SCALE – 1 (Poor) 2 (Average) 3 (Very Good) 4 (Exceptional) 5 (Holy Grail)
Product Description
Jefferson is a new strain grown by Northern California Hemp Farmers. This beautiful and dense flower resembles a cherry strain with deep and danky pine and citrus notes. Amazing terpene profile these buds pack 3.2% terpene potency! – J&K Distribution
The Review
Welcome back to the Red Bench – it’s time for another Red Bench Review!
This week we’re going to take a look at something a little different… CBD buds! These are hemp flowers, and they are completely legal in the United States. I bought the tin of buds we’re reviewing today online and it was shipped to my PO Box, no problem. It even came with legal documents and lab testing results – very impressive. So let’s get into this and check it out…
CBD Buds? What Are Those?
There are many varieties to the plant we know of as cannabis or marijuana. What we’re most familiar with is the cannabis side of the family. Cannabis contains THC, in varying amounts, with levels reaching into the 30% range these days. Hemp, on the other hand, has less than 0.3% THC. The 2018 Farm Bill opened the door to a whole new product – hemp flowers, exactly like cannabis flowers except high in CBD and with practically no THC.
Of course, I live in California where you can get the highest THC buds available, so why would I want to try smoking buds with no THC? Well, lets flip this script… it’s not about what’s missing – it’s about what CBD brings to the table.
CBD provides many of the positive physical effects that regular marijuana provides, without the heavy psychoactive elements. It surprises me how often I run into people that want the positive health benefits of cannabis, whether is dealing with insomnia or depression, but don’t want the high. Well, say hello to CBD buds!
Anxiety, depression, body pain, insomnia, appetite loss… all of these conditions and more have been claimed to be helped by smoking CBD. I’m not saying this is a miracle drug, a silver bullet that will cure whatever ails you, but I feel it is definitely something worth looking into…
But what do CBD buds look like? What is the smell, taste and feel of hemp flowers?
President Jefferson
Several weeks ago I visited the J&K Distribution website and scrolled through their menu. What sweet looking nugs! I ordered a few different strains to see if this was worth sharing with you, my readers and viewers. We are, after all, interested in all forms of cannabis, and so, hemp flowers are right up our alley, so to speak.
The flowers arrived very quickly in a standard post office shipping box. Inside the box, along with my tins of hemp flowers, was paperwork with the lab results – Certificate of Analysis (COA) – and legal documents. The COA lists all the cannabinoids and terpenes. President Jefferson has lots of Myrcene and a bunch of Pinene and Caryophyllene along with a smattering of other terpenes. The total terpenes were listed at over 3.2% while the CBD amounts listed were 18.425%!
The tins looked like small cans of tuna with a plastic lid on top. Once you removed the plastic lid, there was a pull-top lid to remove. Inside the tin was a sweet selection of dried and cured hemp flowers and a humidity pack to keep it all fresh. The eighth weighed in at 3.69 grams – nicely generous!
The smell that the nugs presented at first was mild… earthy, sweet, piney and kushy. I think I detected a hint of chocolate in there.
When I cut up the first dark green nug the smell just jumped up from the tray. The well-cured bud released a wonderfully dank, chocolate smell that reminded me of some herb I had years ago – Chocolate Thai. The earthy aroma was very complex and full and the sticky pile of herb on the tray was just begging to be smoked. So I obliged.
Thick, smooth smoke. Pure smoking pleasure!
From the first rip I knew this was a good smoker. Very well-cured. I was surprised that my eyes felt lidded after a couple hits.
The hits went straight to my head in a very pleasant fashion… not unlike being high. I definitely felt lifted. My eyes could feel it. After about ten minutes it dropped down to my chest and made my breathing feel looser and free. And then it just released a comfort that filled my body. The body feel was very much like an Indica-dominant THC bud. The head buzz just lasted a good fifteen to twenty minutes before fading into straight body comfort with a mildly sedative effect… and then I got the munchies!
My quick assessment of CBD bud and President Jefferson in particular – it amazed me how strong the effects are… more than enough to give that satisfying feeling of “this smoke is doing something” –there is a nice head and body buzz that I didn’t expect and is very comfortable. Two thumbs up… I will explore this some more, for sure.
