Tag Archives: CBD

Mountain High Cannabis Caramel Apple Sucker Review

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The Caramel Apple flavored sucker is just one of many flavors of infused hard candy made by Mountain High Suckers. They are labeled as THC + CBD enriched and contain 8.29 mg THC and 1.53mg of CBD. Mountain High Suckers is a well-established and trusted brand of infused hard candy edibles, made in Colorado since 2009.

As regular More Than Buds readers will know, I prefer it when edibles are labeled as Indica or Sativa, so we know which kinds of effects to expect. The Caramel Apple sucker, like many of their suckers, are not labeled. Mountain High now has a sucker that is not only labeled with a type (Indica or Sativa) but is strain-specific, made with Blue Dream. They also make sugar free suckers, which is a great addition to their offerings.

Mountain High Suckers Carmel Apple picture of the green lollipop with caramel coating

Mountain High Suckers Carmel Apple lollipop with caramel coating

The Caramel Apple flavor is true to its name, with an almost Jolly Racher-esque apple flavor, complemented by a delicious caramel. By mistake I had kept this one past the expiration date and it was as good as if it were fresh. I always recommend taking edibles before their expiration date, this was just a test for our lab. A nice bonus is that it doesn’t need refrigeration. When eating it, the sucker lasted as long as lollipops not infused with cannabis and had a background taste of THC that remained, with the caramel, as part of the aftertaste.

The effects were felt within an hour, a primarily relaxing body high. At first that lead me to guess that it was made with Indica or a hybrid Indica-dominant strain. Fortunately it was taken in the late afternoon when that relaxing body effect is desired. If I had taken it in the morning I would have felt relaxed but also slightly lethargic and lazy. I experienced some of the Sativa head effects of focus and creativity, so this is likely a hybrid strain

My usual dose of THC in an edible is 10 – 15 mg, and this sucker contains an 8.29mg dose, so the effect was understandably more mild. The effect lasted the usual expected length, about 4 hours of the strongest effect then 2 hours of a more mild effect before it faded out. As expected, eating dinner half way through the effect zone reduced the impact, but it did rebound more than expected after about 45 minutes. The CBD dose was so small that it felt similar to taking a single low dose aspirin, a tiny bit of overall pain relief but nothing significant.

If you are not concerned with the Sativa/Indica labeling of your edibles and are looking for a hybrid impact to both your head and your body, this is a great tasting choice. It lasts a long time without refrigeration, includes a small CBD dose for pain and has good staying power.

Strength: 6

Taste: 7

Website: MountainHighSuckers.com

Kikoko Little Helpers Cannabis Infused Mints Review

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Kikiko has a line of Little Helpers mints that deliver various combinations of THC, THCV, CBD and CBN. Each one is formulated to deliver specific effects, as their names indicate: Calm, Sleep, Focus, Buzz, Boost

Spearmint Lavender flavor Calm is for relaxing with 5mg CBD & 2.5mg THC. Sugar free, dairy free, and gluten free. These also contain organic moringa, l-theanine, lavender and spearmint.

Sleep is Spearmint Rose Chamomile flavor. To help you sleep it has 3mg CBN, 2mgTHC (Indica) and 1mg Melatonin per piece. Sugar free, dairy free, and gluten free.

Focus is Hibiscus Orange flavor and it has 3mg CBD & 1mg THC plus Vitamin B. Sugar free, dairy free, and gluten free.

Boost Coconut Yuzu has 2.5mg THCV, 2.5mg THC and Matcha. THCV promotes clarity and energy. They are sugar and gluten free.

Buzz is Watermelon Basil flavor, with 5mg THC and Vitamin D3 – essential for immunity and bone health. Vegan, sugar free, dairy free, and gluten free.

Kikoko uses organic ingredients and high quality cannabis in their products, so they are a premium product. This creates a price point per dose that is higher than the average edible or beverage.

Calm and Sleep

The Calm and Sleep mints work very well. About 45 minutes after use I start to feel very relaxed. With the Sleep one, after an hour I usually feel like heading to bed. I am able to fall asleep easily and stay asleep. If I do get up it is not hard to get back to sleep. I sometimes feel a little something different in the morning, but too slight to call it a hangover, let’s call it a fuzziness that dissipates quickly.

For both of these the THC dose is low, but you definitely feel the calming effects of the Indica cannabis. They both have a definite spearmint flavor, so you need to be a fan of mint to enjoy the taste. I would surely recommend their use as part of an evening wind down or anti-anxiety routine.

Boost, Buzz and Focus

Buzz has the most THC of any of the Kikoko Little Helpers at 5mg. Due to that dosage, this mint has the strongest “elevating” properties. Focus is mostly CBD, intended to provide focus without a high. Boost is in the middle with its 2.5 of THC and THCV.

