Cannabis & More

We don't have much patience for influencers who hawk only the latest pre-roll or promo code. Luckily for us, Dave is here, man. A grower with over 25 years of experience, MileHighDave has been pheno-hunting since 2020 for the best genetics he can find in an effort to launch his own breeding company. To our further benefit, Dave has been documenting his journey on Instagram as he grows and grades different phenotypes of colorful, intense strains like Chocolate Kevorkian and Dante's Inferno — a strain one could argue he has already perfected. Information about terpenes, seed providers, genetics and growing conditions are almost always shared, and each post makes us eager for 4:20 to get here, already. If you want to learn or just be inspired by beautiful buds, follow Dave — he won't let you down.

Trying to pick a favorite Green Dot Labs strain is like trying to pick the best Gatorade, but when it comes to cannabis flavor, we want straight gas, homie. Thunderdome, an exclusive release from Green Dot in 2022, mixes those fuel-forward qualities we love with a more modern garlic flavor, to incredible results. This puppy has so much octane that dirty glass will run like a Rolls-Royce when Thunderdome is in the bowl, and joints taste like fermented garlic dipped in gasoline. Yet it continues to evolve. A subtle candy-like sweetness and more funk appeared after a few extra days of curing — or maybe that was just our nostrils and tastebuds trying to catch up with Thunderdome's gauntlet of terps. Thunderdome is currently sold in dispensaries in dabbable and vapeable concentrates, but we hope to see more flower on the shelf soon.

As much as we'd like to pull a Ron Swanson and tell Home Depot employees "I know more than you" as they sheepishly walk up to offer uneducated help, that just isn't how our parents raised us. We don't have to worry about that at A Cut Above, though, where only Colorado's top growers can get on the shelf and the budtenders have probably tried everything in the inventory. Flower from esteemed growers like 710 Labs, Cherry, Green Dot Labs, Higher Function, Mesa Verde, Single Source and Snaxland is always within reach, as are newer cultivations like Bubba's Kush and Melody. The concentrates selection, though not as expansive, is still well chosen, with extractors like 710 Labs, Egozi, George Hashington, Green Dot, Lazercat and Mountain Select all regularly stocked. Whether you're a cannabis connoisseur or trying to impress one, you can't fail with this Cut.

So what if JAD's Mile High Smoke is the only licensed cannabis bar in the state, technically making it a winner by default? It took serious gumption to become the first cannabis-friendly venue with a sales license in Colorado — a very long time coming, considering that recreational pot was legalized over ten years ago. In less than a year, owners Josh and Stacey Davis have created a pub vibe in JAD's, complete with a full cannabis menu, flat-screen TVs, video games, a munchies menu and plenty of regulars who work in the cannabis space. Everyone might be too stoned to remember your name, but the Cheers-like surroundings make JAD's a comfortable hang, especially if you need a legal place to toke up.

Rosin has become so prevalent in Colorado that the price has dropped significantly over the past couple of years, but all of that competition has only nudged extractors into more innovation. And even with several hot new kids on the block, everyone is still chasing 710 Labs. The longtime heavyweight of extraction's first- and second-press rosin achieves gorgeous cream and golden color from 710's award-winning flower, and the outfit continues to push flavor boundaries through its deluxe line of Persy rosin and rosin sauce. Squeezed from finely refined water hash instead of flower, 710's Persy line is so intense on the tastebuds that going back to burnt flower might seem like a step down. If you can afford it regularly or feel like treating yourself, though, give Persy a call: Everyone should experience the best at some point.

Dabbing is cool. Dabbing is great. But some of us older users can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with: Some of us just want to watch the hash burn. And melt. And cover our bowls like ice cream sprinkles. Bubba's Kush bubble hash, loose and full-melt, looks like kief but tastes like rosin, and provides a high somewhere in between. The freshly frozen trichome heads, pulled from Bubba's strains like Super Boof and Sundae Driver, can be dabbed if you must, but our favorite way to use them is garnishing bowls and joints — usually on top of Bubba's flower of the same strain, to get the full flavor experience.

