Why Colorado Tokers Love Laughing Gas

I always considered that night spent hotboxing an Isuzu Trooper as the first time I was stoned, but a recent trip to the dispensary made me realize I was off by several years.

The first time I got high was actually in sixth grade, at the dentist's office. He probably did it to calm my nerves more than numb the pain, because the drilling process didn't take more than five minutes. But I do remember the rubber mask smelling like oranges — and unlike Bill Clinton, I did inhale. And just like Michael Bloomberg, I enjoyed it. Laughing gas is a helluva drug.

I've been lucky enough to avoid anything that requires being sedated by a medical professional since then, but the term "laughing gas" always stuck with me when I was sniffing rubbery whiffs of dank cannabis. Why no one ever named a cut of Diesel or Chemdog after everybody's favorite nitrous oxide was beyond me. Finally, an Oregon breeder answered the call.

TKO Reserve combined Sour Diesel and Cherry Pie to create Laughing Gas, a fuel-forward hybrid that has since been branded by Cookies. The gassy strain has been popping up in Colorado recently and tugged at my memory one time too many, just like Petrol Rainbow or I-95. But at $50 an eighth or more under the Cookies label, Laughing Gas has a big reputation to live up to, or nobody will find that price very funny.

Pungent Diesel qualities usually bring the energy when I smoke them, but I found Laughing Gas to be more like Lilac Diesel or a mind-bending cut of Chemdog. It was never easy to center myself despite all the giggles, but I should've seen the cloudy mind coming. Laughing Gas's smell, flavor and even the effects all legitimately remind me of sitting in a dentist's chair, slowly drifting off to stonerville as Dr. Larson shoved metal alloy into my molars. The aromatic mix of rubber, chemicals and sweet oranges is just like inhaling nitrous fumes from a mask, and the high — euphoric and bouncy at first, but ultimately quite relaxing inside of two hours — is much too strong to allow anyone to return to work.

Looks: Laughing Gas is dense and rocky for a sativa-leaning strain, with moss-colored calyxes, above-average pistil coverage and an ordinary varnish of amber trichomes.

Smell: Gassy and dry with sweet orange overtones, Laughing Gas really does remind me of nitrous oxide, but with subtle hints of resinous pine and skunk bouncing around my nostrils, too. It's the type of pungent smell that makes your mouth dry and your hair stand up a little, like a bottle of nail polish remover.

Flavor: Rubbery, chemical-like flavors start strong, with sweet citrus notes right behind, sort of like mandarin oranges or a sour tangerine. Those fuel characteristics stick around, however, making Laughing Gas a strong choice for Diesel and Chem fans.

Effects: Laughing Gas's high sits near the middle. My energy stays about the same, but my curiosity and joy go up a few notches. Focus wanes about an hour or so after smoking, though, and the sleepy eyes will take over unless caffeine enters the picture. Such varying effects make Laughing Gas a difficult high to time during the day, but right before dinner is a safe bet. If you don't want to fall asleep two hours after eating, though, you might want to save Laughing Gas for dessert.

Where to find it: We've seen Laughing Gas at 1136 Yuma, Berkeley Dispensary, Canna City, Colorado Harvest Company, Cookies, Higher Grade, the Joint, Lakeshore Cannabis and Lowell Gardens, but other stores that regularly carry Cookies flower are likely to have it. The Cookies cut is a fair representation of the strain, but it'd be nice to see a more affordable cut available.

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