Lightning Strike Organics

05/26/2022

Preroll History

There are a lot of prerolls in the market today. So how to tell a good one from a not so good one? I am not talking about what cannabis is in the preroll but the preroll itself. Let's start with a bit of history......
Almost every preroll you see today is a perolled cone. But it was not always so. In the 70’s everyone was rolling joints like a hand rolled cigarette. It was what we saw around us so that was how we acted. The cone showed up from Jamaica. It was the standard way to roll a joint there and had a logic to it. The goal was to have a joint that burned slow and cool. The cooler a joint burned the smoother the smoke and less cannabinoids were lost to the fire. But the cones of Jamaica were much different from the ones you see today. They were more like a funnel than a cone, very large on the big end, around an inch or so and tapered quickly to nothing on the toking end. It was an art to roll one well. Over time the “cone” became popular in the states.

Because in the 70’s joints were rolled like a hand rolled cigarette they did not have a filter like a regular cigarette so folks smoked that baby right to the very end. No Stoner would leave a t**e behind! Trying to hold on to a lit joint to the end produced the tell tell sign of brown stained thumb and forefinger. That led to the discovery of the roach clip. A roach was the term for that last little bit of paper that was difficult to completely smoke. The roaches were saved for when there was nothing else to smoke. The basic model was a small alligator clip that would grip the end of the joint to spare your fingers but not so much your lips. All manner of decorative items were attached to the clip, beads and feathers and such. Soon came smoking stones and other devices to accomplish the same objective.

The first time I saw a paper crutch was in the early 80’s when a German friend of mine rolled a joint with one. He took half of a business card and rolled it up into a tube. Then he stuck the joint into the end and used another rolling paper to hold the two together! Great idea! No more carrying a clip around and no more singed lips. That was the beginning of the crutch we see today in perolled cones. A crutch, not a filter, as some may call it as it does not filter anything.

What makes a quality rolled preroll? There are 3 things that make a great preroll. The grind, the pack and the filter.
First is the grind. It should be of medium particle size not to small and not to big and be as uniform as possible. If too fine and packed to tight the preroll will be hard to draw thru, like sucking on a straw in a thick milkshake. If the grind is inconsistent with large particles the burn will run down the side of the preroll leaving behind untouched cannabis. To fine a grind will also cause you to suck some cannabis thru the crutch as well and into your mouth.

Second the pack. As mentioned above if packed to tight the preroll will be difficult to draw thru no matter what size the grind is. If not packed tight enough the preroll could run or it will burn very hot from all of the air rushing through the joint. Like a blast furnace. It is not just harsh poorly cured cannabis that can make you cough but high temperature smoke can burn your throat as well. Worst of all a lightly packed preroll can have the cherry (the hot glowing ember) fall off of the end.

Then there is the working end, the crutch or the filter. As stated above the crutch only saves your fingers and lips but contributes nothing to the quality of the smoke. A filter on the other hand improves the smoking experience immensely. Currently the only product available with a filter is a perolled tube. The Kashmir tube with the star filter or the Raw tube with a full filter are the two best tubes available and both create a very smooth smoke. Some people who have not tried a filtered preroll think that a filter cuts down on the high but that is not so. You will experience the same effects smoking a preroll with a filter as with a crutch but with an added pleasant smoking experience. If you have not tried a filtered preroll ask for one at your favorite retailer. I predict you will be pleasantly surprised.

05/12/2022

n the state of Alaska, buy my count, there are over 100 independent limited cultivation licenses. By independent I mean cultivation licenses that do not have any interest in another license types.

Alaska has had one of the smallest license types available in the country. At first glance this looks like a good idea. It gave individuals opportunity to enter the market at a relatively low cost and at the same time draw growers out of the black market and into the legal market. But more importantly this license type could allow Alaska to develop a unique cannabis market. One that is supplied by many small independent growers that contribute an incredible variety of high quality products to the consumer. But the reality is that this license type is becoming a road to nowhere for many independent cultivators. This is because of the regulatory framework that was designed or more aptly described as copied from other states.

Although I think there are quite a few troubling regulations, one that has been pernicious is the ability to hold 3 of the 4 lic. types by one person or business, or commonly called vertical integration. When vertical integration was allowed by the state it set the stage for what is happening today. That is, a system that creates gate keepers who can put their financial interest above others in the industry without recourse. This is pushing the consolidation of the industry into a handful of entities. In effect creating an oligopoly that can restrain others from accessing the market.
So what does all of this mean to someone holding or in process of obtaining a limited cultivation license? It means literally that if you cannot make a sale to a retail store or as a last resort to a processor, which is a money losing avenue, you are locked out of the market place via regulation. It means that THC %, quality or price will not necessarily garner a sale. As one buyer told me “why would I buy your product if I have my own product I can’t sell.

