Medical marijuana dispensary review: The Kind Room in Denver

Durban Poison: $20/16th
In the shop, this sample had more of an earthy Sour Diesel tartness to it than the electrified black pepper/fennel spice of Durban Poison. The latter aroma was there, just creeping below the surface created by the tennis ball funk expressed by this pheno. I subsequently spoke with a manager who wasn't sure where the seed stock was from (he guessed TGA, which doesn't carry a Durban), but guessed that the uniqueness was part of the reason the strain was on hand. Whatever it was, the flowers looked mildly underdeveloped and wispy in parts, with fresh green sugar leaves left behind and a sugary dusting of light white, crystalline trichomes. I expected that breaking up the bud would bring out more of the Durban qualities, but instead, I picked up even more of the Diesel fuel stank that stuck on my fingers for a good ten minutes or so while I puffed the doobie. Sweet and mildly earthy on the inhale with more flavors on the exhale, but I also got undertones of burning plant material/wet hay the farther down the paper I got. Smoked out of a dry spoon pipe, the green freshness of the plant was much more apparent. Stil, whatever this is, it isn't a bad cut of herb, and I got a very uplifting, speedy and belly-grumbling buzz after smoking a couple of bowls. It actually reminded me of my first, less-than-patient attempts at growing ganja with underpowered lights back in the day. This might be overpriced by a few bucks, but nothing that can't be fixed with a bit more TLC in the flowering, drying and curing departments next round -- and maybe consider checking on its lineage.

OG Kush x White Widow: $20/16th
I saw this called OG White somewhere and White Kush somewhere else. But either way, the combination of OG Kush x White Widow sounds like it should be a day-ending sucker punch of indica-heavy ganja. The buds looked pretty good and it had the smell of mixed kief out of the plastic jar I was handed to check out while in the shop. While leafy (as you can see) and underdeveloped like the Durban, the sample had some interesting structure to tiny, dense but foxtailing calyxes as well as a good coating of teeny amber triches that gave it a sandy color. Same with the buds I took home. The problem was when I cracked open my bag after a few days of letting it sit, sealed, in my desk drawer and got a whiff of hay like I was on the back of a farm truck. It didn't give off much of an odor when broken up, either, only adding a bit of sweetly fresh chlorophyll and the faint smell of wet icewater hash bags. Lit up in the spoonie, it burned with a leafy harshness despite leaving a distinctly OG-like aftersmoke in my office that only made the experience more frustrating. I did enjoy this strain more burned in a doobie, which gave it a thicker, more generically ganja taste -- but overall it wasn't anything worth purchasing twice. Like the Durban Poison, though, the buds had a lot of potential. Or at least a lot more potential than what I've seen in other shops I've been to over the last few months.

William Breathes is the pot pen name for Westword's dispensary critic, who in just a few weeks will be celebrating his two-year anniversary with this fishrwap award-winning paper. Look for some anniversary pieces later this month -- but in the meantime, check more reviews over at our pot blog, Mile Highs and Lows and keep up with all your marijuana news over at The Latest Word.