Spring is about to get sprung, all over the place—even if 420 is officially “cancelled.” People are eager to get outside and do sporty things, hang out, picnic, and see friends who have been dormant inside during the wet, cold winter. And nothing is better than having a few nice infused pre-rolls in your pocket to share with friends or all by yourself to make those outings even more fun! Happily, they make up a popular and growing market, and there are many exciting brands jumping in on the boom.
In North America, pre-rolls are the third-best-selling item behind flower (40.7 percent of total cannabis sales) and vape pens (22.6 percent). Pre-rolls clock in at at 12.6 percent of sales—and 35 percent of that figure is thanks to infused joints. BDSA, a leading cannabis data company, finds that infused pre-rolls are on a meteoric rise, with sales having ballooned from 39 percent in 2021 to 57 percent by 2023.
“Infused pre-rolls will be one of the fastest-growing product categories due to convenience,” according to Brandan Chesebro from BDSA.
And so convenient they are! You can easily switch from indica to sativa to hybrid. Stop in any dispensary and pick a few that sound good before you head out to a party or hangout—or of course, you can roll your own by making a salad of your various leftover strains. Pop your DIY roll in a doob tube and out you go.
I picked out five companies getting in on the pre-roll market. All these amazing products are available at your local dispensary. If you have trouble finding them, all the companies have websites with location finders to help you.
I’ve seen Manzanita Naturals go from an infused soda company to creating Kwik Ease 100mg drinks, which changed the market. Now they offer their own infused joints, which I recommended in a previous column.
Rove, mostly known for their kick ass concentrates, has released Ice Packs, the first joint to be triple infused! They come in six different strains: Peaches and Cream, Blueberry Kush, Watermelon Zkittlez, Purple Trainwreck, Maui Wowie, and Acapulco Gold. According to the brand, these babies are made with “premium-grade flower fully-infused with THCA diamonds and solventless ice hash rosin, they’re expertly rolled, then coated with more ice hash.”
THCA is an acronym for tetrahydrocannabinolic, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid. Cannabis plants generate THCA rather than THC in their natural state. THCA concentrations are often greater in fresh, undried cannabis plants. When you apply heat to it (a process known as decarboxylation) as you do when you smoke, dab, vape or cook, it turns into THC (the stuff that gets you high). In its natural state, it won’t get you lifted, but THCA does show promise in aiding inflammation, nausea, and seizure disorders.
I loved the Peaches and Cream (46 percent THC, hybrid) and Purple Trainwreck (48 percent THC, hybrid) strains. They smoked well, tasted great, and had a wonderful, soaring high. That’s what I would expect from something by Rove.
I always enjoy Dime Bag products. They are pretty much guaranteed to be of good quality and easy on the pocketbook, with eighths going for around $25. They also have some really fun strains, having just released their infused half-gram joints, Moonbeams, which are infused with diamond and moon rocks for that extra punch that still sells for less than $25. (A great deal.)
Note: A moon rock is a nug of quality flower painted or sprayed with cannabis oil, rolled in kief or hash, and stored until it looks like a green fuzzy rock. They are notoriously potent and very tasty and are known as “cannabis caviar” or the “champagne of the pot world”. So having diamonds and moon rocks in one joint is something to cheer about—or fear, depending on the depth of your love for getting super-stoned.
Moonbeams come in three fantastic strains: The Purps (indica, 40 percent THC), Grapefruit 2 (hybrid, 46 percent THC), and Pear Herer (sativa, 43 percent THC). I’ve tried them all and found that they burned evenly, tasted great, and got me super-high. As regular readers already know, I am a big Jack Herer fan, so it goes to follow that the Pear Herer strain is my favorite.
For the last few months, my favorite go-to infused treat has been the Strawnana from Stiiizy. Their 40’s infused flower is boxed up into a five-pack of half-gram joints infused with live resin and rolled in kief, which clock in at over 40 percent THC, with their Strawnana strain clocking in at 48 percent. 40’s taste great and have a fabulous effect. I have never been a major fan of the brand before, but I keep coming back to these and enjoying them, so there you go.
Finally, a last minute entry: Sherbinskis’ new live rosin pre-rolls. I produce and co-host BONG-O BINGO, drag cannabis bingo, every second and fourth Saturdays at Mission Cannabis Club, from 6-9pm. At the last bingo night, Sherbinskis was a sponsor and a lot of the bags had their five-packs of infused joints featuring the Zucchero strain with 56 percent THC.
My co-host Thee Pristine Condition and I were waiting for the show to start and talking about the Sherbinskis because the container was a bit difficult to open. Pristine helped me break into mine. I thanked her, and she said, “Well, aren’t you going to try them?” Usually, I don’t get really stoned until later in the evening, but I thought, “Why not!” and lit up. I got so high! Then I had to host bingo!
I did pretty well until after the third round. We had a winner and Pristine ran out to verify their bingo win. My job was to make sure each number on their card corresponded to the ones we had called. Next thing you know, my mind was soaring above the universe and I’m contemplating the meaning of the cosmos. Suddenly, I was yanked back to reality, with the entire audience staring at me as Pristine repeated my name while holding up the winning board. It gave everyone, including myself, a big laugh.
Anything that gets me that high makes the list! So, I give Sherbinskis infused joints a big stoner thumbs-up. The joints have reusable ceramic crutches with a little rubber stoppers in the tip—be sure and remove that before you try sucking in the smoke.
I hope you have a fabulous time enjoying the stellar weather in the Bay Area! It’s one of the reasons we stay in this beautiful city. Be sure and take plenty of water with you as well. Staying hydrated is so important while consuming cannabis.
Now it’s time for me to light up!