Apothecary Extracts is largely connected to its signature Ambrosia line of live resin, but the popular extractor and dispensary outfit has been producing in-house rosin vapes since 2021, and somehow they're still slept on. Disposable vapes are usually associated with a dip in quality, but Apothecary's 1-gram rosin vapes beat out cartridges from several popular counterparts, providing smoother and more potent hits with top-tier flavor. You can find them only at Apothecary Farms dispensaries, with a lone Denver store on South Broadway and the rest in southern Colorado. The Sour Papaya's mix of cheesy funk and Diesel is worth the trip, though, and Apothecary Extracts plans to crank up production if the vapes are a hit.

A family-run business, Egozi debuted in Colorado dispensaries in September to high acclaim and continues to impress. Founder Elias Egozi and lead extractor Mikey Dabs It insist on using prime starting material, quality press screens and laborious extraction techniques, creating fumey, delicious balls of space hash that sell out quickly. Despite virtually zero marketing, Egozi has become one of Colorado's most respected rosin brands in short order, thanks to mouthwatering extractions of Trop Cookies, Wedding Pie and so much more. With a new line of rosin syringes and vape cartridges dropping in March and a dispensary, Alto, as a home base, this small operation in southwest Denver is already acting like one of the big boys in 2023.

It's always nice to see a hometown hero make a name for himself on the national scene, and that's exactly what Cherry co-founder Jason MacLean is trying to do with his new seed project, Coool Beans. Cherry's reputation at the top of the cannabis cultivation chain has been solidified for a few years now, with the company recently expanding into rosin, pre-rolls and edibles, but nothing lights up MacLean's face like seed talk. In a short span, Coool Beans has released over forty genetics for home growers to buy online, including several popular Cherry strains, such as Dankarooz, NY Mayhem and Sprinklez, sold at dispensaries. Coool Beans is here to move cannabis genetics forward, according to MacLean, and that means chasing new and inventive creations that most breeders aren't producing. Colorado deserves more respect in the cannabis breeding world: Maybe the Coool kids on the block can get us there.

Wyld has figured out how to stand out in the world of weed gummies, a very impressive feat when you think about how many of them there are. We could visit the same dispensary for two weeks and buy a new brand of THC or CBD gummies every time, or simply stick with Wyld and be happy all the time. Each of the brand's ten flavors are sweet, scrumptious and offer taste devoid of any distillate or hash oil, with our favorites being the strawberry, pear and elderberry, all of which contain different CBD, CBG, CBN and THC combos. Wyld also now makes sour gummies, offering cherry and green-apple varieties at the moment, and just came out with a new line of rosin-infused gummies, Good Tide. Whichever batch of Wylds you end up with, the flavor meter will always be at ten.

Getting a taste of everything is nice, but squeezing cannabinoids like THC, CBD and CBN — all of which can have sedative effects — into one edible will knock most people out cold unless handled properly. Despite the cheeky name, Canyon Suck-Its are every bit as gentle as they are effective. Each Suck-It comes with 2.5 milligrams of various cannabinoids, but our favorite is the pink lemonade flavor. At 2.5 milligrams of CBD, 2.5 milligrams of CBN, 2.5 milligrams of THC and less than 1 gram of sugar per piece (with forty pieces per pack), these lozenges hit the bull's-eye if you use edibles to help you fall asleep but don't like getting too baked or feeling groggy the next morning.

Yes, that Fireball. The popular brand of cinnamon-flavored whiskey released a line of THC gummies in 2019 and quietly began selling them in Colorado last year. These weed gummies will raise your friends' eyebrows without singeing them off, but that cinnamon flavor is still strong enough to cover the hash or grassy aftertaste some distillate edibles have. Fireball's gummies are affordable, don't take long to kick in, and have the same tongue-pinching spiciness that we've come to expect from Fireball whiskey — which, not surprisingly, tastes better as candy.

