Marijuana Strain Review: Lemon Topaz Pre-Roll at High Level Health

As delightful as the holidays may be, a week-plus of gifts and celebrations can be draining on all of us — and our bank accounts. After ten days of holiday parties, Christmas shopping, plane rides and a little work sprinkled in between, all I wanted when I got back to Denver was a nice, portly doob in my hands and my feet on the table. Fresh out of weed and low on funds when I landed, I decided to try my luck with a pre-roll at High Level Health on my way home.

HLH’s shop near the intersection of Lincoln Street and Ninth Avenue is a few convenient steps from the Westword office, so it’s not like I was unfamiliar with the place. With $30 eighths after a coupon discount, it’s hard to beat the dispensary’s stanky versions of Moonwalker and Sour OG. I was only in need of a one-night stand, though, so I asked the budtender for something good for a solo sesh. He said the Lemon Topaz pre-roll was a sweet-tasting smack in the face, so I pounced on the one-gram fatty for $10 after tax.

A creamy blend of Lemon AK-47 genetics and Bubblegum, Lemon Topaz is an indica-leaning hybrid that’s exclusive to HLH. Hearing that my joint was made of larfy nugs and bottom-dwelling buds was an expected downer, but the price was still fair, and the shop’s budtenders hadn’t steered me wrong before. Once I got home, a few fruity whiffs from the bottle kept me optimistic; I just hoped it wouldn’t be too dry, as the flower in pre-rolls is usually well aged.


Delicate citrus notes came through during some drags before I lit up, but the dominant flavor profiles were fruity and earthy, which was great for drowning out the bitter aftertaste leaves are known for. The leafy presence couldn’t have been big, however, because the one-gram cone was uncommonly easy on the throat, as I took each berry-flavored puff to Neverland. I rarely smoke an entire pre-roll by myself (they’re too harsh), but this was smooth enough to cheef until the end. Not that it took long: My worries about the dryness ended up being well founded, and each hit seemed to take a half-inch off the joint.

A clear high took over my head midway through the sesh, and pulses of warm relaxation moved down my body within a half-hour. Any concentration I'd had disappeared quickly: I stared at a Jimmy John’s menu for a good fifteen minutes before ordering the same turkey sub I always do. Lemon Topaz burned my stress away, as I’d hoped, but it burned my mind away as well — and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing after looking at my credit-card statement.

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