Cannabis & More

Brace yourself, prudes: Infused product manufacturers have discovered how to incorporate cannabinoids into sex products, and you'd be surprised how far they go. Former adult-toy industry executive Angela Mustone founded HighOnLove in Canada, where cannabis is federally legal, so she could test out potential cannabinoid lubrications for sex in group studies. Calling THC-infused lube "the gift that keeps on giving" for the female orgasm, Mustone now sells cannabis-infused sex lubes, massage oils, chocolate body paint and lip gloss — which, according to Mustone, takes fellatio to another level — in Colorado dispensaries. The CBD products are used for comfort, while the THC serves the pleasure areas, but Mustone recommends using both to maximize sexy time.

Colorado Harvest Company founder Tim Cullen, a former teacher, nearly sold his dispensaries a couple of years ago, but ultimately decided to keep running the show. We're glad he did, because he's solved the equation of good weed at low prices. Open since 2009, Colorado Harvest Company boasts some of the best dispensary menus in the country, selling everything from $100 ounces to some of the state's most popular flower brands, including Cherry, Green Dot Labs, Locol Love and Snaxland. The internal grow is no slouch, either, regularly pumping out new strains to scratch that exclusivity itch so many cannabis collectors get. The concentrate lineup is just as stacked as the nursery, with extractions from 710 Labs, Green Dot, Olio and Soiku Bano priced as affordable payday treats. Show up with a modest budget at any of the chain's three stores in Aurora or Denver, and you can still leave with one bountiful bag.

Given how expensive concert tickets are, tourists deserve a good representation of Colorado cannabis when they visit. Solace Meds, a chain of dispensaries founded by former Denver Bronco Rod Bernstine, has all the fixings of a well-stocked store that an experienced shopper seeks, and you don't have to drive to Mordor to get there. Locations on South Broadway and East Colfax Avenue are short trips for anyone who wants to stay in the action while visiting Denver, and the Solace Meds store in Wheat Ridge, right off Interstate 70, is a quick pit stop during a trip to the mountains (as is the Solace Meds store in Fort Collins for all you brewery day trippers). The flower and concentrate lineups, full of names like 14er, Cookies, LoCol Love and Veritas, are trustworthy representations of Colorado cannabis. And unlike most stores with quality smokeables, Solace Meds has a vast treasure chest of edibles and vaporizer cartridges, so getting a sweet deal on an in-house chocolate bar or pre-rolled joints is a very attainable goal. Stock up, and leave the leftovers for us.

For all of RiNo's fine drinking options, good weed has been sorely lacking in the area. Thankfully, Callie's Cannabis Shoppe of Northglenn took over the Botanico location at 30th and Larimer streets last year (along with another former Botanico dispensary in west Denver). The family-owned operations sell stanky buds from Colorado's top gardens — Bloom County, Cuban Crew, Leiffa and Lemon Tree — as well as Callie's own grow. Parking is easy to find despite this store being a stone's throw from Larimer's popular watering holes, and those looking for a convenient purchase can usually find a good deal on gummies or a caviar joint, then quickly resume their day of defying death on electric scooters.

Throw a rock across any street downtown, and you have a good chance of hitting a dispensary. Despite the options, however, most cannabis users tend to avoid downtown dispensaries, fearing high prices and low parking availability. Unless there's a Rockies game, though, Den-Rec is a safe bet for an easy outing, and you won't have to worry about missing out on the primo. The store's cultivation likes to give customers options, with classics like Blue Dream, popular in-house strains like Four Kings, and even phenotypes of the same strain, so customers can choose which version of Holy Grail Kush they like best. There are more than enough edibles to satisfy an appetite, and Den-Rec's selection of premium concentrates is right up there with those of South Broadway dispensaries. While you can aways visit Den-Rec's other stores in south Denver or Lyons, you're not losing anything by shopping in the heart of the city with this one.

You can't remember to pack everything for every trip to the mountains, but no big deal: There are dispensaries in resort towns. It'll cost you, though, and they might not carry products you're familiar with. Before it's too late as you drive west on I-70 for the weekend, keep an eye out for Exit 243 Dispensary in Idaho Springs. This store, located right off the interstate and named after the nearby highway exit, has changed hands a few times over the years, but current ownership has created a good-enough menu to back up the visible location. Affordable and connoisseur buds are both at the ready, as are a deep edibles lineup and enough pre-rolls and vape cartridges to get every ski lift in Summit County high.

