Why Colorado Tokers Love MAC

Am I the only one calling bullshit on all these 30 percent THC strains? I’ll smoke something from a dispensary claiming just that and feel like a sober turd, then puff something stinky marked at 15 percent THC and get burnt to a crisp. Stop juicing your testing results, ya bums. You know who you are.

Some strains can back up that shit talk, though, and make you regret being so cocky. Some strains will make you feel like a lost virgin again, leaving you gasping for air and a few more seconds of focus. Of course a strain named MAC would be one of those strains: You’ll be lured in and spit out like a spent piece of meat. And you’ll keep wanting to come back. No one can resist such powerful mackin’.

The hybrid of Alien Cookies and (allegedly) a Colombian landrace and Starfighter is a successful attempt by breeder Capulator at condensing Alien Kush genetics through a long lineage of backcrossing strains such as Tahoe Alien and Chemdog. Short for Miracle Alien Cookies, MAC has quickly built a reputation for dense, hearty nugs with otherworldly trichome coverage and top-shelf potency. Sure, anyone can fuck up good genetics, but MAC has reached a point of credibility where even mediocre dispensaries should be growing a respectable cut, or not trying to grow it at all. (Those rules should apply to all strains but sadly, they don’t.)

MAC hasn’t yet gotten the acclaim here that it has in California, but we’ve heard reports of serious MACkin’ in Denver lately. A Cut Above, Ajoya, Bonfire Cannabis, Diego Pellicer, Doctors Orders, Green Tree Medicinals, the Herbal Center, High Level Health, Igadi, the Joint, Kind Love and Wolfpac Cannabis have all carried MAC, while several extraction companies sell concentrated versions of the strain, as well. My favorite cuts so far come from Kind Love and Wolfpac, both of which make bong hits feel like dabs while tasting like a mix between rubber, citrus rind and stinky cheese. The concentrated version from Green Dot Labs provides a thick, sweet and potent hit, too, without all the ash.

Looks: MAC usually has dense calyxes, with football- and cone-shaped buds that grow beautiful tips made for pinching and breaking. The heavy trichome coverage almost looks greasy over the limited pistils and dark-purple spots.

Smell: As good as it looks, MAC’s much more of a sweet talker, pumping out sweet, sour and funky whiffs of rubber, gas, citrus rind and even a little dirty cheese. Those rubbery, sweet notes are covered in a dank layer of earthy bark — a true clash of Chemmy and Kush characteristics.

Flavor: Able to force its way through dirty glassware and flavored blunt wraps, MAC’s flavor is very similar to the smell, both in clarity and chronology, with initial sweet and sour notes of Diesel, rubber and oranges followed by a subtle cheesy funk and topped off by a powerful earthy-Kush aftertaste.

Effects: MAC’s euphoric, uplifting effects help relax the mind while empowering and energizing it, creating a great high for weekend mornings and after-work activities. However, the strain’s high THC content can make the effects debilitating for low tolerances, so start very slowly with this one. Medical patients have used MAC for chronic pain, fatigue, stress, headaches and eye pain, with high-tolerance users able to enjoy the strain without an extreme increase in appetite.

Home grower’s take: “Blew up at dispensaries overnight, but some of us grew MAC as early as two, three years ago. Love the conflicting aspects of Eastern and South American genetics at play here, and you can really smell those two different sides in the grow. Took at least nine or ten weeks to pull down, but it’s worth it if you have a rosin press or make hash. That trichome level is fantastic.”

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