Why licensed dispensaries are the best choice for quality cannabis.

Even in the rapidly evolving cannabis industry, there are still a couple of things that you can always rely on. Puff puff pass is still the rule, it’s never cool to scorch the bowl, and California weed is in a class all its own.

Ever since the days before cannabis was legalized statewide, California set the tone of cannabis culture for the entire country, immortalizing the plant in music and art. A significant percentage of the strains we love first sprouted in California soil and was tended by Californian hands. This legacy has endured the peaks and valleys of the industry and come out even stronger than before, and that inheritance is well worth protecting. 

To safeguard this legacy and to ensure the continued quality of California’s chronic, the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) launched the Real CA Cannabis initiative to help consumers find licensed dispensaries.

The dispensaries licensed by DCC sell products that are regulated for reliability, environmental friendliness, and product quality. You can rest easy knowing that any flower, edibles, or concentrates purchased from a licensed dispensary are considered Real California Cannabis—locally sourced from California cultivators and tracked from seed to sale so you always know what you’re getting and where it’s coming from.

Before we start…

Listen, we get it. We know that the last thing you want between you and your weed is a bunch of red tape. Regulation can have a negative connotation, conjuring images of besuited bureaucrats joylessly stifling innovation. While that certainly isn’t DCC’s bag, we don’t blame folks for being reluctant.

However, the fact of the matter is that the cannabis industry is a different animal today than it was in the past. The new legal landscape has brought with it a host of new challenges that require a steadying hand to ensure that California weed remains well-regulated for all the generations of potheads to come. The people at DCC are dedicated to just these goals, and well deserving of a bit of trust. 

Meet DCC

As the governing body charged with regulating all legal cannabis purchases in the state, DCC compiles critical data, issues recalls on harmful products, and constantly works to keep up-to-date standards for cannabis. Since the situation regarding cannabis on the federal level is still a fiasco, DCC is the last word on legal cannabis in California. When the federal situation inevitably changes, we’ll be lucky if the feds adopt a similar model to the California DCC.

That’s why licensed dispensaries are the clear choice—and that’s why DCC launched Real CA Cannabis to make it easier than ever for Californians to find them.

And we should all be glad they’re on the job. Illegal cannabis products have been found to contain any number of things that aren’t weed, like harmful contaminants, acetates, and a long list of other nasties. Consuming cannabis that hasn’t been regulated opens you up to all sorts of risks that can have very real health effects for both you and your friends & family. 

There’s no way to tell by looking at cannabis whether or not it’s free of harmful contaminants and other hazardous byproducts of the growing and packaging process. Consumers need to rely on regulators like DCC to make sure all of the growers, manufacturers, distributors, and everyone else who has a hand in getting those buds to the shops are following the rules that are there to protect consumers. That’s why licensed dispensaries are the clear choice—and that’s why DCC launched Real CA Cannabis to make it easier than ever for Californians to find them.

Judging books by their cover

It’s no secret that weed has gotten a lot more potent in recent years. Due to increased demand following legalization, breeders have been driven into a virtual arms race trying to develop the strongest strains. That means that the weed available in dispensaries can vary wildly in potency, ranging from “light buzz” to “bed, immediately.” 

Because of this wide variation in strength, it’s essential for cannabis to be accurately labeled. This is where the Real CA Cannabis search tool comes in, where you can confidently find weed you know is the exact strain and potency that you wanted. This goes for flower, edibles, concentrates, and all the other treats behind the counter at a dispensary. All these products will be accurately labeled with not only THC content, but with important information regarding where and how the cannabis was grown. 

That means that the weed available in dispensaries can vary wildly in potency, ranging from “light buzz” to “bed, immediately.” 

Only legal dispensaries that are regulated by DCC are guaranteed to sell Real CA Cannabis, which means it is accurately labeled and high quality. So if you want to make sure you’re supporting Californian growers, or you’re just looking to avoid getting way too high (or not nearly high enough), legal dispensaries are the way to go.

How to spot a legal dispensary

Now that you’re all tuned up on all the benefits of well-run legal dispensaries, you might be wondering how exactly you’re supposed to tell a real outfit from one that isn’t. Thanks to the Department of California Cannabis Control’s new Real CA Cannabis campaign, there are a few easy ways to differentiate the shops that only offer the best of the Golden State.