"Maiko" is the Japanese term for an apprentice geisha in Japan who performs during feasts and makes visitors feel welcome. You won't see the budtenders at Maikoh Holistics dancing a jig of any sort, but they will make you feel at home. The cannabis quality and prices are strong enough to prevent any harshing of your buzz, and the staffers add some good vibes, leaving you excited to try out your purchase but sort of sad to leave, too. It doesn't matter if you're indecisive, full of stupid questions or change your mind at the last second. You've got a friend in Maikoh.

Dispensary waiting rooms wouldn't exist at all if it were up to us. State laws mandate some sort of waiting area as budtenders serve one customer at a time, though, so props to the Herbal Cure for making the time fun and comfortable. The dispensary's saltwater fish tank is large and lively enough to keep you occupied for a few minutes, and if that's not enough, there's a stack of coffee-table books about everything from dogs to street art that will pique interests. With any luck, the wait won't be that long for some of south Denver's best cannabis, but if you do get stuck there on a Sunday, you shouldn't have any problem getting cozy.

It's best to check out A Cut Above's menu online or make a to-do list before going into the dispensary, where you'll find more flower than at a Home Depot nursery. In fact, this place has more options than an Instagram model, and each one looks just as good or better than the next. Denver's premier growers like to release their newest strains and harvests at A Cut Above, and eighths and quarters are always priced ahead of the curve. Few dispensaries in Colorado can match A Cut Above's mix of exclusivity and affordability, and that's why it stands out among dozens of dispensaries — despite being nestled in the inner corner of a parking lot on South Broadway's Green Mile. Just have your cash on hand, because chances are you'll leave with more than you intended.

There's no dip in quality here just because the names aren't new every week. Classics stay classic, and L'Eagle keeps growing them really, really well. Operated by John and Amy Andrle, the Denver dispensary isn't afraid to put an Apple Fritter, Ice Cream Cake or one of their own new creations on the shelf, but they also know how to play the hits. Blue Dream, Grape Ape, Green Crack, Strawberry Cough and John's favorite, Sour Diesel, are all fixtures at L'Eagle, and they're some of the best takes on the strains you'll find. Seeing one of those names on a dispensary menu is rare nowadays; five is a miracle. And that's just a portion of the throwbacks you'll find at L'Eagle, where Bruce Banner, Grand Daddy Purple and Pakistani Chitral Kush also make regular appearances.

Recreational marijuana buyers would likely be jealous if they saw the prices that medical patients get at Standing Akimbo, but we're not sure the north Denver medical marijuana dispensary could handle any more customers. The parking situation leaves a lot to be desired and the line tends to meet the sidewalk, but since Standing Akimbo has virtually unbeatable prices on popular edibles, flower and concentrate, deal-hungry patients argue that the wait is well worth it. Considering medical marijuana isn't covered by health insurance, those cost cuts can make all the difference.

Flash deals and coupons are great and all, but it's nice to know that there's always a bargain waiting for you at Higher Grade. The growing staff operates one of the better dispensary cultivations in Denver, and the stores — two medical-only and a recreational pot shop in Denver — like to pass the savings on to customers. Even with popular in-house flower, Higher Grade's wholesale selection from growers like Cherry, Cookies, Green Dot Labs and Veritas are priced competitively and are eligible for weekly deals, which span everything from edibles to rosin. Sign up as a Higher Grade member to order online and get an extra discount on purchases (on top of daily deals). Enjoy the rollbacks.

If we're measuring cannabis breeders based on how many of their strains reach users, then it's tough to beat Ethos Genetics. Since launching in 2017, the Littleton-based seed company has continually appeared at Colorado dispensaries and beyond, and there's no sign of that spirit letting up. Citradelic Sunset, Citral Flo, Colin OG (named after founder Colin Gordon), Lilac Diesel, Member Berry and perhaps the company's most popular creation, Mandarin Sunset, are just some of the strains birthed by Ethos Genetics. We can't wait to puff what it comes out with next.

