strain review | agent orange

Life is funny sometimes. 

Thursday, after a really weird work day, I headed to the dispensary for my post payday pickup. I plan my dispensary trips before I've even taken off, so before I left I knew EXACTLY what I wanted:

• MTF (for a Saturday Strains review)

• Super Blue Dream (because it's been on my list)

• infused hot chocolate...because HELLO!

As I was telling the budtender my order I was looking at their display buds, and one in particular caught my eye--or should I say, my nose. 

For the longest time I didn't understand what people meant when they said a strain smelled fruity, or piney, or whatever else; honestly it was all the same to me. Even now I'm a bit more attuned to the scent but have a hard time identifying exactly what I'm smelling. With this, I had no problem: it smells like a fresh orange. 

The budtender told me this strain was Agent Orange, and I immediately perked up. A good friend had recently picked up AO in Oregon, and had nothing but good things to say about it. I'd done a quick search earlier in the week and hadn't found it, so I was pleasantly surprised and opted to pick up a gram, just to try it out.

AO is a hybrid strain combining Orange Velvet and Jack the Ripper. It's a pretty bud, and gets its orange name from its many orange hairs. I broke up my bowl by hand, and was pleasantly surprised at how much kief came off on my fingers. 

As far as effects go, its's a fairly down the middle hybrid strain and said to be great for depression and lethargy. I thought this would be a nice strain to smoke after a long workday--I figured it would perk me up so I could get some work done, but wouldn't get me too wound up and anxious before bed.

I got home and almost immediately packed a bowl of this. It was a doubly special occasion, because I was christening my new Rick and Morty bong, so I was already in a pretty cheery mood, and found after the first toke I only got happier.

Besides the strong orangey smell, this strain has a serious citrus taste--in a good way! Citrus is a cheerful, healthy, uplifting scent and taste and that alone put me in a cheery mood almost immediately.

The high itself was pretty immediate and, as promised, fairly down the line. I had to do some paperwork for my car, photograph some bud and list an iPhone on eBay, plus I wanted to play a little Doom (my current guilty pleasure). I felt energized and got everything done I needed to do, PLUS started on this blog post, PLUS outlined a few future posts, and I STILL felt jazzed up and ready to game. However, I didn't feel--for lack of a better term--"frenzied" in my routine. I went along at my own pace (admittedly, slow) and really enjoyed each task. I played with some different settings on my camera and spent some time with my cactus outside. I just felt very relaxed and at peace, and all the pain and anxiety from the day just floated away.

I didn't personally notice any negative side effects from this strain, although I've been advised a dry mouth is a definite risk (this strain would be really good with a citrusy drink, like an Orange Julius smoothie, or a healthy smoothie, or even a sparkling--or hard--lemonade). 

I honestly can't say enough good things about this strain. I am really pleasantly surprised by a strain I just happened to pick up on a whim. It may well be my new favourite--sorry, Pineapple Express! My only regret is I only grabbed a gram...guess I'll be running back soon!

Come back every Saturday for Saturday Strains, where I'll be reviewing a new Vegas-bought strain every week!