Granddaddy Purple is a legend! GDP! Granddaddy Purps! This strain was first introduced to the world by Ken Estes at medical marijuana collectives in the San Francisco bay area in 2003, and this strain has gone on to become a heavily sought after strain around the world. I love this strain. It’s been in my top ten list for years even though I haven’t had a chance to smoke it in nearly a decade…

I used to photograph herb when I volunteered at medical marijuana collectives in Long Beach from 2008-2012. I took nearly 2000 photos of herb that the collectives would use for their online menus. Some strains I photographed numerous times and GDP was one of my favorites to photograph – I got free samples when I took photos! If you asked me during those years what my favorite strain was out of the 350 or so strains I photographed, hands down it was GDP.

The other night I was checking out online menus at several dispensaries down in the low desert. We don’t have any dispensaries, for some strange reason, where I live in Joshua Tree, in the hi-desert. On the menu at West Coast Cannabis Club in Cathedral City (that’s right next to Palm Springs) there was Granddaddy Purple! I’ve been looking for this strain for years, wanting to experience the GDP feel I miss so much.

Yesterday I made the eighty mile round trip journey to Cathedral City to check out this dispensary for the first time. And I was impressed. The manager took care of my shopping list while explaining the different flowers I was buying to me. The whole experience was pleasant and I left the place with a smile on my face. I am now recommending West Coast Cannabis Club as my new go-to dispensary…

Granddaddy Purple is a cross of Purple Urkle and Big Bud. Both strains are Indicas and GDP combined the best attributes of these remarkable parents into one outstanding 80% Indica and 20% Sativa strain. That bit of Sativa in there makes this a very social herb, but the rest of the GDP experience is all Indica.

The Look and Smell

WCCC sells their herb in nice glass jars, and the jar I bought was packaged just the week before.

I paid $40, including the taxes, for an eighth. The purple label on the jar informed me that this herb contained 22.3% THC, which is on the high end for GDP.

Opening the jar greeted my nose with that familiar “purple” smell that GDP is famous for, but it wasn’t as loud as I was expecting. Pouring the dense, compact nugs out on the tray really released the aroma and when I stood up my head was in a cloud of purple, delicious, sweet grape. It seemed the more I moved away from the nugs the more noticeable the aroma was…

The nugs were drier than I like. I prefer my buds kept at 62% humidity, and these were around 50-55% I was guessing. The nugs were well cured and the smell just super-charged the air with purpleness when I cut the first one up. I cut up a small pile of herb, getting it ready to pack in my bong, and the smell… it was so enticing!

The Taste and Effects

Here’s how I described the taste during the video review – imagine being deep in the forest and having just finished a grape candy. There was an earthiness, that familiar marijuana flavor, topped with a sour grape flavor and notes of sweetness. The aftertaste in my mouth was heaven! The smoke for this one was thick and rich.

The effects were a bit of a body slam. It hit right away and kept on coming. Very powerful! The first hit made my face flush with warmth, my eyes got immediately heavy and within minutes I was moving into slow motion. The first strong effects was like feeling the full effects of gravity. Heavy! But in a good way, like I sunk into my own body.

Each hit really packed a punch, so, of course, I took a handful of bong rips just to really try it out. I underestimated this herb and the high just kept on building for twenty minutes or more… I don’t know because time slowed down, I slowed down, and I lost track of the time.

As I mentioned, the bit of Sativa makes this a great herb for socializing – if you just take a few hits. Get to that second bowl and you’re deep into a solid Indica buzz. I felt it in my body – so comfortable! I was stoned from the crown of my head to the toes on my feet. I should say that I was Stoned with a capital S.

The Wrap Up

Granddaddy Purple has again moved up my personal list of favorites, with this being my favorite Indica, right up there with Fatso and GMO. The Legend lives on. It’ll be a few weeks before I can drive down to WCCC and get some more of this one, but I will definitely be planning on doing just that – if they still have any left.

A last note: GDP was originally grown as a medical strain because it does wonders for chronic pain, stress, anxiety and depression. I’m not a doctor so I won’t recommend it for these conditions but that is the word on the street. But I’ll tell you, I just smoked a bowl and I’m feeling no pain, as they say.

Until later, best of health.