Author Archives: yourcannabuds

Dixie Synergy CBD:THC Balm Review

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Dixie’s Synergy Relief Balm is infused with 50mg each of THC and CBD in the 1.7 ounce package. Its focus is on easing deep muscle aches, joint pain, and inflammation. Dixie says is is ideal for joint mobility, muscle relaxation, easing acute muscle and nerve pain.

Dosing

Since it is a balm and not divided into doses, it can be difficult to get the dose right. For example, if my usual dose is 10mg and the package contains 50mg, does that mean I need to use one fifth of the product? It has the consistency of a balm and is in a container you cannot see through, so trying to get the dose right could be a challenge. As with all edibles, tinctures, patches, creams and balms, it is best to start with a small amount.

Try a little on your skin just to see if you notice any effect and to make sure you don’t have an adverse reaction, since some folks have sensitive skin. Like all topicals, since it is absorbed through the skin and not into the bloodstream, it doesn’t produce the psychoactive effects typically associated with THC.

Dixie Balm Synergy ReliefProduct

This product is vegetarian friendly and it contains beeswax, so it may not be suitable for vegans that don’t consume honey or other animal products. It is based in infused olive oil, with other oils such as cocoa butter and castor seed oil. Along with the THC and CBD oil are various essential oils including rosemary, lavender, cedar wood, and pine. The smell is nice and mild, with the fragrances of the lavender, and other oils without any of the camphor or other strong smells in other topicals and transdermals.

While the oils make for good moisturizing, they leave the skin greasy initially. The greasy film gets absorbed eventually but it does linger for quite a while. Don’t put on any delicate fabric like silk on over this balm unless you want grease stains on your clothes. Expect to leave greasy hand prints around too, so be sure to wash your hands after you use the balm.

Effects

I tried the balm on a variety of muscle and nerve pain points. I found it to be effective when used on specific types of pain, such as nerve pain in my feet and muscle pain in my leg. I found it less effective treating joint pain or anything deeper than surface muscle and nerve pain. It’s hard for a topical to penetrate deep into joints from the skin and I didn’t find it effective for that type of pain. While I wasn’t able to dispense the product in any type of consistent dose, I found that using a generous amount was needed to get the desired effects. Just using a little produced no effects for me.

The product can get hard in cold weather, but I found it quite pliable at normal room temperature. I found that 2 or 3 pea-sized portions dug out by my finger was the amount I needed to cover the back of my hand or the top of my foot.

The Synergy Relief balm is a good choice to try if you are looking for a topical rich in natural oils that can address muscle or nerve pain. While it does not work on all types of pain and does come with the greasiness, I found it effective for treating minor aches and pains.

Currently available in California, Nevada, Colorado, Michigan, and Maryland.

Flavor: n/a

Strength: 4/10

Website: http://dixieelixirs.com/product/synergy-relief-balm/

Kiva Camino Wild Cherry Excite Cannabis Gummies Review

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Camino cannabis gummies come in an Excite formula with a Wild Cherry flavor. This formula has 5mg of THC and 0mg of CBD per serving, for a total of 100mg THC and 0mg of CBD per package. As with the rest of the Kiva Camino range of edibles, these gummies are not just infused with distilled THC but are formulated with natural terpenes to create specific effects.

Kiva Camino Excite Cannabis Infused Gummies Red Tin

My local dispensary charges $20 for a package, making it $2.00 for each 10mg serving of THC, the same price point as the Kiva Cannabis 100mg Chocolate bars. These gummies do contain gelatin, so they are not vegetarian or vegan friendly. The screw top tin is one you push down to turn and open. The gummies are not individually wrapped.

Dosing & Flavor

The smell from the gummies is as expected a cherry smell. Like the other Camino gummies, they have a lovely opaque appearance and a soft texture that is easy to bite through.

The flavor is a regular cherry flavor that doesn’t have any bad aftertaste. A mild sour note from citric acid gives these that sour-ish twist to the cherry flavor. I’m not a cherry flavor fan, so I don’t rate these high in taste, but they are perfectly fine even for a cherry flavor hater.

As we always recommend with new edibles, try half of your usual dose before trying a full dose as you never know how strong something will effect you. The Camino Excite gummies are easy to bite in half to give a 2.5mg THC dose. Since I am experienced with edibles and my usual dose is 10mg of THC, I began with one piece, with 5mg THC. After having only light effects for that trial run, I then moved closer to my usual dose, taking two gummies for a total dose of 10mg THC. I also tried 12.5 mg using two and a half 5,g pieces to see if the effects were more noticeable.

