I got smacked around by a creeper strain last week, and the bags under my eyes still haven't gone away.

Creeper strains are dangerous for any consumer, but particularly potheads. The high is slow off the block, typical for regular users smoking any kind of flower, trapping us into more bowls and snowballing effects that end the day before the deli closes. Creeper strains are a stoner's downfall, akin to overeating an edible by a few milligrams, sucking me down to a bed, couch or any surface big enough to fit my lazy ass.

I expected Blue Chem, a mix of Blueberry and Chemdog, to put me down, no question. Blueberry is a textbook nighttime strain, and most Chemdog cuts put my brain through the dryer. But I didn't think I'd end up going from wondering if I'd just smoked hemp to being punch drunk long after the weed nap was over, questioning if my legs would ever move again.

No way two legendary cannabis varieties would produce something so passive-aggressive. I credited my first bout with Blue Chem to lack of sleep the night before. The second time I mixed a few puffs of Mandarin Cookies with Blue Chem sessions and presumed it was the Mandarin Cookies hitting me over the head with an anvil. Those were just technical knockouts by Blue Chem, I told myself, and not a true KO. But that came during my very next session the following afternoon.

After getting slept three times with little resistance, I had to give Blue Chem credit: The weed won, and my John Henry-sized confidence became the size of a Chihuahua in its presence. The jar sat untouched for days because of my fear, as I waited for the right movie or Rockies game on TV to slowly put me out. Edibles receive that treatment from me, not flower.

Later I realized that Blue Chem is more than a jump-cut strain, with a euphoric start, hungry peak and heavy, heavy finish; I had simply skipped the honeymoon and gone straight to the buffet during my first three go-rounds. Not expecting my impatience to change for long, I used the rest of my Blue Chem as an evening garnish for bowls of other strains or snuck a one-hitter after dinner, both of which proved more gentle routes toward a good night's sleep.

Blue Chem also goes under the aliases Blueberry Chemdog and Blue Dog. We've seen the strain at A Cut Above, Callie's Cannabis Shoppe, Doc's Apothecary, Drift, the Farm, the Green Solution, Green Tree Medicinals, Higher Grade, Lucy Sky, Magnolia Road, Mammoth Farms, Medicine Man, Mountain Medicinals, the Peaceful Choice, Solace Meds and Star Buds, while LaConte's carries clones of the strain from FreeWorld Genetics, a breeder based in Boulder.

Looks: Typically large, airy and bright green, Blue Chem's buds won't wow the eyes, making them all the more treacherous to idiots like me.

Smell: Reputed to carry characteristics of Blueberry and Chemdog, I didn't catch the rich, sweet notes of Blueberry as much as the pungent, cleaner aroma of Chemdog in Blue Chem, with a chalky, gum-like sweetness and spicy back end. However, there are several descriptions of sweeter, more berry-forward cuts out there.

Flavor: Blue Chem was more rubbery and musty than piney or sweet, with a spicy, herbal flavor profile sticking around my mouth afterward. Let's hope the strain gets another run, because Denver's current version didn't impress the tastebuds.

Effects: Blue Chem follows a traditional route for infrequent and regular users, even though the high may be slow to arrive. My stress and anxiety were essentially nonexistent, and that's hard to achieve after six-hour blocks of physical futility. The strain is best kept for a night in, with the happy-yet-cloudy mind and debilitating effects too draining before the effects peak, let alone come down.

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