As soon as I was able to I picked up some flower. Nothing special, just quickly getting in and out of a few random pot shops to get grams. I have been so anxious about shopping for pot recently. I’ve felt like less and less of a part of the industry as time moves on. After losing my job at the head shop in SODO, I was pretty lost. I was trying to get a job quickly that would give me full hours, but that didn’t work out at all. I worked as a dog attendant! A very, very bad match for me. It was not a good stoner-dog dynamic like Shaggy and Scooby Doo. It was more like 50 Scrappy Doos and me with a migraine in the corner from lack of THC and excess barking. That job expired about a month in, for the best.
After that gig, I was able to get back to the occupations that really work for me. There are a few reasons that I gravitate towards cannabis blogging as a hobby.
I like writing that I don’t thrive in jobs where I’m monitored all day. I need to go off, smoke, eat, nap, pace, smoke, do some yoga, and then do some writing. All in the span of say, an hour. It’s my process. I try to add a lot of structure to my blog writing, but I easily forget. I’ll have the occasional flashes of consciousness where I jot down an idea or opening paragraph. After a few instances of that it starts to look like a first draft. When the posts are being written, I don’t feel the need be consistent or polished. I try to research a subject, find the unique and interesting parts of it, and expand on those. I get to put that content through enough editing that it makes sense and is one readable article. In person, especially in other jobs, I can’t form sentences and thoughts longer than a few seconds. Having this weird little writing process lets me express thoughts in longer form. Another reason is that I like having a variety of tasks. When my attention strays from writing, I can also be productive by focusing on other parts of blogging. Social media, SEO writing, research, and other little tasks can occupy a lot of my time. I’m always learning more and it’s a fulfilling hobby.
I had an interview at a pot shop in town. I showed up without my wallet, even though I had waited about a week and a half for it to show up. For a pot head that wants to lavish in a store about once every other day, it was hell. Anyways, the store had no way to accommodate me. It makes total sense, there’s no reason for me to be an exception to the needs-a-license rule. What ACTUALLY sucks about this story is that the wallet was at my door as soon as I got home. It had probably arrived just as I had left early for the interview. Of course it did.
So I rip the mailer open and retrieve my wallet. I finally have a chance to enjoy a good pot shop run alone. Before this I had just gone with friends to the stores for weed to share. I get back in my car and go to the nearest shop, “Lux”. I am officially out of my industry discount credentials, so it doesn’t matter as much which shop I go to at this point. It’s kind of freeing. I have always had good experiences at Lux. It was probably the first pot shop I went to when I first visited Seattle. I dig the clean look of the store; it isn’t cluttered by pegboard shelves with thousands of products on them. Everything is neatly tucked away in drawers. The budtenders I’ve talked to have been personable, complimentary, and helpful. I’ve matched with some of them on Tinder and one of the boys said I have good fashion sense. Point blank. Love it there.
My favorite method of shopping at pot stores is throwing caution to the wind and relying on budtenders. Budtenders have two reactions when you ask them what they recommend. They will either get that “I got you” face, with lowered eyes and a little head nod. The other option is a wide eyed, deer-in-the-headlights look and adopting a stilted customer service voice. They’d tell you, not even ask, if you want more of an indica ‘which is sleepy and low’ or a sativa ‘which is peppy and happy’. These budtenders are NEW. I’ve learned to say “excuse me, I need another minute” and wait until another budtender is available. Don’t waste your time on people who aren’t obsessed with cannabis.
I let the budtender know I’m looking for an indica-leaning hybrid. That profile has really been working for me recently. She pulled out three different options with a diversity of terpene profiles. I really liked the look of this Rude Boi flower. I’ve been trying to not pick strains based on tasty sounding names. “Rude Boi” is the opposite of my aesthetic, I’m more of a “Nice Lesbian”, but I can appreciate the look of these buds. I picked the Indiva eighth out of the lineup and checked out. Tip your budtenders.
I picked up a few things on the way out of the shop. I was super full handed, but I really wanted to catch up on industry publications. It was easy to see every new article when I was working in a shop, now it’s less on top of my mind.
It’s great that so many of the publications in shops are so regional. Most of the publications aren’t national, just for Washington or the West Coast. There is a great cannabis culture in the area where things feel accessible. The people making these magazines are present in the local cannabis socialite scene and go to all the parties. My friends are familiar with a few of the producers of Dope Magazine and a few others.