CBD + THC
I love mixing my herbs! So now that CBD bud has entered the picture I wonder what it would be like to mix some President Jefferson with some regular THC bud. I have some Avalanche OG on-hand – a nice, even-balanced herb that seems perfect for this experiment.
CBD is known to lower the negative psychoactive effects of THC – paranoia and anxiety – so I wondered if the two types of herb would cancel each other out or enhance each other. I cut up a nug of each and mixed them together on my tray. I took a bit of the resulting mixture and loaded up my bong. Time to do some serious experimenting!
Flavor-wise – the two paired perfectly. The flavors of each herb enhanced the flavor of the other. Avalanche OG has a floral sweetness that’s different than the President Jefferson chocolaty sweetness, and together they blended very nice.
The effects of the two together was a “bigger” high, a fuller high than just smoking the Avalanche OG. The effects of each herb enhanced the other, creating what I’m calling “a full-spectrum high”. The two together got me to a place that neither could on their own, and that’s got me very excited about the possibilities this presents.
Here’s an added bonus – CBD bud costs about half as much as THC bud. Mixing the two is a definite cost-cutter for the daily smoker. Make your THC bud go twice as far while experiencing a full-spectrum high – not a bad deal for those of us who are watching our budget!
Do you mix CBD and THC buds? I’d like to hear about your experience!
Customer Service, Oh Yes!
I wanted to end with a note about the customer service at J&K Distribution, and that’s to give them the thumbs up. I apparently entered my zip code wrong on my order and the company contacted me before shipping because the zip code seemed wrong for my address. That’s attention to detail!
Customer service is handled by the owners of the company, Jaime and Keiji. The emails we exchanged were both professional and friendly. The problem was fixed in no time and the order arrived with no further problems. Customer service like that creates return customers!
Have yourself a great week, and until later, best of health.
The Lowdown
| Strain | President Jefferson |
|---|---|
| Type | Hybrid |
| Genetics | Unknown |
| Brand | J&K Distribution |
| Location Purchased | Online |
| CBD Level | 18.425% |
| Cost | $22 an 1/8 |
| Purchase Weight | 3.5 grams – 1/8 oz |
| Actual Weight | 3.69 grams |
| Look & Feel | |
| Packaging | Tin |
| Color | Dark Green |
| Freshness | Well Cured |
| Touch | Light Sticky |
| Structure | Solid |
| Look & Feel Rating | 3.25 |
| Look & Feel Impressions | These nugs were packaged a year ago and still look great |
| Smell | |
| Base Smell | Sweet |
| Secondary Smells | Pine |
| Secondary Smells – Other | Chocolate |
| Strength – Smell | Mellow |
| Smell Rating | 3.5 |
| Smell Impression | The smell didn’t really express itself until the nugs were cut up – then it was a delicious dank chocolate smell – yum! |
| Taste | |
| Flavor | Earthy |
| Flavor – Other | Pine, Chocolate |
| Smoke Texture | Smooth, Thick |
| Strength – Taste | Pronounced |
| Taste Rating | 3.5 |
| Taste Impressions | Love the chocolate hints |
| Effects | |
| How Much Ingested? | 4 hits (1/4 gram) |
| Method | Bong |
| Speed of Onset | Immediate |
| Where Do You Feel It? | Eyes |
| Main Effects | Cerebral, Physical, Relaxing |
| Strength – Effects | Mellow |
| Duration | Two Hours |
| Effects Rating | 3.5 |
| Effects Impression | The effects were very satisfying for a hemp flower. The head effects lasted about 15-20 minutes but the body comfort lasted several hours. |
| Total Rating | 3.45 |
| Total Rating – Why? | I am new to CBD bud, but really enjoyed this one! |
| Would I buy this again? | Yes |
| Rating Scale | 1 (Poor) 2 (Average) 3 (Very Good) 4 (Exceptional) 5 (Holy Grail) |
I am interested more about cbd now, however I just got some avalanche og for our trip and I really like it! Maybe I’ll have to get some cbd and try the mixture myself!
Tammy – so glad you were able to get some of the Avalanche OG for your trip! President Jefferson is a good herb to mix with that Avalanche, indeed. Smoking the last of my mix right now… time to re-up!