The Big Tomato was helping home growers long before the dispensary boom, selling indoor gardening supplies for over two decades. Now owned by Schwazze, a Denver-based cannabis corporation, the Big Tomato still offers the same friendly service for newbies and regulars, but now has even more of a cannabis focus — and an online shopping option, to boot. For beginning green thumbs, finding a trustworthy growing store is like searching for a new mechanic; more cynical shops can take advantage of that lack of experience by suggesting unnecessary lighting equipment and nutrients. That's not the case at the Big Tomato, so don't be afraid to ask questions.

With so many dispensaries in Denver, it's only natural that we have plenty of head shops to choose from. A few minutes south of the Green Mile of dispensaries, you'll find the best of them: Positive Vibes. The smoke shop and glass gallery has become a staple on South Broadway, holding down a spot on the block just north of Hampden Avenue for almost seven years now. A top-tier glass gallery with a long list of artists and an extensive stock of affordable pipes, bongs and dab setups bring the best of both worlds together inside this store. The work of over 150 artists, local and national, is displayed at Positive Vibes, which also sells pendants and smokeable art online. The staff doesn't care what part of the cannabis journey you're on, either; expert or neophyte, it's all warm vibes here.

Anyone trying to legally light up outside of a private residence still has a tough time in Denver, where only three businesses are currently licensed for social cannabis use. And of those three businesses, only two are open — and of those two, only one allows smoking. Despite the slim pickings, Tetra Lounge tries hard to make a comfortable space for tourists and regular visitors, offering a welcoming lounge for anyone 21 and older who wants to smoke weed outside of the house. Owner Dewayne Benjamin had previously operated Tetra as a private club and still keeps the same atmosphere, with regular yoga classes, video games and budtender appreciation nights to go with daily hangouts. Tetra can't sell you any herb; you pay a fee to enter and smoke or dab your own stuff, so there's no need to pay a bar-like markup to consume. Simply pop in the RiNo club, spark your joint, and then get back to business — or don't. That seat's not going anywhere.

A relatively new line of infused products, Betty Essentials sells everything from gummies to sex lube made with different cannabinoid mixtures. Our favorites are the Cannabits, mints and tarts with various combinations of THC, CBD, CBC CBG and CBN intended to help with relaxation or reaching certain energy levels. Flavors like matcha mint with CBC, lavender pomegranate with CBN and peppermint with CBD come with no more than 2 milligrams of THC per serving, helping increase the entourage effect of the lesser-known cannabinoids without the intoxicating effects associated with edibles.

We've all seen the meme. Dogs will eat ten different kinds of poop, but getting them to eat any sort of medication, even one hidden in a chunk of peanut butter, is a tall task. Flora's Mercantile, an independently owned hemp company based in Lakewood, has the magic elixir that old and anxious dogs can benefit from, and all it takes is a little salmon. Rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, salmon oil can help a dog's immune system, heart health, skin, coat and cognitive function. It's also a popular flavor among pets, and is a good carrier of CBD isolate, which Flora's blends into the oil for a 1-ounce bottle of tincture. Packed with 600 milligrams of CBD, it can also help treat your cat or dog's pain and anxiety, and their tastebuds won't mind it, either.

Colorado's climate will dry, crack and chap skin faster than you can roll a blunt, and that's before you step on the slopes. So when in Rome, why not do as the Romans do, and put some weed on those lips? The Lip Bong from Mary Jane's Medicinals is the quintessential Colorado lip coverage, packing CBD, THC and beeswax as well as avocado, coconut, grapeseed, jojoba, peppermint and sweet almond oils to protect those smackers in the Rocky Mountain weather. The balm's 9 milligrams of THC won't get you high, instead serving as a skin protectant — but it could enter your bloodstream, so be wary of any drug tests in the future.

After founding the Greenery dispensary in 2013, Joel Cameron and Brian Capsay launched the Greenery Hash Factory. The Durango operation makes rosin, live resin and other modern concentrate, but the team's old-school stuff is what's holding down the roots of nearly 300 dispensaries across Colorado. Generally testing at around 40 percent THC, the Hash Factory's Lebanese and Moroccan hashish aren't as powerful as modern concentrate, but the centuries-old solventless methods produce timeless garnishes and musky hash hits. The Lebanese variety is blonde, crumbly and floral, and sits perfectly on top of a bowl or bong snapper, while the Moroccan-inspired version, cooked over an open flame and hand-pressed, has a gooey consistency that evokes memories of knife hits or trying to stick a pin under a glass. For American hash heads of decades past, the Hash Factory also whips up kief, pressed kief and bubble hash. Finding an extra kick in potency and flavor without getting lost in space is a difficult line to walk, but all of the Hash Factory's options will help you toe it.