If you're a daily or regular edibles user, then listen to the wise words of Wu-Tang Financial: You need to diversify. Most of Smokiez edibles products can be found on the gummy shelf, but the brand's infused agave syrup, available in natural, chocolate, maple and vanilla flavors and various combinations of THC, CBD and CBG, allows you to ingest cannabinoids the way you want to. Morning tea or coffee, baked goods, candied bacon, lemonade, cocktails — whatever you're in the mood for, this can sweeten it, but with a glycemic index at 40 percent lower than refined sugar. That way, even diabetics can join the fun, according to Smokiez.

Dialed In Gummies started the whole rosin edibles wave in Colorado, so it's no shocker that the company continues to redefine what can be made with the solventless extract. Dozens of followers began infusing their gummies and chocolate bars with rosin after seeing Dialed In's success, so the Denver-based producer stayed ahead by releasing its new line, Liquid Gummies, which have been coating our lips since debuting last summer. Like Dialed In's gummies, each batch of these simple syrups is made in collaboration with esteemed growers and extractors such as Lazercat and Soiku Bano and include terpene and cannabinoid information on the package. Mix them with something fizzy, shake up a mocktail or guzzle Liquid Gummies straight, but respect the power of rosin, or your body will cease to function until tomorrow.

Dutch treats are hard to find in Denver bakeries, but they've become staples in dispensaries thanks to CannaPunch's Dutch Girl Stroopwafels. A popular snack in the Netherlands made from two thin disks of baked dough with a sweet filling in the middle, stroopwafels work in the morning placed over a hot cup of coffee, and at night under a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The brand's caramel, chocolate, lemon and strawberry varieties, each infused with 10 milligrams of THC per stroopwafel, are all award-worthy, but the blueberry-inspired Moonberry flavor takes the top spot, thanks to 10 milligrams of CBD, CBG, CBN and THC packed into each treat. Just as tasty as its peers, the Moonberry wafels come with a four-cannabinoid punch made to put you in bed and keep you there. Can confirm.

Colorado cannabis prices have never been lower, but inflation is still cutting into weed budgets across the state. Recognizing the need for something simple and cheap, 1906 released Bump Drops last summer. A big step away from 1906's other products, which contain ingredients such as ashwagandha and caffeine for intended effects like relaxation and energy, Bump Drops are essentially refined THC distillate in pill form, so there are no calories or sugar attached. Bump Drops are made with 2.5 milligrams of THC, a standard amount for microdosing, and are available in packs of two and twenty for less than $2 and $10, respectively. That's one cheap microdose, and an easy bump to keep that edibles high going.

Ever want to feel an edibles high, but without eating or drinking? Ripple's Live Rosin Quicksticks get the job done swiftly, with no witnesses and limited ingestion. Similar to Pixy Stix, Quicksticks are small packets of sugary powder that you place on top of your tongue, but with 10 milligrams of THC that was infused with a fast-absorption formula. Unlike previous renditions of Quicksticks, however, the Live Rosin version is made with solventless extract and cannabis terpenes from Nokhu Labs and carries a little more pop than edibles made with distillate. Low tolerances don't even need to use a full packet, but a few extra Quicksticks go down easily if more is needed. Just rip, pour and swallow; it's on you if anyone catches it.

Cannabis growers are infatuated with strains named after candy, but if you want the realest intersection of candy and cannabis, then look no further than Joyibles. Relatively new to Colorado's edibles scene, Joyibles has come out with back-to-back hits in JoyGum, a unique line of THC-infused chewing gum, and Skittles-inspired Joy Bombs. Both are delicious and don't deviate far from their sugary inspirations, with Joy Bombs even coming in original, sour and tropical flavors reminiscent of the rainbow. Each piece of gum or candy has varying THC and CBD content, so they're easy to microdose — or mow down, if you're looking for a heavier hit. Just be sure to keep count of how many you eat during a movie, or you'll be glued to the chair by the time the end credits roll.

