Dear Stoner: What's the Difference Between Shake and Trim?

Dear Stoner: What’s the difference between shake and trim?
Sandy

Dear Sandy: The big difference is that shake is the stuff that falls off nugs to the bottoms of bags, jars and other containers, while trim is a collection of pot leaves that have trichomes on them. Although I’m not the biggest fan of shake — much of it can still be leaves that were never trimmed off the flower — at least it contains some crushed buds and calyxes worth smoking. Unfortunately for consumers, many shops fail to respect the difference between the two or educate their customers about it, as many of the pre-rolls and “shake specials” on dispensary shelves are just shredded sugar leaves. Yeah, smoking a lot of trim will get you high, but it’ll also burn your throat and muck up your lungs much more than nugs or shake ever would. If you’re going to buy a pre-roll or shake from a dispensary or street dealer, ask to see how much leaf is in there.
Dear Stoner: What are some good dispensaries in Denver for someone who’s very picky? I’ll pay for quality. Thanks!
Drew

Dear Drew: There are more than enough pot shops in Denver to satisfy even the highest stoner standards, but I understand your hesitation to blindly walk into the first one you see, since that can quickly turn into an expensive lesson on how not to grow and cure pot. There are over 200 dispensaries in the city (more if you count the metro area), and the quality and price can vary greatly from place to place. But if you know what part of town you’re in and are willing to spend the extra cash, finding some connoisseur-level herb should be pretty easy.

In central Denver, the choices are abundant: L’Eagle, Advanced Medical Alternatives and Denver Relief are just a few dispensaries that come to mind. All of them sell tasty, potent buds that’ll make your eyes roll back and your toes curl — in a good way. In the southeast part of town, shops like Kind Love, Green Man and the Clinic grow amazing weed that rarely, if ever, disappoints picky noses and tastebuds. Head north and check out Denver Dispensary for impressive phenotypes of classic strains, or iVita Wellness for dank hybrids with exceptional genetics. I wish I could list every Denver pot shop that sells quality product, but space is limited here. For more guidance, go to westword.com/marijuana and check out my top ten strains of 2015.

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