It may surprise you to learn that even though cannabis is legal statewide in California, 56% of cities and counties don’t allow any type of cannabis business. So the first step to finding out if your favorite dispensary is legal or not is to check your local ordinances regarding cannabis. Luckily, DCC created the Real CA Cannabis search to make it easy to find legal shops. 

If you’re eyeing a new dispensary and want to quickly check its status, DCC also has you covered. Soon, every legal dispensary in California will be issued a new seal, marking the weed sold inside as regulated to meet consumer protection standards. 

This seal will be prominently displayed at licensed dispensaries, so consumers can simply tell at a glance if the spot is up to snuff. These seals will also feature a QR code leading to the Real CA Cannabis website, where consumers can make sure they’re physically at the correct legal shop.

These seals will finish rolling out soon, but in the meantime, there’s a more informal way you can tell if your dispensary is licensed or not. Many illegal operations will use bright, colorful packaging reminiscent of existing candy brands or packaging featuring copyrighted characters. These are telltale signs that the dispensary carrying this merchandise doesn’t sell Real CA Cannabis.

The days are coming when mainstream celebrities and massive media franchises see the value in lending their images to cannabis brands, but it’s mostly not today. So, if you see Taylor Swift, Patrick Mahomes, or Iron Man on a pre-roll, take your business elsewhere. 

The California shops listed on Leafly are all licensed, legal, and legit, and can be verified using the Real CA Cannabis search tool to make sure you’re only getting the good stuff.

Thanks to the Department of California Cannabis Control and the Real CA Cannabis search, people all over California can partake confidently knowing that their cannabis is high-quality and supports healthy businesses and communities. Head over to the Real CA Cannabis website to learn more about the Real California Cannabis initiative.

Writing and research by Jake Rosendale

Fresh off some Memorial Day grilling and chilling, we have a baker’s dozen of elite weed picks to heat up your summer, Leafly Nation. 

We not only crawled the online menus, stores, and grow rooms. We threw a freaking weed festival—SF Weed Week—and invited all the dopest growers down. And you know what, the honey pot worked. We spent the last four weeks elbows deep in bags of hype trees. Here’s our unmissable hits of May: 

Data grinder

Trop Cherry

⬆️56%

Trop Cherry (aka Tropicana Cherry) keeps winning all summer, gang. Tropicana Cookies x Cherry Cookies F3 from Relentless Genetics out of Colorado leaves you focused, energetic, and creative. We need those attributes during the long days. It smells and tastes like it sounds—with tropical citrus, plus berry and tree fruit notes. “The best sativa I’ve had—bar none,” said one reviewer.

Lemon Tree

⬆️14%

Happy, energetic, and talkative, the modern classic Lemon Tree kept growing in popularity this month. It’s Lemon Skunk x Sour Diesel, so it has a serious punch. The lemon and diesel taste is just lip-smacking in the sun. 

Candy Fumez

⬆️12%

Hype growers and hashmakers like 710 Labs helped propel Candy Fumez to new heights in May. The breeder Bloom Seed Co made this strain to dump hash and satisfy the cracked sweet tooth of cannabis culture. Mission accomplished. It’s Z x Sherbanger and maybe the start of a new Era. “Anytime you can get your hands on this don’t make the mistake of buying small!,” said one Leafly reviewer.

Permanent Marker

⬆️11%

Give yourselves a high five, Leafly smokers, we did it. The Leafly Strain of the Year 2023 Permanent Marker has settled into a top 10 groove on the West Coast. Shop for phenomenal examples from Connected Cannabis Co., and CAM; plus new crosses from Seven Leaves, and badder from Arcata Fire.

New in the Leafly strain database

True Ryder OG

As the real OGs become harder and harder to find—look North. Arcanna brand outdoor Mendocino County True Ryder OG didn’t last long on the review shelf this May. It’s a mix of Fire OG x (True Kush x Blue Dream) x Big Cherry (aka Sour Cookies) for that gassed-out peppery pine fuel fun. When you’ve earned some time lounging by the river, True Ryder OG will make the sunlight and the colors even better.

Peppermint Sleighride

May is still a peak season for 2023 outdoor—it’s all in how you store and cure it. You know who’s good at that? Emerald Cup-winning Greenshock Farms. They brought down some small batches of Peppermint Sleighride for SF Weed Week in April. We’ve been smoking through a half-ounce of it from Solful for the last month—returning to its candied grapefruit, pine, and mint taste, and its happy, present, and content feelings. It’s Purple Candy Cane x Pina from Mark at Greenshock, who also swears by those outdoor smells and effects.

