Before I get into the specifics of why Humboldt Relief is my favorite dispensary, you should know that I have been volunteering at the collective since July of 2010. I believe in transparency, so I do not want to give anyone the impression that I am not affiliated with the collective. That said, I will explain why I am so dedicated to serving this pre-ICO co-op.

From 215 Patient Activist to Cannabis Photographer

I joined HR as a patient in October of 2009, and stopped frequenting other dispensaries by about May of 2010. I fell in love with HR at first visit. The staff was chill, and didn’t try to put on airs like some places do with budtenders walking around in white lab coats. I found them very knowledgeable, and appreciated them not pretending to be medical professionals. In my book, no one without a medical degree should be playing doctor. Still, I’d be lying if I didn’t mention the amazing buds. Not only did HR have superior quality top shelf, their supply never seemed to run out. I’d been to plenty of other places with good meds, but the inventory would usually be hit or miss. That’s really why I quit wasting my time and money at other shops. When I walked into HR, I knew I would always leave happy, so why go anywhere else? Another thing that attracted me to HR was politics. I was actively involved in the LA activist scene in 2009/2010, and HR was one of the few shops who cared enough to openly support the cause. A number of the people who protested with me outside of city hall recommended HR for this reason.

In December of 2010, I got to meet HR’s owner for the first time through a mutual friend and fellow patient activist who goes by the name BabyBoomerSoCal. Little did I know this holiday visit would change my life forever. Big A can be a little intimidating at first because, well, he’s one gnarly looking dude. I’d say he’s about 3 times my size. We became fast friends, and to this day I find it difficult to describe his calming essence. Big A doesn’t like to boast, but he’s probably the most generous man in the MMJ industry. The way a lion looks after a den, Big A cares for sick patients in the community, and seeks no recognition. He rarely bothers to tell people they’ve been selected for the compassion program. He just starts providing their meds on the house or doubling their donations on every visit. So when I saw an opportunity to contribute to his collective in a meaningful way, I jumped right in.

In July of 2010, HR did not have a website. They belonged to a single MMJ forum website, which fell victim to a nasty malware attack. Unfortunately, some patients ended up with infected computers from visiting the site to check the HR menu. I knew absolutely no coding, and I’d never really touched a camera, but I offered to set up a simple WordPress blog so patients would always have access to HR’s info. Big A loved the idea, and didn’t say a word when I posted embarrassingly bad photos of his beautiful meds. He just kept encouraging me and thanking me for my efforts even though I had no clue what I was doing. His confidence in my abilities inspired me to constantly improve, hone my photography skills, and put his website on the map.

After about 6 months, we’d already outgrown the subdomain. When Big A commissioned me to create a legit website, I panicked inside. But I pushed forward through self doubt, and never looked back. Today I produce all of our web content, manage our growing social communities, and designed our recent print campaign for Green Acres Magazine. My experience at HR also furthered my non-cannabis professional career in online marketing. I would have never opened up Photoshop or implemented a successful local SEO strategy otherwise. Without a doubt, volunteering for HR opened doors I never imagined.

Top 5 Medical Marijuana Strains at Humboldt Relief

Now that you’ve got the back story, let’s move on to the main event: HR’s meds. In my years of volunteering, I’ve had the pleasure of photographing and sampling literally hundreds of top shelf strains.

These are my personal favorites:

• Olive Oyl- Purple Mr. Nice Guy x Jupiter OG Kush. I’ve never been a big fan of purple strains…until I met Olive Oyl. As soon as I saw the intense purple color, I couldn’t wait to start snapping nug shots. Many patients shun pure purple strains in favor of OGs, so Olive Oyl bridges the gap between OG connoisseurs and purp lovers. Olive Oyl smokes like a pure Indica in that the effects are super sedating. The flavor is packed with the classic purp taste, and I find myself smoking more bowls than usual just to savor it.

• Morning Wood aka Woody OG– Woody Harrelson x OG Kush. It’s hard to avoid the obvious innuendos, but this is one sexy strain. The Woody hits me like a Sativa dominant hybrid. Some patients swear the Morning Wood leans Indica; I’m not sure what they’re smoking. The flavor reminds me of Sprite, although there’s no citrus smell. Now the strain name here depends on the grower; when our vendor brings in the meds, it appears on the shelf as Morning Wood. When it comes from our crew, it’s Woody OG. We use different names because every grower has a different recipe, and that’s our way of giving proper credit to whoever’s got the green thumb.

• Diablo OG- Diablo x OG Kush. Diablo is a nice mellow hybrid with heavy, stoney effects. It’s the kind of bud that makes you forget what you’re saying mid-sentence. I prefer to fire up the Diablo in the evening after a hard day’s work. Diablo doesn’t put me to sleep per say. If the Diablo were a pill, it would be akin to Xanax. I strongly recommend the Diablo to anyone with anxiety or high stress levels.

• Jane Doe– Lady Jane gets her name because of her mysterious genetic origins. Her delicate, temperamental nature demands extra attention during cultivation, which lead the original grower to identify her with the female gender. She tastes like a bona fide OG, but some of our members insist she’s all Kush. She’s a big patient favorite, and the guys usually refer to her as their special lady and/or side chick. Our long time patients developed a kind of persona for her, and she’s gotten a bad reputation for promiscuity. Jane is highly variable in that she might lean Indica, she might feel more Sativa. It depends on when the grower decides to pull her. We’ve experimented with her a lot, and now carry a totally organic version known as Queen Jane as well. The Queen always hits me like an intense Indica whereas the classic Jane feels more like a 50/50 hybrid.

• Popeye OG- Larry OG x Master Kush (I think..) Popeye is another Indica dominant house OG. He made an appearance in the 2012 High Times Medical Cannabis Cup Los Angeles. He didn’t win anything, and we think he got robbed of the recognition he deserves. But let’s not dwell on the past. Popeye’s future is as bright as his trichomes. We devoted a grow log photo series to Popeye on our website, and that was one of the coolest projects for me as a photographer. I rarely get the chance to shoot plants during the grow cycle, and it was an awesome way to teach our patients more about medical cannabis. There will always be a special place in my heart for our stoney sailor.

Honorable Mention

• Grapefruit- Grapefruit Kush x White Widow. Our patients generally prefer Indica/Indica dominant strains, but they devour the Grapefruit. This is probably our most popular Sativa. It’s very strong and motivational. I find the Grapefruit especially useful when I am working on graphic design stuff. It helps me tap into my creative side and inspires me to really think visually. The bitter sweet citrus taste makes this strain downright irresistible.