Green Dot Labs is in the middle of a hot run through the flower and rosin sectors, continually dropping new and improved versions of the company's own genetics. Before all of that, though, the Boulder extraction firm built its name on solvent concentrates, and Green Dot still hits the bullseye on live resin. Batter, THCa crystals and terp-filled vaporizer cartridges sold through the company's Black and Blue Label brand, built on Green Dot strains, are the best representation of the team's talent, while more affordable Silver and White label products, made from plants grown by other cultivations, provide a more affordable dab. Think of it like the Johnny Walker of hash, but better.

A rosin lab founded by former employees of DabLogic, Soiku Bano had a sizable hand in cold-cured rosin's popularity last year. Despite being new on the scene, Soiku Bano has already created a strong reputation on the back of its cream-colored rosin, the result of curing at a cooler temperature than that used in the traditional process. Partnerships with edibles brands Cheeba Chews and Dialed In to make rosin candies and well-received solventless vaporizer cartridges put Soiku Bano on a level with few extractors in Colorado. Expect that trajectory to continue, one bao-bun-looking gram of rosin at a time.

Allgreens has been a central Denver go-to for years now, especially for hash heads. And as more wholesale extractors move into the space, it keeps finding ways to distinguish itself. A dispensary selling in-house rosin vape cartridges is a rare find, yet Allgreens excels at it as bigger, more well-known extractors struggle — and you don't have to buy a special battery to use them. Those juicy, solventless hits of Papaya OG and Sour Sans Souci rosin taste even better when they cost less, and getting your vape pods at Allgreens makes sure of that.

We appreciate eating our weed the old way, but in today's legal cannabis market, the old way is the rare way. Yet Alice B. Toklas would be happy to know that Sweet Mary Jane's is still going strong. The Boulder cannabis bakery's classic snack lineup of pot brownies, cookies and brookies is simply better than others, with more crunch and buttery crisp than we've come to expect from packaged edibles. The horchata cookies, made with vanilla and cinnamon chips, taste like they came from Trader Joe's instead of a pot shop. Even the Sweet Mary Jane's chocolate bars, an overplayed edible for most at this point, are tasty. Flavors like French toast and peanut butter crunch hit all the right notes, using small bits of cereal to make a big difference. The biggest stoner delight, however, is the milkshake and fries bar, a malted chocolate bar topped with shoestring potato chips.

We often forget that most of the population doesn't eat weed on the regular, and that doses of 5 milligrams of THC or lower are a good thing. Such serving sizes are difficult to come by in dispensaries, however, where most edibles are split into 10-milligram pieces — but maybe you'll get Lucky. The Denver edibles manufacturer's low-dose mints and tarts, sold in packs of fifty 2-milligram servings of THC, are a safe starting point for new users and an effective delivery for microdosing. Building off the popularity of the products, Lucky has also released 2-milligram tarts with cannabinoids like CBD and CBG for a more specific effect that doesn't include getting baked, whether it's for a microdose in the morning or after a long run.

There are so many options for weed gummies at dispensaries that picking out a pack can be disorienting, and most customers end up buying whatever's cheapest. If you're looking for a brand that deserves your loyalty, though, Dialed In has been working really hard to earn it. Colorado's first edibles maker to embrace rosin, Dialed In uses a sous-vide process to infuse gummies with rosin sourced from some of Colorado's most popular growers and extractors. Each package lists the strains and cultivators used in production, with gummy flavors picked to match the terpenes from each cannabis strain. Compare that to most distillate edibles using distillate from who knows where, and it's an easy choice.

A partner with the Cherry cultivation, Bosky Labs is riding the rosin wave past dabs and gummies, right into our drinking glasses. Founded by East Coast transplant Steve Fried, the rosin edibles brand specializes in flavored syrups that mix with seltzers, coffee and even liquor if you can handle your shit. The cannabis terpenes give any mocktail a kick, with flavors like caramel, grape, Irish cream, raspberry and rosé offering plenty of options to mix it up. Keep the syrup in the fridge for multiple drinks, or drop it in directly if you can handle the aftertaste. If you're a hash head, chances are you'll like it.

