As the holidays are in full swing, we all continue to consider our own personal ways to enhance (or endure) time with family, friends, in-laws, cousins, high school buddies, old flames, and whoever else this special time of year will inevitably bring into each of our lives.
While Mom depletes the wine cabinet, Dad dips into the whiskey cache, and Uncle Jim won’t stop trying to get you to try his home brewed cider, get prepared to reciprocate with your own psychoactive refreshments. Whether your family has adopted cannabis consumption, or still calls it the devil’s lettuce, we’ve got recommendations for you.
The Heavy Smoker
If you’re shopping for a copious cannabis consumer, you can never go wrong with some high quality indoor flower. However, if you go chalk on gift selection for a heavy stoner, you’ll be leaving brownie points on the table, which this gift giving guide will not tolerate. So let’s dive a little deeper… What does a cannabis connoisseur enjoy about the higher quality products they tend to favor? The look? Of course. The smell? You betcha. But taste is where we’ll derive value in this proposition. How does one taste cannabis? Certainly not by popping nugs in your mouth one by one like a Ferrero Rocher… No, cannabis is tasted in the nostrils and upon the taste buds via terpenes. Terpenes are most robust prior to combustion. When the joint is lit and smoke becomes the delivery mechanism to transport those sweet sweet cannabinoids into your bloodstream, they can only carry so much of the flavonoids that exist in the raw cannabis.
So, what’s the alternative? How can those cannabinoid molecules be converted into red eyes and insatiable hunger while improving the flavor experience from the cannabis itself, AND impressing your stoner brother with a thoughtful gift?
The answer, my friends, is a rosin disposable vaporizer. Rosin is not only produced from fresh, frozen cannabis, but is one of the few forms of concentrated cannabis produced without a solvent. In absence of butane, propane, CO2, Hexane, or any other various solvent, the terpene profile of the input strain shines bright like the star atop the Christmas tree (or the angel that still gets put up there even though no one in the family has been to church in a decade).
As a result, your gift recipient will experience the terpene profile and flavor of the strain selection like never before. Why in vaporizer form you may ask? Although this gift recipient may possess the necessary tools to ingest some pure rosin in a jar, a disposable is ideal for the holiday setting because it’s discreet and easy to share! Additionally, dosage is much more controlled with a vaporizer. Even Aunt Sally, who hasn’t gotten near cannabis since she ate a brownie in college, can take a little puff and see what all the hullabaloo is about. All the while, the actual receiver of the gift is geeking out over the way each puff tastes just like their favorite strain smells right out of the jar. Podtones are an excellent brand of disposable rosin vaporizers with 4 distinct flavor and effect profiles to fit the preferences of any gift recipient!
The casual consumer
For the purposes of this holiday gift giving guide, the “casual” consumer will be defined as one who uses cannabis a few times a week, primarily in the comfort of their own home, as a relaxation enhancer. A casual consumer, as defined by this article, would not be one who functions well in a professional setting while under the influence, but can thrive in a group social environment. So, let’s examine what a casual consumer is likely to enjoy. Most consumers of this variety grew up in the era of good weed. Maybe not exceptional weed, but far better than the seeded hay that was passed around at Woodstock. As a result, there’s a baseline quality, and effect expectation that must also overcome a bit of a tolerance level. The primary form of cannabis selected by consumers of this variety is likely, upper-mid-tier flower.
Concentrates are consumed here and there, but the effort and tools involved to consume concentrates consistently, preclude these consumers from enjoying them frequently. However, concentrates are presumably a welcome indulgence when all the tools are provided in a convenient, low effort format. Therefore, the perfect gift for a casual consumer in your life, is infused pre rolls. Whether it be a single, or multi-pack, infused pre-rolls provide that extra boost in potency that is perfect for some holiday indulgence while maintaining the convenience necessary for a casual consumer to take a break from their regularly scheduled flower consumption regimen. Infused pre-rolls come in many shapes and sizes, but California Love infused pre-roll singles come in a nifty 1g single with eye-catching packaging, and a price tag that won’t break the bank. The indica, sativa, and hybrid offerings make for a perfect variety pack that has you covered from Christmas morning, through the midday debate over clean up, and all the way through to the evening nightcap when extended family has finally departed and the couch is alllllllll yours.
The cash-strapped cannabis lover
Ballin on a budget is universal. Whether you love shoes (actually, if you answered yes to this question you certainly call them sneakers), cars, jewelry, or Faberge eggs, everyone’s got something they’re a little bit more passionate about than their wallet says they should be. Many may circle the same Christmas tree this year with someone whose gratification comes in the form of little green buds. You surely cannot go wrong with an ounce bag that’s a step above what this individual usually purchases for themselves, but once again, this guide will not condone mundane gift-giving.