Myxed Up Creations founder Phil Guerin dropped out of Colorado State University and moved into his parents' basement to make clay mushrooms just as the '90s began, and the rest is Denver history. Guerin first opened Myxed Up in 1992 on Colfax Boulevard, and he hasn't left the street since, despite having to move three times for various reasons and opening a second location in Aurora. Now on East Colfax and Ivy Street, Myxed Up Denver is one of the city's largest head shops, embracing hemp, CBD and all things counterculture that have sprouted up in Colorado over the years. Hundreds of glassware, vape and smoking accessory brands are sold at Myxed Up, as well as clothing apparel, herb storage containers, air fresheners, smokeable hemp products and Guerin's signature clay mushrooms.

Charlotte's Web has been a leader in the CBD field since the cannabinoid became widely utilized in the mid-2010s, and has been putting its CBD oils, capsules and other products through third-party testing ever since. That work paid off in 2022, when Major League Baseball announced that Charlotte's Web was the official CBD supplier for the MLB. The company's Sport Daily Edge CBD Oil is a full-spectrum oil of hemp-derived cannabinoids like CBD, CBG and CBN that helps daily focus, sleep and exercise recovery when used regularly. You don't need to have a cannon or hit homers to use the Daily Edge, which costs a little over $1.50 per day if purchased on subscriptions — but there's a good chance you'll feel like an all-star soon enough. And because of all those studies and requirements that come with partnering with professional sports, you don't have to worry about failing a drug test.

Colorado Hemp Honey's CBD balms and oils for pets are great, but we're here to advocate on behalf of the honey. In moderate amounts, honey provides the same benefits to dogs and cats as it does for humans, helping to alleviate allergies and inflammation. Add CBD to the mix, and this honey can help your pet sleep and reduce their anxiety, too. Founder Nick French has been keeping bees for fifteen years now, but he's in on the joke. The Colorado Hemp Honey website sells cannabis leaf-shaped lick mats for pets right next to the hemp honey. Simply add a few drops of CBD honey to the marijuana lick mat, and watch your dog become a pothead. Given how delicious honey is, you don't have to worry about convincing them to eat it.

If you're new to cannabis and dispensary shopping, then Reefer Madness is a safe choice. Not only will you find one of the most extensive menus in Denver, with well over 200 recreational and medical strains and dozens of edibles and hash options, but you'll also be able to stick it to decades of prohibitionist propaganda by shopping at a store named after an infamous (and hilariously bad) anti-marijuana movie from 1936. The only madness you'll suffer here is from the ridiculous amount of options, but not to worry: Reefer Madness won't rush you, and the budtenders are patient with questions.

Medical marijuana patients have been getting screwed by lawmakers and lobbyists for almost a decade now, but at least they still have Allgreens. The medical-only dispensary in south Denver sells $6 grams of shatter, as well as rosin capable of standing up to the other hash lords of Colorado, but at a much lower price. Even Allgreens' private reserve costs less than $30 per gram, and the in-house full-melt live heads and 4-gram buckets of rosin are the most affordably priced fire in town. You might find something cheaper or a brand with more hype, but nothing beats the value of Allgreens extractions.

Spending time in a waiting room like you're in a doctor's office just to shop for cannabis with names like Jigglers or Super Boof is starting to feel like unnecessary posturing. Props to Lightshade for making us comfortable while we have to do it. You can always count on climate control and comfortable chairs at a Lightshade store, which isn't as common as you'd expect at dispensaries, and water, magazines and an updated dispensary menu are usually within reach, too. Most dispensaries don't put much effort into the waiting area, and that affects patience on crowded days. Lightshade's chill station makes us slow down and appreciate the small stuff. After all, buying weed used to be a lot harder than this.

Dispensaries that serve only medical marijuana patients are disappearing faster than a pinner, with just a handful left in Denver as recreational businesses take over Colorado. Patients across town can still rely on Higher Grade, though, thanks to the company's medical-only dispensaries in Cherry Hills and Highland. Higher Grade's in-house flower is some of the very best in Denver. In fact, we've yet to smoke better versions of Raspberry Beret, Grape OZ and Peach Crescendo in town, but the prices are much more affordable than those of popular third-party growers. Weekly deals span everything from edibles to rosin at Higher Grade, and medical members get even more perks. Let the recreational rush hour take place at Higher Grade's rec shop in the Civic Center neighborhood, and support the medical locations still fighting the good fight.