Sea salt, caramel and cheddar cheese versions of Sweet Mary Jane infused popcorn are a perfect fit for movie night (or re-creating a Christmas tin), but you can't go wrong with any one of the three. Each box is infused with 10 milligrams of THC and 100 milligrams of CBD, setting the table for one cozy night on the couch. The cannabis extract is virtually unnoticeable, and Sweet Mary Jane uses only mushroom popcorn (the brain-shaped stuff), so you don't need to worry about a dusty mixture of kernels and cannabis extract at the bottom of the bag. This stuff is seriously good, so be careful, or you'll have 200 milligrams of CBD in you before you know it.

Rosin gummies proved they were more than a fad last year. Not only did larger brands like Cheeba Chews and Rhobots launch gummies and taffies infused with the solventless extract, but local operations got in the mix, too. Leiffa makes the only rosin-infused chocolate bars that we're aware of, adding its award-winning rosin to flavors like dark chocolate and cherry, white chocolate and strawberry crumble, and milk chocolate and peanut butter pretzel. The rich flavors mask rosin's resinous flavors without tasting overly sweet, and the long-lasting body high each bar delivers proves that Leiffa isn't skimping on the concentrate quality. The recreational chocolate bars, dosed at 100 milligrams of THC and sold at dispensaries across the state, punch well above their weight class, but medical marijuana patients can also buy stronger doses at Leiffa's medical dispensary in Lakewood.

Jarod "Roilty" Farina's path toward private cannabis chef was nothing if not organic. After making pot brownies and working at the front of restaurants in his twenties, Farina began both making hash and training in fine cuisine. Then came awards and appearances on TV shows, and Dine With Roilty was born. Now a French-trained chef specializing in cannabis-infused meals, Farina helps people discover the joys of eating THC through dishes like microdosed chicken wings, pasta, ceviche and crab rangoons. Foodies and aspiring cooks can sign up for three- to seven-course options at their home for Farina's private dinners or classes, with basic, advanced and online options available. Rookies at both infusion and cooking will find Chef Roilty's recipes and techniques — some of which are shared on his website — approachable and easy to replicate, and he's happy to go over food requests and dietary restrictions. Whatever you're hungry for, the Roil treatment is en route.

Most THC drinks and a handful of weed gummies are free of animal products, but any vegan weed-muncher trying to steer clear of sugar is in for a challenge, as there are very few edibles of any kind that aren't heavy on sweets. Step into the right dispensary, though, and a vegan THC treat can be on the table for dinner tonight. Denver edibles maker Alchemy Food's entire lineup is vegan and gluten-free, with dessert bites made from ingredients like medjool dates, raw almonds, oats and coconut oil. However, those desiring a more savory or less sugary vegan meal need look no further than Alchemy's canna-coconut oil. The infused coconut oil has 100 milligrams of THC, and can quickly put the "green" in green curry on a boring night. Alchemy will even help you make the dish, offering recipes via email to anyone who sends the company proof of purchase.

Most of us prefer to let the professionals make our edibles, but it's always fun to cook your own. Thanks to Sweet Grass, one of Colorado's oldest adult-use cannabis bakeries, you can control your own edibles domain without having to break a sweat over the infusion process. Now under LivWell's Infusiasm line, Sweet Grass still makes sticks of THC butter. Each stick is infused with 100 milligrams and divided into ten tablespoons, allowing you to make breakfast, lunch or dinner as you normally would, but with a much different outcome. Made with plant matter instead of THC distillate, cannabutter edibles carry a fuller high than most gummies on the market, and you can always mix in non-infused butter if 10 milligrams per tablespoon is too much. Eggs, cookies, brownies and even coffee can all handle the spike, and your tastebuds will approve, too, as long your cooking skills keep up.