Guava Runtz x Cherry Gushers

Turning to hype indoor flavors now, Bosky Genetics is burning up California with its pristine, loud, and potent lineup. Everything Bosky grows hits like a dump truck, but the Guava Runtz x Cherry Gushers has legit cherry terps that’ll make the heads swear, “GYAT!” Ryan Bosky melds decades of grow room experience with custom in-house flavors like this for small-batch, premium craft.

Randy Watson

Smoking through the Emerald Cup pre-roll judges kit in the sub-category hash holes put me on to Randy Watson—a cross of Runtz x Wedding Crashers. We’ve seen 710 Labs work with it and now the hash hole brand Dunkz. It’s dessert candy terps with more earthy funk. Randy Watson is an incidental character in Coming to America 1988, that’s become a pop culture reference.

Picks of the dispensaries

New on shelves

Lemon Pepper by MOCA

Eureka, CA indoor living soil growers MOCA have some sativa to go with your sunshine—Lemon Pepper. It’s Lemon Cooler x Lemon Pebblez for super-lemony, but syrupy and dank. Not thin or grassy. For those who like Gelonade, gas, and lemon, you can work on Lemon Pepper. MOCA grows batches measured in pounds or tens of pounds, and they can’t keep them on shelves. This is a strong Buy.

Burning up the charts

Tangerine Sunrise by UpNorth

Start your day on UpNorth’sTangerine Sunrise for deep, candied tangie syrup and dank vibes with your cup of coffee. Sleep in, make some waffles, wake and bake, and get gardening. UpNorth has its pick of fine legacy producers in the Emerald Triangle and only brings out 6-star stunners. Tangerine Sunrise is a cross of Hawaiian Sunrise and Tangerine Haze. 

Best-sellers

Ballin out

Wagyu by Clout King

The brand Clout King brings fire to the masses in several states. One standout this quarter—their Wagyu. It’s a Meatbreath crossed with a Lemon Cherry Gelato, so the savory rank terps from the Meatbreath get dialed back by the crowd-favorite LCG. Leafly’s reviewers get unique apricot, chestnuts, and coffee notes off this strain. It leaves folks tingly, sleepy and relaxed. Some use it for stress and mood stabilization. That tracks, because after a big serving of Wagyu, good luck stressing about much of anything

Ballin’ on a budget

LA Pop Rocks x Purple Push Pop by Seven Leaves

One thing we love about legal weed—the joints and the nugs have gotten so much bigger. What they sell as “smalls” looks and smokes completely bomb. Sacramento, CA-based indoor brand Seven Leaves brought out smalls of candy sherbert strain LA Pop Rocks x Purple Push Pop, and it gets us there. It tests at 27% THC, which is plenty, and you pay for less stem.

High Note

Cherry Marker + Whitethorn Rose hash hole by Rosin Tech

I’m judging the Emerald Cup pre-rolls this month, I don’t think most people are ready for the new “hash hole” era we find ourselves in. Rosin Tech Labs has a hash-loaded mega-joint that’s 1.3 grams of CAM Cherry Marker flower paired with 0.3 grams of Huckleberry Hill Farms Whitethorn Rose rosin. The rare cherry pheno of Permanent Marker smelled and tasted like cherries from the jar note to the dry hit to the burn. The delicate, floral, soaring Whitethorn Rose comes through when the rosin ignites. This joint could fade, like, 10 people. Smoke the whole thing with a buddy, and your day is over.

And that’s a baker’s dozen Leafly Buzz picks to round out May 2024. The action gets hot and heavy as travel and contest season ramp, so download the app and turn on notifications to scoop the zaza before the custies beat you to it. 

Growers, breeders, brands, stores—got buzz for Leafly? We’re all ears. Email us at david.downs@leafly.com

You’re running low on time. The cool moms of America deserve some fine, trendy, fragrant weed for Mother’s Day and Memorial Day campouts. They’ve earned some Pink Runtz.

Why? It’s a battle out there. Moms need something pretty, fragrant, and relaxing that lightens the mood. Bring on that strawberry, sweet, grapefruit taste. Cue the giggly, talkative, happy effects—Pink Runtz wins our Leafly HighLight strain for May, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and beyond.

Around since at least 2020, Pink Runtz scores an average 4.6 out of 5 points after 334 ratings. 

It’s got the high THC that moms need after unloading all those freakin’ groceries all by herself again, good God. 