Did anyone else wake up one morning and realize that most of Denver's good cannabis isn't attached to a dispensary anymore? That's a stark difference from a few years ago, when branded growers weren't really a thing and top-shelf flower was still grown internally. KrystaLeaves is one of the few dispensaries keeping that pulse of in-house flower alive, pumping out some of Denver's most intriguing and terp-heavy cannabis. Multiple phenotypes of the same strain are common at KrystaLeaves, as are in-house creations with big followings, like the Con Leche and Grape TK. Founded by the Fernandez family and largely overseen by son Alex, this Commerce City cultivation is worth the drive, especially if you have a sharp nose.

Alto is one of the smaller dispensaries in Denver. The sister dispensary of Egozi rosin has to split space with a cultivation and hash lab, so only one party at a time can enter the bud room — but that's what makes the service so good. There aren't any distractions for shoppers or the budtenders, who are as helpful and lovely as they come. A small-knit crew led by local mixed martial artist Elias Egozi and manager Juliana Mohr, Alto makes sure its employees are educated on the ins and outs of good flower and hash, which are stocked in abundance. You might even run into an MMA pro, if you're lucky.

Last time we visited, Oasis Cannabis Superstore had 35 strains on the shelf...from the first three growers listed on the menu alone. In all, there were over 175 strains to choose from on a random Tuesday, not counting the pre-rolls, and the edibles section had even more options. Mass selection is the norm at both locations, so if you're ever in search of a product, chances are Oasis has it. Cannabis products of all price tiers can be found here, and Oasis doesn't skip the smaller stuff, either, with tinctures, topicals and a smoking accessory inventory that can rival a head shop all packed into these skunktastic superstores. Your brain might overload from the abundance of options, but once you settle in, it will be hard to shop elsewhere.

Even when stores have deals going on, all of the top brands are usually off limits. Not at Spark, where hash heads and flower connoisseurs can find deals and low prices on the likes of 710 Labs, Bloom, Bubba's Kush, Dablogic, Indico and Mountain Select. We've walked out of Spark with grams of 710 rosin that cost less than $30 and have stocked up on Soiku Bano as if it were a Costco run — and it's actually financially conceivable to buy ounces of quality herb here. Whether it's a daily deal or you just visited on the right day, chances are a highly rated brand is discounted, and the starting prices are affordable to begin with.

Dispensaries and growers have to chase trends to stay competitive, but we never thought that finding pot pillars like Golden Goat and OG Kush could become so hard in Denver. As the vast majority of stores chase new singles, though, Silver Stem Fine Cannabis continues playing the hits. New creations are on the menu at Silver Stem, too, but you'll always see classic strains that helped build cannabis culture into what it is today — Blue Dream, Chocolope, Golden Goat, Lemon Skunk, OG Kush, Orange Krush and Sour Kush being just a handful of them. Whether it's nostalgia or chasing that one unforgettable high, Silver Stem can help you bring home gold.

Once your body nears around thirty years old, the knots, strains and sore spots pop up without warning, typically at the start of the day. Keep Escape Artists Relief Cream in the medicine cabinet, though, and you'll have a layer of defense against the aches and pains of exercise, awkward coordination and old age. Made with 800 milligrams of CBD, 800 milligrams of THC, a pharmaceutical-grade pain cream, and black pepper and cedar extract, this cream has helped us with sore necks, strained quads and arthritis flare-ups. And since THC lotions don't reach your blood, it can be applied as often as needed without fear of a failed drug test.

You can't just walk into the Marijuana Mansion and light up a joint — the eccentric space serves as a photo-shooting gallery most of the time — but the historic, potentially haunted Capitol Hill mansion also moonlights as a private cannabis-friendly event host. Rooms are decked out with curated historic decorations and local art, giving each area an individual feel, ranging from Victorian to glow-in-the-dark, while the mansion's century-and-a-half history includes everything from spirit sightings to the creation of legal pot. Before the mansion's current owners took over, the building housed the offices of several attorneys who co-wrote Amendment 64, the voter-approved initiative that legalized recreational cannabis in Colorado. If you want to experience the Marijuana Mansion with a joint in hand, keep an eye on Eventbrite listings for private parties, and follow the instructions to request an invitation if you're 21 or older.