Pre-rolled joints provide an easy outlet for hiding subpar flower and trim, but they're not all out to get you. Actually, let us rephrase that: Malek's Kaiser Rolls are out to get you...really stoned, that is. A line of fatty-bombatties from wholesale grow Malek's Premium Cannabis, these bad boys are filled with herb that came from buds, not the bottom of the trimming barrel. Founder Malek Noueiry likes to fill his 1.75-gram behemoths with popular strains and his own creations, from Gorilla Glue and Grease Monkey to Panther Piss and Panda Puffs, then stick a rotini noodle at the end as a crutch to block any loose plant matter — a move very much appreciated by the streets. These aren't for smoking solo in one session, obviously, so even high-tolerance users should share the wealth unless you want to visit a different planet.

Yes, Colorado's best new strain is grown by a company that specializes in extraction. It's not our fault that Green Dot Labs has been pushing out some excitingly dank flower, though. Garlic Banger and Lemon Butter Rum, two other Green Dot strains released in 2021, could easily have won this award, too, but then we encountered the alien Froot. Part of a series of fruit-forward strains, the first entry, Blu Froot, smells and smokes like a slice of blueberry cheesecake, and we're not just saying that in a weed-dealer sort of way. Whiffs of cream cheese and blueberry syrup ooze out of each jar and stick to your lips like butter. Let's hope this stays in season for a while.

Snaxland's flower is so striking that you'd think photos of it had a Snapchat filter. Seeing it in person proves that those buds are no hoax, though, with flower that would likely top any dog-and-pony show of Colorado growers. Snaxland pumped out Denver's best cuts of numerous strains in 2021 (Apple Fritter, Gary, Gelato Cake, Jealousy and Lemonotti, among others), and it continues to set the market rate for premium wholesale cannabis. The groundbreaking of a new growing facility in 2022 could lead to even more Snaxland buds in Colorado dispensaries in the future. Sign us up.

Coda Signature is mostly known for gourmet-infused chocolate bars and fruit gummies, but the company also makes some of Colorado's best cannabis self-care products. Bath bombs infused with 15 milligrams of THC and CBD, as well as ingredients like lavender, sweet marjoram or patchouli kick-start a session of extreme relaxation, and might even give you an edibles-like high the longer sit you in the tub. Coda also sells a muscle salve with THC, CBD and CBG, and skin salve with THC, CBD and CBC, combining around 800 milligrams of cannabinoids in total for the fullest effect on your body. The salve won't get you high, and is purely for health and wellness purposes, but consider yourself warned with the bath bombs: Those things can be very much dual-use.

Denver resident comedian Josh Blue, known for appearances on TV shows like America's Got Talent, the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Last Comic Standing (where he won season four), continues to headline standup shows in town as he hones his national material. Colorado also serves as home base for his edibles endeavors. A medical marijuana user with cerebral palsy, Blue created a line of lollipops with Mountain High Suckers called Josh Blue's Dream, which are infused with hash from his favorite strain, Blue Dream. Affordable and effective, the 10-milligram suckers are exactly what most celebrity-blasted cannabis products aren't: worth the money. Dispensaries have maintained a consistent pipeline of celebrity cannabis brands that are destined to fail, so it's good to see one of Colorado's own still holding it down nearly five years after launching.

There are so many recreational cannabis grows in Colorado right now that starting one is like launching a podcast: Unless you're uber-talented, good luck. The guys at Single Source Colorado have showcased that talent time and again, though, so consider us unsurprised when their first crack at the recreational flower market was a success. Founders Kennn Wall, Logan Nuss and Tony Karas launched Single Source as a rosin lab, growing their own flower to supply the extraction operation. It only takes one sniff of their solventless concentrate to know the buds from which it came are happy and healthy. Now the public can finally appreciate those gardening skills, too. Single Source's first launch of GMO looked like it was dipped in sugar at Café Du Monde, smelled like a funktastic blast of Windex and burned smoother than a cigarette in Marilyn Monroe's lips. If we come across Single Source again, rest assured we're doubling down.

Cannabis influencers who only hawk products aren't really our scene. We want social media to lead us somewhere worthwhile, and Groovy Gravy knows how to give followers the goods. A thrower of exclusive cannabis parties, dinners and pop-ups, Groovy Gravy partners with brands such as Lazercat, Dialed In and Death & Co. for unique mixtures of popular cannabis products and local food and drink. Members of the Wu-Tang Clan popped in last year, while nationally known chefs like Dave Hadley and Emily Oyer have handled the cooking. Regulars on Groovy Gravy's Instagram page are privy to these events early, so give the account a follow and see if you make the cut for tickets.