With all this taken into account what product the vertically integrated entities are willing to purchase from independents is subject to percentage and price constraints that the gatekeepers to the retail market can impose. If they are willing to purchase at all. But let me stress again this is not the fault of these vertically integrated entities. They are only operating within the regulatory framework. The framework is the problem.
So what could be the possible solutions? Well I see two possible solutions. These are..

1) to give the same rights to independent cultivators that are given breweries under the alcohol regulations. That is the ability to sell product grown on site to the general public with a small additional fee. Not a retail store but the ability to sell flower grown only in their independent cultivation facility. This limited access would complement sales to retail stores and give a safety valve to independents that would open an avenue for the sale of products that the retail stores will not purchase.

2) would be to allow independent cultivators to create cooperative grows where shares of a grow can be sold to individuals, with a small additional Lic. fee. Again this would be access to a limited portion of the market, not open access. This option, I feel this would have been allowed under the rules set forth in the original initiative so would not be a stretch for the board to implement.

Lets not forget about the black market. It is still alive and well. If you don’t think so just go online and order some unregulated cannabis to be delivered to your home. It is that easy. The regulated industry will never be able to stop this unless something changes and that something would be to unleash the small cultivators who could compete directly with the black market for market share and bring more tax money to the state.

So it is important that the cannabis buying public support independant cultivators when considering what product to purchase. Become aware of who is an independant cultivator and lend them your support when buying cannabis products. Support an open and free market for cannabis.

02/11/2022

AK Sunrise will brighten your day. Ask your retailer for some today.

06/08/2021

Muktuk Cookies, all dressed up and ready to party!

10/31/2020

10/16/2020

Who cultivated that cannabis?

The importance of the cultivator to the final product is one of the most important pieces of information a consumer can have when deciding what product to purchase, not the strain nor the THC%.

Lets talk about the strains to start. Strains with the same name but grown by different cultivators can very quite a bit. The reason being that lots of strains have been around for years and as they are grown there is a natural genetic shift that occurs over time. This is caused by the plant responding to its environment, where and how it is grown. This shift starts at the seed cultivator growing the same strain over and over. Then that seed is passed to the cultivator who will produce the final product.

How that cultivator applies their growing techniques to the plant has a tremendous effect. Is it grown in soil or hydroponics, how much and what nutrients were used. How well was the plant grown, was it very healthy or marginal? At what point in its life was it harvested? What type of soil was it grown in? All this and more that you cannot see determines the overall quality of the high you will experience.

So once you find a strain you like, look for the cultivators name. If you liked that particular strain you will most likely find their other strains to be equally enjoyable, no matter what the THC% is.

10/12/2020

Has that w**d been cured?

Like to***co good cannabis should be properly cured. But in todays marketplace most cannabis is not cured it is merely dried and sent out the door for consumption. Although dried cannabis is smokable it is not at its optimum. To become cannabis that is at its best it should be properly cured.

So the question is, what is properly cured cannabis? If you take to***co as an example that most of us are familiar with you will know that is is a golden brown color. No one would think about smoking it green.
The curing process for cannabis, if done properly, removes as much chlorophyll, lipids and waxes from the flowers as possible but maintains all of the cannabinoids and terpenes.
This creates flower that is cleaner and smoother than dried flower.

Curing is an art. It takes not only time but a the proper conditions to achieve a superior smoke. I have spent years perfecting my techniques to achieve the best results. So is this just my opinion. Royal Queen Seeds in their article on curing states "After 3 weeks, your buds will be well cured and ready to smoke up. However, the more patient smokers out there will receive the best rewards. Your flowers will continue to increase in quality for up to 6 months of curing." Interested to know the difference? Try LSO products and experience well cured craft cannabis, created for the discerning smoker.

08/06/2020

Total cannabinoids, what's the big deal?

The total cannabinoids are comprised of all the cannabinoids in a strain including the THC. Although THC is of interest to most people for its affects it is only one of many cannabinoids in a Cannabis strain. There are approximately 113 other cannabinoids in the Cannabis plant discovered so far and currently in Alaska only 9 are tested for. These are CBD, CBN, CBG, CBGA, THCA, CBDA, D-8THC, and THCVA and THC.

Why are these other cannabinoids important? They are important because the THC is the same molecule in every cannabis strain and if THC was the only thing in cannabis that affected the smoker then different strains with the same amount of THC would affect the smoker the same and this is not the case. Why?

The reason is simple. It is called Entourage effect and it is what makes a strain unique, along with the terpenes. This effect is the total cannabinoids interacting with each other to produce a strains unique character and interacts with your own body chemistry. It is why one person really likes a strain and another is not so impressed with the same strain.

In searching for the strains that are right for you, keep an eye on the total cannabinoids along with the THC%. If not listed ask your budtender. As a rule of thumb the other cannabinoids should not be lower then 2% and the higher the better. 4% or 5% for the other cannabinoids would be great and 6% would be the bomb for strains in general. If you want to dive deeper into the specific cannabinoids in a strain ask your budtender for a copy of the lab report for that harvest batch. With this in mind you can look for stains that work best for you and make your cannabis experience the best it can be.