While I usually take some caffeine with edibles, the matcha and vitamins in these edibles provide a good amount of energy. I started to feel the effects in a mild way in about an 45 minutes, which is longer than usual, but everyone is different and reacts differently to different products. These may take longer to have the effects felt than other edibles or, so be patient when waiting for the effects. Your results may vary.

With Focus, after two hours I was feeling a mild effect, what I usually expect from a 10mg THC dose when it is paired with CBD, because for me CBD reduces the impact of THC. The effect was noticeable, and just what you want if you’re looking for focus without a high feeling.

So many things effect how we respond on different days like the type and amount of food in our system. My experience is that this product is good for people who want a mild effect from the 5mg, 2.5 or 1mg THC dose. My usual is a 10mg dose, so after trying just one to judge the impact, another time I moved up to 10mg which was a good amount for me.

At my dispensary most of the mints are $20, with the sleep slightly higher. The Boost are much more and one of the more expensive cannabis edibles per 10mg dose that are available due to the THCV. For our chart of comparing your cost per 10mg THC dose, see our Cost Per Dose post.

Kikoko’s Little Helpers are an excellent, high quality and unique way to elevate. Good flavor profiles, good strength and specific formulations make this a solid choice, especially when you want to treat yourself or those you love.

Taste: 6

Strength: 6

Website: www.kikoko.com

Atlas Pomegranate Green Tea CBD + THC Cannabis Beverage Mix Review

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Pomegranate Green Tea cannabis-infused beverage mix from Atlas lets you make your own beverage and moderate your dose once you mix it up. Each package comes with 10mg of CBD and 5mg of THC. The package is a single serving that you mix with 12 oz. of water and they recommend you do not separate the powder into portions before you mix it up.

As with all edibles and drinkables, it’s important to try new products at half of your usual dose the first time, until you know how strong the effects are for you. Since my usual dose of THC is 10mg and up to 15mg for CBD, I was willing to try this package since, in my experience, CBD reduces the impact of THC.

If you are sensitive to THC or CBD, or you don’t know what your tolerance is, only drink half of the mix you make and wait two hours to make sure you don’t take more than is enjoyable for you. That will give you 5mg of CBD and 2.5 mg of THC, which for some folks is plenty.

The package needs to be cut open to pour out the powder. There was a distinctive sugar and red Kool-Aid type smell from the powder. They recommend that you add the powder to twelve ounces of water in a container with a lid you can close so you can shake it up to mix it.

The ingredients include a few forms of sweetener including cannabis-infused cane sugar. It also contains stevia, which I find gives a dry aftertaste.

Taste

I use stevia for coffee and tea, but I find the aftertaste too pronounced and unpleasant to be enjoyable for most cold drinks. It is too much for me in this product, as there is slight citric acid aftertaste along with the stevia taste and I found that unpleasant. It made me want to drink something else to get the taste out of my mouth.

This tasted more like lemonade with some red, cherry-like flavor more than pomegranate to me. It reminded me of that red, generic flavored powdered kids drink mix, but more tart with the citric acid lemony taste and the stevia aftertaste. The ingredients list natural flavors but doesn’t say what those flavors are. Beet juice makes the reddish color, so there are no artificial colors used.

Effects

I did begin to feel the effects within a half hour, with the reduction of any pain from inflammation I might be experiencing lessened, which I usually find with CBD. Being a liquid, there is less a bit less digesting to be done, so I usually find that cannabis infused beverages have a slightly faster onset for me than most edibles.

There is no indication of what strain(s) are used when extracting the THC, so it can be hard to judge what impact to expect. I found the effects slightly relaxing and it gave me a slightly stoned feeling mentally. I always prefer to know what strain was used or if it is a sativa, indica or hybrid, as that can tell me what impact I can expect.

I find CBD is much more effective on pain and discomfort when paired with THC, so I appreciate the 2-1 ration of Atlas’s beverage mix. I don’t expect a CBD-focused product to give me the elevated experience of a product that is purely or primarily THC. Expect the pain relief, relaxation and anti-inflammatory impacts that are typical for CBD.

Wrap Up

At my dispensary, a single serving size is priced at $7.50 plus tax. They do sell a four-pack, priced at $22 plus tax, bringing the price down to $5.50 per dose before tax. If you look at our Cost Per 10mg Dose comparison, this is on the more expensive end of options.

The effects are what I would expect from a 2-1 CBD + THC edible or drinkable. For me, the strong aftertaste was too much. I prefer the Lemongrass Ginger flavor. While I wouldn’t make this beverage mix part of my regular routine, for those who don’t mind the flavor and who like the effects provided, this could be a fine addition to their CBD edibles & drinkables collection.

