Purple Dragon: $35/eighth It's been a while since I've brought home a purple strain, and though this sample had some of the moisture issues of the other stock, it still let off a sweet grape aroma with the intensity of an old scratch-and-sniff sticker. The stems snapped when bent, but the herb pulled apart as opposed to breaking apart. Smoked, the bud had a sweet, grapey finish to the first few hits, but by the end of the bowl, it had burned to a charcoal and hashy finish. Dried out and rolled up, it was a nice after-work bowl that relaxed the head and body but didn't put me down on the couch like a useless sack of potatoes. I've never had much luck with purple strains, and this Purple Dragon wasn't much different. Headband: $35/eighth Unlike a lot of the other buds from the Chem family in the shop, this one had a very strong, strain-specific smell to it and was much better dried and cured. First smell out of the jar was a piney, rubbery finish, like walking through a high country forest in the springtime. Very pretty bud development, with full calyxes, rust-colored pistils and a beautiful amber-green hue colors throughout. It smoked well and had a similarly sweet, piney taste. It wasn't the most flavorful Headband sample I've had after the first green hit was gone, and it did burn harshly toward the end of the bowl. But overall, it packed a solid Headband punch, as expected. It's nice when things live up to expectations like that. Other than possibly a few more days flushing, the bud was well done, and it's hard to complain about herb like this at $35 an eighth.

William Breathes is the pot pen name for Westword's medical marijuana dispensary critic. Read more of his reviews in our pot blog, Mile Highs and Lows, and keep up with all your marijuana news over at The Latest Word.