Effects

The effects I experienced were not substantial for me, but were a very pleasant mildly relaxing and elevated sensation. Like most edibles, the impact often reflects and amplifies your state of mind. If you are not “in the mood”, these will not suddenly put you in the mood in my opinion, but if you are feeling frisky, these can smooth the path by heightening your senses and increasing sensations. These could really boost your fun if the timing is right.

Overall enjoyable with no negative effects like drowsiness or a too spaced-out head effect. Good flavor profiles and type-specific effects are exactly what I look for in an edible and Kiva’s Camino gummies do a great job on both counts.

Read reviews of other Camino gummies here.

Taste: 7

Strength: 6

Website: https://kivaconfections.com/products/camino-gummies

Utopia California Cannabis-Infused Macaroons Review

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Utopia’s Cannabis-infused macaroons are tasty circles full of organic ingredients. They are raw, paleo-friendly, kosher friendly, gluten free, non-gmo and vegan. Only the salt is not organic, every other ingredient in these edibles is organic. They do contain tree nuts and peanuts, and are processed in a facility that processes both of those and soy products, for those with allergies.

They come in four flavors, Vanilla, Raspberry, Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter. All of them are made with a hybrid mix of strains, so they are neither Sativa or Indica.

They can be hard to find sometimes and a recent review of their website, indicating where their edibles are sold, did not match with what the dispensaries had, which could mean that they are sold out or they may not make all of the flavors anymore, hard to tell. They come in a package of 10, each with 10mg of THC, or for medical, a package of four cookies each with 50mg ( a very high dose and only for experienced medical patients).

Taste

The macaroon flavor is naturally pretty coconut focused with a finish of the labeled flavor – Vanilla, Raspberry, Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter. There is no artificial or strong cannabis oil taste.

The Peanut Butter flavor smells and tastes like a typical peanut butter macaroon – chewy yet a little dry. They start out mildly moist and they can go dry easily so it’s best to make sure you reseal the package tightly. The package says to store at room temperature, as refrigeration can dry them out, but I did keep them in the refrigerator after a few weeks to keep them fresh. I just don’t use them often enough to keep them out for too long. While you can get away with eating these cookies without liquid, some coffee, almond milk, or tea to go with them is a welcome addition.

The flavors are basically coconut, sweeteners (agave syrup and coconut sugar) and some natural flavor, so not a lot of complexity but a solid basic taste.

Ingredients & Packaging

I like that most of the ingredients are organiz and are ones that I use in cooking myself, not a lot of extra chemicals or preservatives.

Packaging is mercifully easy to open, with a tear strip that exposes a resealable closure similar to many child-safe pouches. There are helpful graphics on the package to help users get the bag open.

Effects

The effects seem to run down the expected hybrid middle. You don’t get the focus, uplift and energy to run around and get a lot accomplished you’d get from Sativa, nor do you get a strong body relaxation you would get with an Indica. It’s a mildly stoned mixed feeling between a head and body high.

I didn’t find them especially strong, so if you are sensitive to the effects of edibles or just starting to try them, this type of more mild cannabis edible would be a good fit. I would need to boost them with a 2.5 mg dose of another edible or a transdermal gel to get the impact I get from stronger edibles at a 10mg dose. They are pretty easy to cut in half when they are fresh, so you can try half a dose first, which is always smart when trying a new edible.

I think Utopia makes some very good cannabis edibles. I wish they made Sativa/Indica type specific versions, and I would love it if they would share which strain or strains they use. It can be hard to find edibles that are organic as well as vegan, gluten free and non-gmo, so if those characteristics are important to you, these are a good choice.

Taste: 7

Strength: 5

Website: https://www.utopiacannabis.com/

Kiva Camino Watermelon Lemonade Bliss Cannabis Gummies Review

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Camino cannabis gummies come in a Bliss Social formula with a Watermelon Lemonade flavor. This formula has 5mg of THC and 0mg of CBD per serving, for a total of 100mg THC and 0mg of CBD per package. As with the rest of the Kiva Camino range of edibles, these gummies are not just infused with distilled THC but are formulated with natural terpenes to create specific effects.

Kiva Camino Bliss Cannabis Infused Gummies 100mg tin

My local dispensary charges $20 for a package, making it $2.00 for each 10mg serving of THC, the same price point as the Kiva Cannabis 100mg Chocolate bars. These gummies do contain gelatin, so they are not vegetarian or vegan friendly. The tin is one you push in while you turn to open. The gummies are not individually wrapped.

Dosing & Flavor

The smell from the tin is a natural lemon and fruit smell. Like the other Camino gummies, they have a lovely opaque appearance and a soft texture that is easy to bite through.

The flavor is a mild natural lemonade and fruit flavor that doesn’t have any bad aftertaste. A mild sour note gives these that suggestion of lemonade and the fruit flavors suggests watermelon, but I don’t feel these taste a lot like watermelon.