Taste: 2

Strength: 6

Website: http://atlasedibles.com/pomegranate-green-tea

Zoots ZootRocks Cannabis Infused Caramel Nuggets Review

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Zoots Rocks Caramel canister next to 2 Rocks with the impression of the letter Z on each. A second round canister is shown for its Zoot Rocks logo

Zoots Rocks Caramel Premium Cannabis Infused Nuggets come in 5 mg THC doses. Zoots Rocks are suckers, they’re not chewy like caramel. They’re light small, flat cough drop-size edible that taste pretty good. Zoot Rocks come in six flavors – caramel, green apple, cinnamon, golden mint and lemongrass, zootberry and a CBD formula that is lemongrass flavored.

They have a buttery caramel flavor with just a slight hint of medicinal taste. This isn’t a product that tries to hide the THC taste underneath artificial flavors. I am used to the flavor of cannabis oil so I don’t find it unpleasant and it blends well with the caramel. From the website “Caramel ZootRocks are gluten free. ZootRocks are handmade from naturally sourced ingredients and contain no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.” The caramel flavor contains dairy and is sweetened with Isomalt and Stevia.

I tried Zoots several times. As always with new edibles, I tried half my usual dose before trying a full dose. I got almost no effect from half a dose. I tried a full dose two times and both times I didn’t feel much impact. I tried them again and found that, although they did not make a big impression on me at first, they worked very well and gave me the effects I enjoy. It’s a good reminder that, since so many things influence the effects from edibles, give them several tries with different levels of food in your system, making sure you eat something with some fat in it (like avocado, nuts or some mac & cheese) so the THC can bind to it. I’m glad I tried again, as the third time was the charm.

After sucking on the Zoots Rocks, I started to feel high in an hour and in another half an hour I was happily buzzed. The high was uplifting and energizing. The effects were really enjoyable. I was productive and my attitude was upbeat.

Zootrocks candies and a man paiting

Zoots caramel edibles have a strong uplifting, happy effect. I was alert and able to function well, felt comfortable in social situations, enjoyed food immensely and generally felt good. The impact lasted for a good 5 hours, and even lingered in a milder way after that. I always prefer when edibles provide an indication of effects, either by labeling products as Indica or Sativa or sharing the name of the cannabis strain used in production. I’d love to know what strain or strains Zoots is using. For me, it was a very Sativa-like experience without any of the lazy feeling I get with some Indica strains.

I highly recommend Zoots Rocks. They are super convenient and provide a consistent, pleasant buzz. Overall a solid cannabis edible that is small and durable enough to bring hiking. Zoots provides a happy, uplifting and creative effect that is what you want when looking for the euphoric THC effect.

Zoots edibles are available at licensed marijuana retailers in Illinois, Washington, Colorado and Massachusetts.

Strength: 9

Flavor: 7

Website: https://www.ionicbrands.com/our-brands

Atlas Lemon Cannabis Infused Gourmet Granola Trail Bar Review

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Atlas Cannabis Infused Gourmet Granola Trail Bar is a 1:1, having equal amounts of THC and CBD. This formula comes in a Lemon, Blueberry and Almond flavor with one bar containing 5mg of THC and 5mg of CBD.These are vegan and their only allergen is nuts.

Atlas has another bar called the Peak bar, with the same THC to CBD ratio, but with a Sativa dominant effect and Salted Caramel flavor. As with most Atlas products they are colorfully packaged (they describe the package artist on their website) and interestingly flavored.

Atlas Cannabis infused gourmet granola trail bar lemon, blueberry and almond with 5mg THC and 5mg CBD

Product

The packaging has to be somewhat child proof, so you do need to cut it open. A strong lemon smell greets you immediately. This is not a dry crunchy granola bar (when fresh, I can’t speak to it if you hold onto it for too long), it is a moist, chewy bar.

The flavor is Lemon turned up to 11. I love strong lemon flavor and I was a little taken aback by how lemony it was. I think it’s needed to avoid having you taste the cannabis oil and I was very happy with it as a lemon-flavor lover. The blueberry and almond provide a little bit of a taste counterpoint, but they are only the background at best. Very tasty and not a strong cannabis taste.

Effects

I found this bar to have relaxing effects, similar to an Indica-dominant hybrid strain. I was alert enough to pay attention but only in a laid back way. Eventually the relaxing effects took over and I could have easily rested my eyes for a while. I am sensitive to Indica strains, so for folks who like the Indica effects this may be perfect and they may not experience the strong relaxing effect I experienced. It was generally a balanced effect of being alert but feeling chill. I had a mild munchie effect from this edible, but nothing ravenous.

Overall a great tasting LEMON granola bar that is easily portable, has a nice chill experience and can be cut in half for a smaller dose experience.