“The very first hit had the knot in my shoulder unwinding,” says one review.

One in four Pink Runtz smokers is hitting it for tension, mood, and life’s doo-doo.

“I’ve never been so happy and smiling while unclogging a toilet,” said another reviewer.

Pink Runtz packs flavor and a punch. So drink some water first, stay seated, and put your phone on airplane mode. It’s a relative of Leafly Strain of the Year 2020, Runtz.

“The smell is like a fruity pebbles almost. Crazy smell,” said one reviewer.

“Euphoric antidepressant. Great for social connection, being present, and open. Instant happiness,” said another.

ILGM and Phylos Bioscience empower homegrowers to reach their fullest potential with genetically stable F1 Hybrid seeds. Phylos has deciphered the genome of the cannabis plant, and selected for the markers of greatness. Shop the Phylos collab line of cannabis seeds from ILGM in three categories: Elite, Premium, and Autoflower. See Gelato Sunrise.

Who’s got Pink Runtz? Best Pink Runtz across the US

Pink Runtz has increased its menu presence 40% year over year from Malibu, CA to Maine—with a ton of bargain flower and THC vape cartridges that keep costs down.

In Los Angeles, Pink Runtz crushes as a $25 vape cartridge, or in bulk flower; just $60 for 14 grams. 

On the top shelf, indoor, small-batch flower brand Woodwide drops flawless Pink Runtz eighth-ounces for $55 by the end of the month in Northern California.

Oregon growers mass-produce Pink Runtz to get 1-gram joints down to $3 from Fire Dept. Even Seattle gets in on the $106 ounce of Pink Runtz from KIND.

Colorado makes a lot of Pink Runtz hash: $48 live resin 1-gram carts, and $20 grams of Tropical Pink Runtz caviar.

Oklahoma offers smokers better access and prices than Illinois: with $5 grams, $4 joints, $15 all-in-ones, and $10 dabs.

Over on the East Coast, Electraleaf brings Pink Runtz to New York shops.

Pink Runtz seeds

Gardeners—put some Pink Runtz in the ground right next to those tomatoes. Lots of stuff gets renamed, so expect a Gelato x Z plant, or some good, old Gelato #33. 

Either way, we’d start with some Karma Genetics Runtz crosses like Pink Pie, Pink Fritter, or Guava Runtz.

Blimburn sells Pink Runtz as feminized seeds and in automatic flowering.

Other good bets in that wheelhouse include Humboldt Seed Co Jelly Donutz. 

More future forward: Umami Seeds’ Paau, Cookies Seed Bank Pink Runtz x Hollywood, and Thug Pug’s Pink Peanut.

See also: ILGM Runtz.

Pink Runtz awards

Pink Runtz on its own may not have a trophy case, but the Runtz family certainly does. It has won bigly every year since 2020 Leafly Strain of the Year.

Pink Runtz terpenes

Lab samples labeled Pink Runtz have averaged high in the smell molecules limonene, caryophyllene, and linalool—giving it a balanced mix of fruit, fuel, and floral notes.

Other highlights this May

Can’t buy our HighLight? Don’t cry, dry your eyes—with three related or seasonal picks.

Pink Zaza

Impress the most picky weed snob mom at the campout with this jar of fuego. Pink Runtz keeps evolving with Pink Zaza, popularized by high-end indoor flower growers SOG Army in California. It’s Georgie Pie x Pink Runtz for dessert-on-candy terps. 

Pink Guava

One of the stand-out strains from 4/20 in San Francisco—the flawless Pink Guava from Sense Cannabis. Allegedly some Nepali Pink x Guava, it smells, tastes and feels like a refined variety of Guava Gelato. A little candy. A little dessert. The fuel notes add to the loudness. Again, if she already loves Runtz and Gelato, this conjures her best memory of it. 

Pink Boost Goddess

Keep the pink theme going for your goddess with this highly regarded sativa hybrid. Pink Boost Goddess—the award-winning heirloom strain from Northern California—turns super-pink in flower. It’s got a mellow, energetic, focused effect that works with yoga, hiking, cooking, and even chores. Scoop up perfectly cured, super-affordable jars of 2023 full-sun sativa hybrids during this peak season. Smoke sungrown in the sun, family.

And that’s four flower favorites for making every day Mothers Day this May, and beyond. Those gifts don’t buy themselves—so snap to it!

Like Leafly HighLight? Fave this post, leave a nice comment, and order some trees on Leafly.