When longtime Denver-area businessman Curtis Washington bought a building with a liquor store in southeast Denver last year, he had already envisioned a dispensary joining the party. A new licensee of Denver's marijuana social equity program, Washington and his son, Jordan Brooks, planned to turn half of the place into Green Remedy as part of a new venture together. Although they're the only two businesses in the building, the dispensary and liquor store have different addresses, allowing them to operate under the same roof independently. The rare distinction has already helped lure in customers, according to Washington, and the combo seems particularly smart when you're facing after-work errands during rush hour.

You can find a bag of Lay's and a bottle of Sprite at any convenience store, but It's a Bodega takes junk food to a whole new level. In fact, most of the snacks here aren't "junk," but imported rarities. From Japanese Kit Kats and Taiwanese potato chips to outlandish Fanta soda flavors and Chinese Oreos, KC Christian's exotic snack shop has munchies that will make you ooh and aah and ask "How many of those am I allowed to buy?" Shopping at It's a Bodega isn't just a fun trip for snacks, it's an experience of East Coast homages, nostalgia and edible creativity. You'll have to pay for the rarest items — Oreo Moon Pies from Thailand have gone for as much $25 each, and Christian once sold a $40 Fanta — but there are plenty of fun, tasty and holy-shit options that won't break your budget, like international Twix and a Canadian remake of Crystal Pepsi.

Who doesn't love a novelty vending machine? Missouri has a vending machine that sells barbecue burnt ends. Texas has a pecan pie vending machine. California has vending machines for eggs and sprinkles. And what are the robots selling to us in Colorado? Weed, of course. Cannabis vending machines have popped up before in the state, but Terrapin Care Station's in-house version is the first that doesn't require a pre-order or human employee to operate. You simply walk into the Terrapin dispensary on Mississippi Avenue in Aurora and flash your ID to the counter attendant, and that's where the human interaction ends. You can buy flower, hash, pre-rolls or edibles from the machine in seconds and be gone without a word. The vending machine is currently only at the Mississippi location, but Terrapin plans to roll them out at its five other locations in the future. Misanthropes and haters of the public, rejoice!

Cannabis farmers' markets can't really exist in Colorado because of laws surrounding legal pot sales, but something pretty close to one happens twice a month just outside of Denver in unincorporated Adams County. Every other Saturday at JAD's Mile High Smoke, the state's only licensed cannabis bar, you can attend Taste of JAD's, a marketplace meant to showcase new cannabis growers, extractors, edibles brands and more. After vendors set up at 2 p.m., guests sample each of their products (and the entire cannabis menu at JAD's) for various fees until 6 p.m. No products can be taken outside the bar, unfortunately, but all Taste of JAD's vendors are available in Colorado dispensaries, so take note of what to shop for next time.

Our opinion on the majority of pre-rolls are well documented and don't need to be repeated, but Red Roots is building a foundation of trust we can get behind. Made with quality flower, not plant scrapings, with a rolled snake of rosin placed gently in the middle, Red Roots is the easiest way to smoke a "hash hole" or "doughnut joint" for those who can't roll. The infused joint hits like a monster and burns like an ash doughnut, with the hash melting into oil and seeping into the flower as it burns, leaving a hole in the center as it goes. Red Roots joints are a little pricier than the free hot dog that comes with a big dispensary purchase, but their potency and quality can get you through multiple sessions. Or turn you into a deep-fried hush puppy. Whatever works.