As we always recommend with new edibles, try half of your usual dose before trying a full dose as you never know how strong something will effect you. The Camino Social gummies are easy to bite in half to give a 5mg THC. Since I am experienced with edibles and my usual dose is 10mg of THC, I began with one piece, with 5mg THC. After having only light effects for that trial run, I then moved closer to my usual, taking two gummies for a total dose of 10mg THC. I sometimes use two and a half pieces for a 12.5mg dose of THC when I want a stronger effect, if I have recently eaten or if I’ve taken CBD, which can tamp down the effects for me.

Kiva Camino Cannabis Infused GummiesHero Marquee

Effects

The effects I experienced were a lovely elevated and relaxed feeling, while still being alert and energetic. I love these for interacting with nature whether it’s gardening, a forest “bath” or a walk on the beach. As someone who enjoys photography, these are great for staying alert to great images without feeling over-hyped and at the same time the mild relaxation leaves you open to possibility. A very positive effect that feels mostly like a Sativa-type effect of elevated mind along with an Indica kind of body relaxation that isn’t too strong that you just want to sit down.

Enjoyable flavor profiles and type-specific effects are exactly what I look for in an edible and Kiva’s Camino gummies do a great job on both counts.

Read the review of the other Camino gummies here.

Taste: 8

Strength: 7

Website: https://kivaconfections.com/products/camino-gummies

Super CBD Blueberry Chill Pills Review

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Super CBD Blueberry Chill Pills were very highly recommended to me by my favorite budtender with the day-glo yellow hair. She warned me that they were very strong and to take a smaller dose than usual. Super CBD blueberry chill pills have more THC than CBD so they will give you a decent buzz.

However, the taste was so nasty and medicinal that I almost spit it out. I couldn’t find any blueberry flavor whatsoever, it was like sucking on a NYQUIL lozenge for 5 minutes. I wouldn’t recommend this product because of its taste alone. It’s discreet and compact. Yes, it’s strong, but it tastes repulsive.

After an hour and fifteen minutes I was able to feel a calm, full body buzz. It was strong and I was very happy that I listened to my budtender regarding a smaller dose.

As far as pain management, I felt significant relief for the bruises on my leg from falling down (not so eloquently) and complete relief of a wrist burn from making tea. I was feeling achy and sore. The pain disappeared for several hours.

The taste isn’t great, it is sort of like eating cannabis shatter or oil. The slight berry taste just doesn’t compete well with the strong cannabis oil taste.  They are meant primarily for medical use more than getting a buzz.

Chill pills come in medical and recreational versions. Both have 10mg of THC from a hybrid strain. The medical version has 10mg of CBD in each pill, the recreational/adult use version has 5mg of CBD. They are part of a line of chill pills from The Growing Kitchen .

I tried mine at the end of a day working in the garden, feel pretty sore and wanting to chill out. Within 90 minutes my muscle soreness was significantly reduced. I felt relaxed but very able to function. There was no couch-lock or heavy head effect, just a nice anti-stress and pain relief effect. Just the kind of chill out experience I was hoping for. After eating the effects were reduced and after about 3 hours I was feeling a little tired, likely a combination of just being tired plus the relaxing effects of the THC and CBD.

I was not put off by the less-than pleasant taste and if you are looking for a solid medicinal effect, this can be a great choice. As always, start with a low dose – these are potent!

Taste: 3

Strength: 8

Website: http://thegrowingkitchen.org/edibles/

Plus Products Cannabis Infused Gummies Review

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Plus Products makes several types of cannabis infused gummies. There are Sativa, Indica and Hybrid formula gummies that have 5mg of THC per gummy. They come in packages of twenty 5mg pieces.

plus-sativa-sour-watermelon-open.jpgI always prefer cannabis edibles that indicate Sativa, Indica, or a hybrid, so I like that Plus has products labeled Sativa and Indica. I like it even better when edibles provide the name of the strain used to make the THC oil, but unfortunately there is no indication of what strain is used for these gummies. The website does say “Each low-calorie gummy is made from scratch with natural, kosher ingredients and infused with carefully sourced top shelf flower.” but doesn’t give any indication which strain of flower.

Besides the Sativa Sour Watermelon flavor, the company uses a similar formula for their Blackberry & Lemon Indica gummies that have a 9:1 THC to CBD ratio, a Sour Blueberry Hybrid and their Pineapple & Coconut gummies with CBD and no THC.

In 2018, Plus did make three limited edition flavors – Rose & Vanilla with a 2:1 THC to CBD ratio, a Rainbow Sorbet, both labeled as Hybrid with no strain indication and a Cranberry Shortbread Sativa.