Flavor: 7

Strength: 6.5

Website: atlasedibles.com/trail

Periodic Edibles Strain-Specific Artisan Cannabis Caramels Review

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Periodic Edibles makes four cannabis-infused caramels, an Indica, a Sativa, a Hybrid and a CBD formulation. Not only are they type-specific (Indica/Sativa/Hybrid/CBD), which I love, they are also strain specific which I love even more!

Each piece is labeled with exactly what strain of marijuana was used to make the caramel. The strain is indicated on the jars and packaging. Sometimes the farm is indicated as well. I tested a Sativa batch made with Cindy 99 (aka Cinderella 99) and an Indica batch made with Obama Kush. The CBD formula has 35mg of CBD and 20mg of THC. The Indica and Sativa caramels both have 50mg of THC.

They also make a “low dose” 10mg individual package as well as 50 mg vegan multi-packs. While the THC caramels are only available in Oregon, they ship their Hemp Caramels to 42 states. They label them as Balanced (Hybrid), Active (Sativa), Recover (CBD) and Relax (Indica). They also make a medical strength of 100mg for medical patients.

Periodic Caramel Pieces

Periodic Sea Salt Caramels are made with quality ingredients and they taste great. There is a medicinal taste to this cannabis edible, but it’s not off putting.The flavor reminds me of other cannabis caramels that have a pronounced THC oil taste. The taste is not medicinal or alcohol-like but you can taste the cannabutter in a pronounced way. The regular caramel is well made with a good cream and salt taste. This is made with butter and milk, so it is not suitable for vegans. They do make a vegan version, using canna-coconut oil.

The flavor was fine but I’m not a big fan of the taste overall. I did see on the website they have made a caramel apple flavor and an Indica lavender caramel, both of which sound great.

Two containers of Periodic Sea Salt Caramels in Indica and Sativa. Packaging showing total of 50mg THC per package.
Indica and Sativa strains of Periodic Sea Salt Caramels
THC and nutritional information in the back of Periodic Sea Salt Caramels
Dosing and nutritional information on the back of Periodic Sea Salt Caramels containers

The product comes as one large caramel. The package does come with an indicator on the wrapping to help you divide the caramel into 5mg serving sizes. Since the product is small (2 inches) I found it a little difficult to match the wrapper indicator with the knife, so I ended up with 8 pieces instead of 10, making for a dose size of 6.25mg for each piece. I wish there was some way for the manufacturer to score the caramels to make them easier to split into doses. Dosing is eyeballing a cutting pattern on the wrapper. It’s not ideal.

Once I had cut mine up and put them in the fridge for a 30 minutes, they split nicely into individual pieces. While they do hold their shape without refrigeration, I would plan to keep these in the refrigerator both to keep them fresh and to make them easier to handle as they can get sticky and gooey when it is warm.

Periodic Caramels Whole

As I always advise folks, I started with a small dose, taking one of the 6.25mg pieces. My usual dose is 10mg of THC so I expected to feel about 3/4 of the usual effects. I was surprised that after an hour I did not feel much. As I approached two hours without much effect, I took another piece, taking the dose up to 12.5mg. After 45 minutes I began to feel the effects. I took them as usual with coffee and a regular sized breakfast that included some fat to help the THC metabolize. What effects we experience from edibles can vary with what we have eaten, other chemicals in our systems, etc.

For some reason I did not feel a strong energetic effect from this Sativa edible. Likely this is due to it being made with a Sativa hybrid. Leafly describes Cinderella 99 as being known “for a potent cerebral high…dreamy, euphoric, and uplifting”. I did find it dreamy, with a more spacey head than other sativa edibles. I did find it uplifting but not energetic, so for me this is something I would rather use in the afternoon or evening than in the morning. I did not get the effects I was expecting for a Sativa, but now I know the effects of this strain and I can use it at a more appropriate time. I am happy to exchange my expectations for the ability to find exactly the effects I desire from particular strains.

Periodic Caramels Strain

The Obama Kush used in the Indica caramel is a strain with effects that are unusual for an Indica. Leafly describes it like this: “Obama Kush sets itself apart from other Indicas through its cerebral stimulation and euphoric rush. This strain is recommended for all levels of patients looking for a balanced experience, as it offers powerful physical effects as well as an intense cerebral uplift that does not stimulate appetite or put you to sleep.” So if you were hoping this Indica edible would put you to sleep, you would likely be disappointed.

This is a good reminder of the benefits of strain-specific edibles, as you can find strains that have combinations of effects that are more customized to a person’s needs. Rather than an Indica that helps you relax but puts you to sleep, you can find an Indica that helps you relax but you remain alert. Or instead of a focused, energetic high from a Sativa, you might prefer a dreamy, uplifting Sativa effect.

Made in Oregon and only available in that state as of 2021.

Flavor: 6

Potency: 5

Website: http://www.periodicedibles.com