Snaxland has been busy making a mark in other places over the past couple of years, opening a store in Oklahoma and expanding into Puerto Rico. Yet one of Colorado's most popular growers still didn't have a store in its home state. After purchasing a former Golden Meds dispensary in 2022, Snaxland was expected to open its first dispensary in Denver this year. As we still waited for the Denver outpost, however, Snaxland surprised us in February with a newly opened store in Boulder. The location, previously the Peaceful Choice dispensary, is now dishing out more than fifty Snaxland strains and flower from other growers, as well as concentrates from extractors like Green Dot Labs and Soiku Bano. You can still find Snaxland at dispensaries across the state, but going to the source pays dividends in the form of exclusive cuts and new releases.

Bubba's Kush founder Chris Kaiser says he isn't trying to take over the world. Enjoying life with his beloved pit bull and company namesake, Bubba, off the fruits of his labor in the garden is enough for him — and that's a big come-up for us. When Bubba's Kush broke into selective dispensaries like A Cut Above and Eclipse Cannabis Co. in 2022, cannabis shoppers knew the small operation must be doing something right. After first-class trips to the moon with the Ordway-based grower's Georgia Pie, Orange Cream Cake and Super Boof, we're convinced that Bubba's Kush belongs in the conversation with cultivations like 710 Labs, Cherry and Green Dot Labs. Georgia Pie has been taken on by growers across the state, yet Bubba's peach-pit qualities stood out the most in a crowded pool, while Super Boof, one of our favorite strains of the year, was largely made popular thanks to Bubba's cut. We're still waiting for Bubba's Kush to grow the actual Bubba Kush, but we'll gladly take anything this true-blue cultivation produces in the meantime.

If growing cannabis were prizefighting, then Green Dot Labs would be holding the championship belt right now — and sporting a few title defenses, as well. The Boulder operation is technically an extraction-first company, but Green Dot's flower lineup may be forcing founders Dave and Alana Malone to reconsider where their bread is buttered. Banger after banger has come out of the Green Dot grow over the past year, including the ROYGBIV series (each phenotype was named after a color on the rainbow), the artist series (Dalí, Monet, Picasso, etc.) and A5 Wagyu, as well as our personal favorite, Thunderdome. The visual appeal, unique terpene profile and marathon highs from Green Dot flower are second to none. Each release makes us more antsy than the next, and we can almost guarantee those new genetics aren't touching other gardens.

Even in a city that has been two steps ahead of the rest of the country in psychedelics reform, Plant Magic shines as a beacon for fungi fans. No magic mushrooms or newly decriminalized psychedelics are for sale here, but the Uptown business compound was a popular gathering spot for supporters of Proposition 122, the statewide measure decriminalizing psilocybin, mescaline, DMT and other psychedelic substances, and Plant Magic Cafe currently hosts discussions about the political and scientific aspects of mushrooms and psychedelics. Activism aside, however, this cafe and event space is the perfect watering hole if you're looking for drinks infused with adaptogenic mushrooms or ceremonial-grade cacao, and the Balinese, Oaxacan and Peruvian art adorning the walls doesn't hurt, either. Bonus points for the yoga classes!

Interested in growing your own mushrooms, but intimidated by the thought of inoculation? Whether you're growing for non-intoxicating supplements, cooking ingredients or a trip to another dimension, Spore Light's monthly mushroom meetups are an easy place to learn about the process of home mushroom cultivation. Each free meetup, typically held at a brewery, teaches attendees how to make agar petri dishes, set up grain bags, and harvest mushrooms; at a mini-mushroom market at the end, you can buy spores, grain bags, cultures and grow kits to take home. And even if you decide that homegrown mushrooms aren't for you, beer is always an option.

You may not recognize the name Growlytics, but the Denver cannabis cultivation has been raking in awards, and owner John Dean is finally ready to spread the word. Since Dean hired head grower Edriss Floyd in 2020, Growlytics has won six awards in potency and terpene content in the Grow-Off, even setting a Colorado terpene record in 2021. Embracing data analysis and conducting constant LED lighting experiments, Floyd and his one-person growing staff are on the cutting edge of cannabis, with particularly impressive versions of Spritzer and Wookie Monster. Growlytics products are currently sold in around forty dispensaries, and that could increase soon — but Floyd won't change his focus. "For a while, it was who can grow the most, not who is growing the best," he says. "For me and John, though, it can always be better."