The Good Weed Board, part six

March 17, 2024 | Contributor

SHOWCASING CANADA’S BEST DRIED FLOWER PRODUCTS

Welcome to the Good Weed Board on StratCann—part six! This time around, we have a direct delivery takeover featuring Magi Cannabis and Up in Smoke.

Profiled in a previous article, Magi Cannabis is a family-run micro-cultivator on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia. Up In Smoke is an independent cannabis retailer with a storefront on W. Broadway in Vancouver.

These two small businesses are collaborating to take advantage of the direct delivery program in British Columbia, which enables licensed producers from within the province to drop off products at the doorstep of their retail partners rather than distributing them through the LDB warehouse.

For many of us in Canada, it seems as though the centralized provincial distribution of cannabis was designed for consortiums to move mid-grade products en masse across the country. Conversely, direct delivery programs provide an opportunity to foster small businesses and encourage local trade. Independent retailers and local producers can choose to carve out an identity together by building strong brand partnerships and promoting limited drops that showcase unique craft products from their region.

Local trade is crucial for craft cannabis products. Maybe it’s true that 90% of the regulated market doesn’t prioritize craft quality, but for the 10% that do, local trade is vital. Growing, harvesting, and curing good weed is just the beginning. Keeping it stable for long enough to reach consumers is the ultimate challenge.

Not that direct delivery in British Columbia is perfect. The LDB still levies a 15% proprietary fee on products sold within the program, the same 15% they charge producers to sell through their central distribution system. Eliminating that fee would boost the incentive for stakeholders to participate and lower the costs of local products.

Despite the program’s flaws, Magi Cannabis dropped six different kinds of small batch artisanal flower for delivery to BC retailers in November 2023: an assortment of 7-gram and 14-gram cases of hand-trimmed whole flower, along with 20-gram cases of machined smalls. I visited Up In Smoke to grab a selection of each. After two separate purchases due to the prohibitive 30-gram possession limit, I was on my way to sample some fresh craft product.

The first thing worth noting is that some overlapping characteristics were noticeable across the products. This is a factor I’ve noted before when sampling more than one offering from the same producer. Could this phenomenon be explained by the influence of terroir, even coming from an indoor growing environment? Maybe I will pursue the idea in a future piece.

Four of the Magi offerings I graded qualified for the Good Weed Board, including a new high score. Here are the Part Six ratings.

The first entry is Salty Pink by Magi Cannabis. Like all Magi products, the Salty Pink is grown in virgin coir and preserved with a two-week, whole-plant cold cure. Most of the Magi flowers are then hand-trimmed dry to preserve flavorants and trichomes. The finished product has been fully tested and is non-irradiated.

The unit I sampled was a 7-gram, packaged on October 20 and opened on November 24, 2023. The 7-gram and 14-gram options are all packaged in the same size bag. There is probably too much open air inside the 7-gram bags, as evidenced by the essence of this Salty Pink that was faded at first, despite being relatively fresh.

This cut was unique compared to most of the other Island-region Pink Kush cuts I’ve had the pleasure of trying. The profile was dominated by gassy-fuel, with an evergreen musk aroma complimented by a sweet and creamy vanilla flavour. If the product had been fresher, it would’ve scored better. OG Rating = 82/100.

The second entry for Part Six is Hippie Headbanger by Magi Cannabis. This unit was also a 7-gram but had better moisture content. The lineage advertised on Magi’s portal is Sour Diesel crossed with Biker Kush. It is definitely a Sour Diesel dominant headband cut.

Imagine sticky buds with a slightly foxtailing shape, and a mix of long, milky and amber pistils. I observed a citrus fuel aroma with an earthy musk and herb finish. The flavour was a powerful combination of lime and diesel, brandishing a supreme burn with the kind of potency that makes me sweat. OG Rating = 85/100.

The third entry is a record-breaker! Saltspring Love Haze by Magi Cannabis. This is a Super Lemon Haze crossed with a Blueberry Lambsbreath cut. It was actually the second batch of Love Haze that I sampled, and it was fresher and better than the first. The best two bags of weed I ever smoked were from a guy in Santa Cruz back in 2015. One of them he called Blue Dream. This Love Haze reminded me of that flower.

The buds were large and frosty, light green, with lots of red/orange hairs. A creamy, almost cheese-like aroma wafted out of the bag, complemented by traces of lemon rinds. I admire the profile description on the package: tropical fruit, crème filled pastry, springtime forests. Burning the weed revealed a delightful buttered popcorn and incense aroma with a caramel berry bubblegum aftertaste. Once again a supreme inhale, with sativa-leaning potency. OG Rating = 87/100.

The final entry for Part Six is Timmy’s OG Shark by Magi Cannabis. I must say, straight off the bat, this is my favourite kind of weed! To me, the Timmy’s OG Shark has classic OG Kush traits, which is the best all-around Kush when done right.

Renowned for sticky, small, but compact, light green buds that are layered in trichomes, this version reminded me of the OG Shark I used to grab from Nature’s Botanicals back in the West Coast dispensary days. I sampled a 14-gram bag from Magi. The profile description is spot-on: skunk, musk, and tobacco leaf. The description revealed to me something about the fuel spectrum that I’ve been seeking to discover. More on this in a future piece. OG Rating = 86/100.

That’s all for Part Six. My next column will showcase four more products from the Good Weed Board. Stay tuned to find out if any of them break the new record score of 87. Happy blazing!

Marty Wig is the cofounder of Overgrown Gardens, and creator of the OG Rating Guide. He has been grading cannabis since 2003.