Why Colorado Tokers Love Lemon OG Haze

Moving into a new home last week taught me two things: I own way too much shit, and my body is getting older. Cleaning a couple-year dude dwelling and hauling furniture around town for two different people in one 24-hour span had my legs aching, but I still had fun chores ahead of me like organizing a new apartment and learning how to park overnight in Cap Hill. Pain relief was needed, but so was a relatively clear head. Are those effects even attainable with weed? If you smoke long enough, anything is.

Combining Haze, OG Kush, Lemon Skunk and AK-48 (a hodgepodge of landrace strains similar to AK-47) for physical relaxation and mental clarity sounds like mixing Dr. Pepper, Sprite and iced tea at the soda fountain and expecting refreshment. But breeders are the true experts, and Nirvana Seeds almost hit the money line with just such a genetic casserole, dubbed Lemon OG Haze.

A sweet, complex smoke, looser limbs and a functional brain are all high points of Lemon OG Haze's effects, but there's also a trap door to the stoned abyss after a couple tokes too many — and even when kept in check, the appetite always comes. I've never not eaten a fourth meal on days when Lemon OG Haze is consumed, and a full stomach and warm body usually leads to sleep, whether that be for twenty minutes or two hours. A comedown is inevitable after virtually every session, so don't let the initial productivity fool you into thinking that energy is sustainable. You'll be slumped over a desk (albeit comfortably) before the afternoon is over.

Lemon OG Haze is having a mini-moment in the sun before summer hits. We've seen it at Apothecary Farms, Berkeley Dispensary, Cross Genetics, Cherry Peak, the Dab, DANK, Denver Dispensary, Diego Pellicer, Ganja Gourmet, Green Cross Caregivers, High Level Health, LaConte's, Lightshade, Medicine Man, RiverRock, Rocky Mountain Cannabis, Star Buds, Standing Akimbo and Strawberry Fields.

Looks: Wintergreen nugs, moderate trichome coverage and loads of peach pistils give Lemon OG Haze an old-school Amsterdam look, with a banana-long bud structure and open, fluffy calyxes.

Smell: Lemon OG Haze has a more complex smell than I first anticipated. Lemon and pineapple notes combine in harmony for sweet and sour, with a subtle layer of pine and pepper and bubble gum back end, all paying homage to the strain's family tree.

Flavor: Lemon OG Haze is surprisingly sweeter than the smell implies, with a pineapple-citrus flavor up front, as well as chalky notes of bubble gum and a dirty pine aftertaste.

Effects: Physically calming but mentally stimulating, Lemon OG Haze can be therapeutic and productive or debilitating, depending on how much you smoke. A couple of hits ease light pain and festering aches while keeping my mind interested and focused, but any more than two bowls brings the relaxation and munchies earlier, and concentration zones in and out.

Home grower's take: "I've always thought it was pretty underrated. You don't need to let it bloom as long as the internet says, you know, and the yields are competitive as long as you stay away from auto-flower seeds. It's got a little tropical thing going on with the flavor — I think that's from the Haze and Dutch lineage — that likes to pop out as it gets bigger. I'm glad it's making a comeback. I hope it sticks around; such a good munchies strain."

Commercial grower's take: "A few growers have taken on Lemon OG Haze in Colorado, so maybe clones or seeds were swapped around. I haven't seen anything that looks amazing yet, but there are definitely different tiers in quality. Seeing so many pen cartridges of it makes you wonder who grew what. I dig the smell, though, so maybe it just needs the right grower, or another run. Good versions of this do exist."

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