dubcomm – the toronto teknopusher

Marijuana Strain Review: Blackberry Kush

Blackberry Kush

Physical Exam:

Visual Appeal: 8 ^{(1-10 / unpleasant-superb)}
Bud Density: 8 ^{(1-10 / airy-dense)}
Aroma Intensity: 7 ^{(1-10 / subtle-intense)}
Seed Content: 1 ^{(1-10 / none-fully seeded)}
Colours Present in Buds: 6 Green / 4 Gold / 2 White / 6 Orange / 2 Red / 3 Purple ^{(1-10 / light-dark)}
Present Aromas: 5 Skunk / 4 Hash / 2 Floral / 7 Musk / 9 Berry ^{(freshly cracked bud | 1-10 / weak-potent)}

Comments:

This batch of MMJ came as a collection of small “popcorn” nuggets. Dense with a very fine coating of small trichromes, the pictures I took aren’t very representative… In it’s airtight jar for a couple of days before my testing session, I was pleasantly surprised at the fruity/berry aroma released as I sat down and got ready. I broke the cone off the biggest bud in sample (see pictures) and put the chunks into my grinder. Pouring into my rolling tray I noted a strong, musky kush smell, but there isn’t a big increase in size like you’d expect to see with denser buds… Looks can be deceiving!

Efficacy Testing:

Utensils Used: Joint (DLX 1.25″ & Quintessential Filter)
Dosage: 0.6g 
Sativa Effect: 3 ^{(1-10 / none-heavy)}
Indica Effect: 7 ^{(1-10 / none-heavy)}
Effect Onset: 2 ^{(1-10 / immediate-creeper)}
Potency: 7 ^{(1-10 / none-heavy)}
Taste: 8 ^{(1-10 / unpleasant-superb)}
Tolerance Build up: 2 ^{(1-10 / none-rapid)}
Effect Duration: ≈1.5 hours
Usability: 3 Morning / 5 Day & Work / 7 Evening / 8 Night ^{(1-10 / worst-ideal time of day)}

Comments:

I had a good feeling about this testing session, after reading about this strain’s genetics my focus was set on enjoying the smoke. Once the technicals were out of the way I opened up the DVR menu, sat back on the couch, and let the marijuana do the work. No less than 3 minutes from starting my excellently rolled joint it became apparent that these DLX (Deluxe) papers burn much slower than my old standard Rizla Silvers. The bud was burning to about 75% white ash, and I let it go out a few times during the hour long episode of SOA s4 on screen. Happily re-lighting didn’t change the taste too much until the last few pulls before filter. The indica buzz is a very familiar one, but not too strong, and I didn’t have trouble staying awake at all.

Conclusion: 7/10

Maybe its just my batch, or doing the research before the smoke test, or the fact I’m feeling some pain return while writing up this review, but I felt I had to knock off some efficacy points to honestly report on it. There is too much hype surrounding this plant, so I’m not likely to get excited next time it comes around, but that’s fairly understandable. I’m a weed snob. I take my medication very seriously because it does a lot for my life, and sharing truthful information about it is important to me… If I’m going to pick up an indica dominant strain, my goal is typically pain relief/distraction, and while it was easy to get comfortable for a session after extra preparation, afterwards it left me wanting.

I can’t totally hate, because the smell and taste of this batch really is beautiful. I found that mixing a few of the small nugs with other strains only increased the effects and improved/added to the flavour profiles, either in vapor or smoke form. While that may not be the ideal situation for such a reportedly expensive strain, its something I felt I should share. This is still very high-grade marijuana, but I’m not sold on this batch… Knowing my friends, they’ll take it as a personal challenge and next season they’ll send over a monster of the same name!

Note: Research shows a couple different opinions on the genetics, the most likely being DJ Short Blueberry X Afghani resulting in an 80/20 indica dominant split. It’s also a fairly expensive strain, I saw prices up to $30/g. Some of the pics out there show a very frosty plant with a fair bit of purple colouring, but my batch was pretty clearly the bottom-of-the-bag, being made up of .2-.5g buds. I’m interested to see another batch of prime harvest, so I’ll look for an updated sample next season.

My sample was grown in British Columbia and shipped over, but I can’t share any more than that… You’ll have to do the dirty work until the Canadian government smartens up and fixes the MMAR program to make medicine like this available to all of us. If you’d like some details, please check out http://whyprohibition.ca/marijuana and http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/marihuana/index-eng.php for information about your own MMAR application.