Luckily, it won’t take much to think slightly outside the box for a recipient like this one, because ultimately, quantity is the name of the game here. So how can we take a walk down quantity avenue with a small detour on creativity lane while keeping the entire journey grounded in quality-ville? The answer is simply a high volume pre roll multi pack. By bestowing upon this consumer their half oz of cannabis already rolled up for them, the gift provides dual value by way of cannabis plus convenience. The nature of the product itself also unlocks some verbal additions that may coincide with unwrapping the gift to maximize impact and effectiveness. A joke that always hits home around the family is to poke fun at consumption rates of a heavy stoner, so lines such as “how about just 3 joints before dinner instead of the whole bag, terrance,” are certain to hit home.
As with any gift, It also never hurts to point out explicitly, work that’s being done for the receiver by way of the gift. So sprinkling in a joke like “yeah, I rolled all those up myself for you” will serve as a reminder they’re not going to need to roll any joints themselves, and likely will also come along with a satisfying holiday chuckle. You may be wondering, however, if a high enough volume pre roll pack exists to satiate the cannabis appetite of this caliber consumer. Well, look no further than California Love Cruisers. These nifty gifties provide 14 grams of ground cannabis rolled up in 1g pre rolls, which are perfect for the high volume cannabis consumer in your life because they’re sure to find half gram joints inconvenient and unsatisfactory (their words, not mine). Pick up a hybrid jar so they can spark ‘em up all throughout the day this holiday season.
The light user
Do you enjoy cannabis primarily within the comfort of your own home? Do social interactions induce anxiety when under the influence of cannabis? Are you likely to misplace a basic item and waste 20 minutes in search of said item only to find it in your left hand the entire time, while under the influence of cannabis? Do you take pleasure in regular cannabis consumption despite these qualities?
If you, or someone you’ll be shopping for this holiday season answered yes to these questions, you may be a light user! The key to imparting some thoughtfulness and creativity in a gift for a light user is to drill down on dosage. Given the delicate relationship a light user sustains with our fair lady, Mary Jane, it is critical to walk the potency tight rope, because “too high” territory is easily breached. So how can you ensure a light user consistently finds themselves in the goldilocks zone of getting high? The answer comes in the form of a low milligram edible.
Edibles have come a long way since you ate a homemade brownie in high school and found yourself stoned for 72 hours straight. Edibles may represent the most stark transition in product consistency and reliability from the unregulated market into our modern day recreational one.
When it comes to inhalable cannabis goods like flower, pre rolls, or concentrates, potency information can always be found on product packaging. However, dosage varies inherently via consumption method and biological uptake. For example, taking 1 rip of a joint will have a different impact than 1 toke of a bong. The variance will then increase based on the amount of time the hit is held in. On top of that, you might find yourself floating through space with that one hit while your buddy next to you barely has a buzz on. While person-to-person variance will still exist, finding the right edible dosage for your recipient this holiday season should promote a consistently comfortable experience perfect for a couple episodes of your favorite new show on Netflix before hitting the hay.
Two brands reliable for both quality and consistency are Kanha with their Nano line, and Kiva with their Camino line of gummies. Both brands feature a range of flavors with enough variety to tickle the fancy of any flavor fanatic. Additionally, both Kanha and Kiva produce 5mg & 10 mg options, along with an assortment of cannabinoid pairings including THC/CBD, THC/CBG, and more! The light user in your life is sure to thank you for bringing moderation and consistency into their daily cannabis consumption regimen.
The cannabis-curious parent
Anyone else’s parents go from ball-busting in your teenage years to full-blown canna-curious now that there’s a cute little dispensary around the block and colorful billboards all around town? Well, good news, the modern-day recreational market has developed a range of products that will feel as familiar to mom as her nightly glass (or seven) of red wine, and to Dad as a few Coors Lites. Consumable cannabis products have evolved beyond solid state and are now available in a wide range of delectable cannabis beverages! Whether you’re shopping for a beer, wine, cider, or seltzer drinker, there’s an available cannabis beverage to serve as a near-perfect analog. Furthermore, these beverages are available in so many shapes, sizes, and dosages that they can replace just one glass of wine or the full bottle that mom swears she only drank half of!
A defining characteristic of cannabis beverages, as they relate to the preconceived notions of the parental age group, is that it allows this demographic to arrive at the positive state of cannabis influence (ie “get high”) without having to go anywhere near the myriad of tools, smells, environments, etc that they were not only raised to detest but also have warned you off of throughout your upbringing. Finally, mom can enjoy the experience of being high without seeing any cannabis flower, using a grinder, hearing the flick of a lighter, smelling the burnt cannabis fill the room, or inhaling and exhaling that sweet sweet smoke. The stigma of cannabis consumption diminishes to the point that common ground can be found over enjoyment of what the divine plant has to offer, and you can finally utter a very satisfying “I told you Mom” as you melt into the couch together.
A few very simple, introductory cannabis beverages that are delicious, familiar to their alcohol cousins and low dose enough to keep the zero-tolerance crowd from booking a one-way ticket to the moon are the infused, non-alcoholic cider, Malus, the infused, non-alcoholic wine, Herbacée, or the infused, ready-to-drink cocktail, Klaus, formulated by master mixologist Warren Bobrow. If you are looking to go the seltzer route, CANN seltzers come in 4, fun and creative flavor combinations, and are visually appealing enough to pique the interest of moms and dads alike!
