The High Life

Legalized marijuana goes luxe

- Jen Gerson

A QUICK Google search will reveal the following of the popular marijuana breed known as Bubba Kush: “Sweet hashish flavors with subtle notes of chocolate and coffee come through on the exhale, delighting the palate as powerful relaxation takes over. From head to toe, muscles ease with heaviness as dreamy euphoria blankets the mind, crushing stress while coercing happy moods.”

This description is from the popular website Leafly, which bills itself as the largest marijuana resource in the world and lists detailed tasting notes on thousands of strains that can be purchased across the globe. If you know your weed, you may already be familiar with names like Blue Dream, Green Crack, or OG Kush, each promising a distinct experience. Some claim to induce sleepiness or increase appetite, others to provide a sense of happiness and well- being. In addition to varying concentrations of the active chemical THC — the compound that gets users high — different strains also boast complex offerings of terpenes: aromatic organic compounds that can subtly alter the flavour and smell of cannabis (and, some claim, even the effects of a high).

In June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that recreational marijuana was set to become legalized across the country on October 17. It is hoped that legalization will end the illicit trade in this comparatively benign inebriant. But the new law will do more than that. It will reduce social stigma and spur investment; legalization will foster the growing culture of cannabis connoisseurship, complemented with a growing array of swanky consumer products like luxury humidors and space-age vaporizers. While the federal government has set strict guidelines for how marijuana can be marketed, expect high end retailers to come equipped with knowledgeable salespeople — weed sommeliers who can guide the willing consumer into bespoke euphoric realms.