Lansterdam in Review: Liquid THC, Lansing’s dankest PB&J and Donald J. Trump 

Jars is among the newest pot shops to open in Lansing as the industry blossoms across the region. Until recently, the dispensary was only licensed to sell medical-grade marijuana to card-carrying patients, but as of last week, a variety of recreational products are now on shelves at Jars’ store locations in Lansing, Flint, Owosso and Detroit for anyone over the age of 21. And those products were the only thing that got me through the Republican National Convention.  

Choice Labs — Tincture  

Price — $30 

THC content — 450 mg 

A few weeks ago, I reviewed a lemon-flavored tincture from HomeGrown that I mixed into a bottle of Sprite. Here’s a word of advice: Don’t mix it. Just drop them directly under the tongue. 

Tinctures are alcohol-based cannabis extracts that can be a powerful, smokeless alternative for those who prefer edibles, but also want to avoid the few hundred calories packed in a brownie. When taken under the tongue, the effects also kick in much more rapidly. You can also mix tinctures with food or drinks for a more traditional edible effect, but in my case, the third night of the RNC was starting in about 30 minutes and I didn’t have time to kill. If I was going to survive another night, I had to get real high, real quickly. Each liquid-filled dropper contained about 15 mg of THC. I squirted out eight of them for a total of 120 mg at 8:30 p.m. 

These drops, which were essentially just cannabis-infused coconut oil, were relatively flavorless and sort of just blended with the saliva in my mouth and disappeared. That means it can be easy to take too much; I probably could’ve been fine with half the dosage. My couch cushions sucked me in by 9 p.m. and I spent the next couple hours getting locked into a state of tunnel vision with Karen Pence and several Republican lawmakers. Luckily, I forgot most of it.  

Stoners are quick to warn newbies: Only start with half when you’re trying out new edibles. Normally, I’d say take the risk and eat the whole thing. But with tinctures, I have to agree. Start slow. 

Oasis Extracts — Peanut Butter 

Price — $15 

THC content — 100 mg 

The following night was the final evening of the Republican National Convention. I figured I’d put my own cannabis-themed spin on Trump’s “Land of Greatness” theme by finishing off the tincture and making one of the hugest (and dankest) peanut butter and jelly sandwiches ever.  

Oasis packs a surprisingly large amount of peanut butter into their 100 mg jars — definitely enough for five sandwiches. I made three and gave one each to some friends about 90 minutes before Trump took the stage. Perfect timing: We were all baked in time for his shitty speech. 

I haven’t dabbled much in edible ingredients as much as I’ve tried a variety of pre-baked brownies, rice crispy treats, hard candies and fruit-flavored gummies. The effects are largely similar: An overarching body high with the welcomed ability to totally zone out for hours. But these raw ingredients also give the ability to get creative with your own recipes. Sometimes, pre-packed edibles can also be dried out or have an overly herby aftertaste. Using peanut butter or cannabutter directly gives the home chef an opportunity to craft their own cannabis creations. Next time, I’ll try some chocolate-covered peanut butter balls. The possibilities are endless.  

Lansterdam in Review is a new column written by Kyle Kaminski, a City Pulse staff writer and cannabis enthusiast who has been smoking marijuana just about every day for the last decade. Kaminski samples some of the best bud in Greater Lansing, gets real high and writes about it.