Pot Talk with Emily Hobelmann
Dab Dynasty is a cannabis extraction outfit based in Northern California with products available at select dispensaries throughout the state. Dab Dynasty uses whole organic plant material to make their extracts, and they thoroughly screen their raw material for contaminants to ensure high quality end products.
This is not some backyard-BHO made by unconscious people in the weed game solely to make a profit. Based on my conversation with a Dab Dynasty representative, I can say with certainty that these folks are in the extract business in order to help and heal. Dab Dynasty products are made with the patient in mind, and their products are clean, professionally packaged, effective and made without adding terpenes.
Dab Dynasty has a good reputation — no less than three members of the Southern Humboldt cannabis community recommended the Dab Dynasty line of concentrates when I advertised my intent to write about an extract for the High for the Holidays issue of Emerald Magazine. (I wish you a Dabby December!)
I appreciate extracts because they have legitimate medicinal applications. And like cannabis flowers, you can select concentrates that have certain effects, certain ratios of THC-to-CBD, certain textures…whatever characteristics work for you.
People use dabs to get relief from migraines or other forms of severe or chronic pain, to enhance focus and to get off prescription pain pills. By doing dabs, you are avoiding ingesting combusted plant material. Dabs are more potent than flower, so you don’t need as much material to get high and it’s less cannabis to carry. Plus, when you do a dab, you really get to enjoy the rainbow of flavors of any given cannabis strain — extracts can be much more flavorful. Now with the advent of vape pens, you can dab ultra discreetly.
Speaking personally, I have Raynaud’s Disease — the arteries in my extremities spasm in response to cold temperatures or stress. My fingers, toes, nose and ears are primarily affected, and when I get hit with a Raynaud’s attack, I experience pallor, pain and numbness in those areas. My hands get so painfully ice cold sometimes, and I have found that a good powerful dab will warm me right up from the inside out.
There are many advantages to dabbing if you dab right, and dabbing right means getting your extracts from a legitimate source, from an ethical extract artist, if you will. Let’s all support extract artists that use organic material and safe processes and thereby elevate the public opinion of dabs by dabbing with a conscience.
I did some dabs right by acquiring a sample of Atomica OG extract for this edition of Pot Talk. Atomica OG is an indica dominant hybrid: Haze x Trainwreck x OG x Blueberry x Urkle. The Dab Dynasty extract is a single solvent dewaxed concentrate that underwent a 48+ hour purge process. Dewaxing is a step in the extraction process whereby the extraction artist removes residual lipids, making for a nice, clear concentrate.
The color of the Atomica OG concentrate is amber with a subtle green tint. It’s translucent, clear and glassy — it glistens just like a Jolly Rancher hard candy. This little slab of dab has an earthy smell with sweet fruity and piney undertones. The texture is gooey but totally tacky, like caramel. My dab expert friend and smoking companion @dabbape says it’s got nice snap-and-pull.
If you want to hone your cannabis lingo, I’ll refer you to the June 2014 article in the The Cannabist called “The cannabis lexicon: Terms to know, from A-Z.” In the article, “Pull ’n snap” is defined as, “The texture of hash oil which lies between a more runny oil and the shelf stable shatter at room temperature, a proper pull and snap is easily gripped by the dabber but pulls slightly before snapping off. The ambient temperature plays a huge part in oil’s texture, as more heat will make it more runny and sappy while cold will make it shatter.”
I sampled the Atomica OG on a Faberge egg style rig with a titanium e-nail set at 720 degrees Fahrenheit. When I dropped a dab of Atomica OG on the super hot nail, it was instantly vaporized leaving no discernible residue. I found the smoke from the Atomica OG extract to be smooth, rich and velvety. The flavor, like the smell, is earthy, fruity and more citrusy; the extract bombards my senses.
When dab virtuoso @dabbape took a rip of the extract, he threw out the phrase OG Knockdown. Both of us experienced an immediate head change, and a change in how our eyes felt. It was a crisp SoHum evening and yes, my first dab of Atomica OG did warm me up. I did not descend into darkness or paranoia like I sometimes do when dabbing indica-dominant cannabis.
When I revisited the Atomica OG a couple days later, I found myself experiencing a rational high — I felt grounded and reasonable. I honored the high by enjoying a hike in the fresh air and sunshine. Ultimately I did feel that OG knockdown effect… I got super sleepy and had to take a nap. It happens. But if that’s the only drawback I experienced from consuming this extract, it’s all good.
Thanks to the folks at Dab Dynasty for hookin’ up the Atomica OG for this edition of Pot Talk. You can check out Dab Dynasty for yourself on Instagram: @dabdynasty_official.
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