Genetics
Rude Boi is Irene OG backcrossed with Face Off OG. Backcrossing is breeding two plants together when one is the parent of the other. The strain that is backcrossed is a hybrid of its’ parent and another plant. In my mind, this looks like a way to have like 3/4 of a plant one strain, 1/4 the other strain. I’m no botanist, though.
Irene OG
Irene OG is a sativa dominant hybrid. It doesn’t have a defined heritage. It is believed to originate in the United States, possibly containing some OG Kush. It is a relaxing strain that is potent and delivers some great medical benefits like helping with appetite. It is earthy and sour, which is common for strains like this. It has a pine smell that’s kind of diesel-y too.
Face Off OG
Face Off OG is another OG Kush flower. This is an indica-dominant hybrid strain and is wildly different than Irene OG. Users reported dizzy, face-high feelings that are very psychoactive. I dig that. It’s great to see a strain not just defined by potency, but that it can deliver a head and body high at the same time.
Experience
Grinding this flower was so satisfying. It took a long time. Crushing through the original structures of the bud took a while; the leaves were dense and strong. It was very aromatic and released more lemony, citrus smell as I ground it. Once ground, it showed its super green and sticky nature. I hadn’t even smoked yet, and I thought to myself “whoa, it’s like a full head of hair” as a passed my spoon through it. It was sticky, heavy, and resisted being pushed around. It was incredibly satisfying to ‘smoosh’ down a bit because it springs back up.
I loaded my second hit as my eyes started to drop a bit. I could already tell that it was affecting my senses. This strain is a 60% indica, 40% sativa hybrid. That’s been hitting me right recently. I tend to ask budtenders for their recommendations. I’ve seen Rude Boi in stores before, but men and rudeness really aren’t my aesthetic. However, some of the best strains I’ve had have had boring names.
The weed smoke lingered in my mouth, creating a weird bitter taste. There’s a sour taste to it without any sweetness. It’s almost zingy. When I put my nose directly in my grinder, it smells almost exactly like cut grass. It also has some pine flavors. I usually enjoy fruity profiles, but this was a really satisfying weed smell.
The major feelings I got from Rude Boi were talkativeness, confidence, and focus. I really liked it because it helped me get a lot of things done. When I first tried the strain, I talked to a friend shortly after. I was extremely gabby, something I usually have problems with because of my brain-dampening medications. In conversation I was quick to respond and very engaged. I would totally look for this strain again just for those effects.
Brand
Indiva is a beautiful brand. Their website knocks my socks off compared to the other producers in Washington. The site even includes a small accessories section where you can buy some quality looking merchandise and well selected smoking pieces. I really like that the store is medically compliant, which not only virtually guarantees quality but shows their dedication to helping people. The site says they even subsidize medical costs for cannabis! That’s amazing.
Everything is textbook. I don’t usually like it when sites create a random blog section to introduce people to super basic stuff, but their version of it is probably more helpful because of their medical perspective.
The site is completely Canadian. It looks like they’ve expanded to the United States/Washington market recently. This article says that they are using a Seattle based design firm for creating an extraction factory. From what I’ve seen of the brand, they really seem to be pushing their edible line. This article, quoted below, shows that they are really trying to hit up the undernourished edibles market.
“We focus our efforts on making sure that we are sustainable as a company, and are always able to stand on our own. This has driven us to control all aspects of our business, from production, to branding and sales. We are cannabis producers, and that means flowers, but we’ve also been working hard to establish ourselves in some often-overlooked markets (such as edibles), to ensure we have the necessary revenue sources to achieve profits. I think this approach makes us unique and gives us the opportunity to grow and become massively successful.” — Niel Marotta, CEO of INDIVA Ltd.
They have developed a new way of creating cannabis-infused sugar, called “Ruby”, that doesn’t use chemicals in the process. They also have a chocalatier venture. All of this content seems to have popped up less than a year ago, so they’re probably very new. I hadn’t seen Indiva in stores before the budtender picked it out for me. I’m looking forward to seeing their products in stores. My impression of the brand is great between the weed, website, and branding. The flower was great and I would look for this strain again.
Thank you for reading!
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