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."