Packaging is a Big Fail

There is a lot not to like about how this product is packaged. Shame on their product packaging designer for thinking that white text on a pale pink background for the Sativa product is legible. In low light, for folks with impaired vision or for those that are color blind, this packaging is very difficult to read. Not only is it difficult to read, it has a complicated child safety mechanism. When you can’t figure out the packaging and the instructions are nearly impossible to read, this is a product that starts out being very frustrating before it is even open, which does not create a good start to the experience.

As you tear off the top of the package, you have to be careful of the ziploc-type slider mechanism hidden inside the part you tear off. It is very hard to see whether you are tearing off the whole zipper mechanism or just the top of the bag. Once the top is off and if you have managed not to destroy the “zipper”, it is very unclear what happens next. If it didn’t require a flood light to read the text on the package, than it might be easier to figure out, but it isn’t. You are supposed to align the slider with a tiny notch in the closure and then push down on the slider. Unfortunately they don’t give you any hint which part of the slider is supposed to be aligned with the notch, so you have to keep trying the slider in different positions to try to make it work. By this point even a reasonable person would be ready to take a knife and destroy the packaging in frustration or just dump the whole thing in the garbage.

Once you have found the magic coordinates to make the slider work, it creates an opening about 75% of the width of the tin inside, making it difficult to get the tin inside out of the packaging. If you try to make the opening wider, the slider pulls off of the mechanism, ruining the child proof packaging. Trying to force the slider back onto the mechanism is difficult and then once you do, the opening mechanism doesn’t work. Only by prying open the bag can you access the tin with the gummies inside.

This product officially wins my award for the worst packaging of any edible I have tried. The manufacturer who produces this packaging and Plus Products should both re-examine this terrible design. Why create a frustrating customer experience that makes a person never want to buy their product again – not a good recipe for profit and sustainability. My only crime was wanting to try your gummies, I didn’t expect a packaging  obstacle course.

Taste

The gummies are very soft tiny little squares, about one quarter inch square. No wonder they say they are low calorie, they are so tiny they can’t hold a lot of calories. They are not sticky and look to be covered in a sugar coating.

The flavor – in this case the Sour Watermelon – was very subtle. I barely tasted any sour watermelon taste, it was more like a generic citric acid fruit taste plus a THC taste. A look at the ingredients may have the answer why.

The first ingredient is Beef Gelatin, which makes me go “yuck”. I’m not a vegan but I do try to avoid animal products, especially those from boiled cow hoofs. The other ingredients are sugar, salt, citric acid, tartaric acid, natural flavors and colors. Not exactly an ingredient list to get my taste buds excited. There was a definite THC aftertaste once the taste of salty acid and beef hooves fades.

Strength

I usually prefer a Sativa edible to give me some uplift, energy and focus to get things done or enjoy creative pursuits. I first tried one of the 5mg pieces and felt nothing for hours. I then tried two pieces to bring me to my normal does of 10mg. I found them slow to start and while they are slightly uplifting, I got very little energy from them. That was about the extent of the effect.

It was not at all what I usually expect to get out of 10mg of THC from a Sativa strain. I felt slightly stoned but I did not feel uplifted or creative or energetic. After a couple of hours even the slight effects were gone.

This is closest I have come, when taking my usual 10mg dose of THC in edibles, to feeling like I took nothing at all. Except for a slight initial effect, the effects were otherwise non-existent. I have tried some mild edibles but this may be the most mild.

PLus gummies rainbow

I did find that they are a good strength to boost the effects when I’ve had 10mg of another edible and I want a stronger effect. About two hours after taking 10mg of another edible, if I want a stronger effecting I find that adding one of the 5mg Plus pieces gave a nice little boost.

Claims

The company website includes the claim “Our products act faster and taste better because our research and manufacturing teams have spent the time to develop industry leading patent pending processes.” They give no explanation as to what those processes are or how much faster they claim to work. Without any supporting information, these come off as marketing claims that sound false, even if they are true.

In what I think is a hilarious mistake, the “Press and Investor” website press page shows what looks like the manufacturing floor, with people in robes working on pans of product and boxes in a bleak warehouse. Unfortunately most of them are not wearing face masks and at least half of them have their hair nets on wrong, not covering all of their hair. A food inspector would likely shut the place down or give a warning at a minimum.

With the frustrating packaging, the lack of great taste and the very mild effects, this is a cannabis edible I cannot recommend without reservation. While it is okay as a booster edible, there are much better choices out there both for gummies and other edibles.

Gummies we do like include Valhalla & Highly Edible cannabis infused gummies.

Flavor: 3

Strength: 3

Website: https://www.plusproducts.com/