Earlier in 2019, Trulieve announced its partnership with California-based cannabis extract company Blue River. The first product available as a result of that partnership was their rosin product (review of Skywalker Rosin here).
(For more information about Blue River’s rosin and the extraction process, click here.)
THCa “Snow” takes Blue River’s rosin a step further by using extreme pressure and filtration to isolate the pure THCa compounds from the rosin. Though some terpenes and other cannabinoids are left over in the extraction process, “snow” is mostly pure THCa.
(For more information about Blue River’s snow and the extraction process, click here.)
THCa “snow” has been a long-awaited and highly hyped product in the Florida medical cannabis community. Ever since Blue River and Trulieve announced their partnership, speculation has been rampant about what products the market might see. I can’t remember how exactly it was revealed that snow would be the next product release after rosin, but it’s been talked about quite a bit for at least a few months now.
The product itself is very nice, and clearly has that “clean” premium high-quality feel to it. We’ll get more into the specifics below.
Quick Facts:
Puck Yeah (Indica)
Price at time of review: $75/gram
Lineage: Super Skelly Hash Plant x Northern Lights #1
Batch/Harvest Number: BCHOTHCA1GI15PK2
Cannabinoids
THCA: 94.7%
THC: 1.7%
CBD: 0.0%
THCV: 0.0%
CBG: 0.0%
Total Cannabinoids: 96.4%
Terpenes
Unfortunately, the lab report for this product is not currently available as of the time of this review, so I have no terpene data to share. Check back periodically, as this section will be updated once the lab report is released.
Appearance/Quality
Trulieve/Blue River’s snow appears to look exactly as it is supposed to, as my product looks nearly identical to the image on Blue River’s product page for Snow (linked above). The consistency is very similar to kief, but this is a much more pure and isolated compound than kief is.
It’s pretty easy loading this into a dab pen or rig, as it falls effortlessly like sand or powdery snow. I remember it taking Trulieve a few batches to get the consistency of their rosin down, but it looks like they nailed it on the first try with the snow.
Appearance/Quality Rating: 4.50/5.00
Smell/Taste/Vapor Quality
Since snow focuses on isolating the THCa, most other cannabinoids and terpenes are purged from the final product. However, 1-2% of the terpenes remain. (Comparatively, my Skywalker Rosin had a whopping 8% terpenes.)
What this means is that by its nature, this product is going to have much less of a smell and identifiable taste than other concentrates. This means that I will focus more on how successfully each batch of snow captures the “essence” of its specific strain, and how smooth the vapor is.
Puck Yeah flower always has a very dank, sour, funky smell to it. It’s one of those strains that slaps you in the face as soon as you open the jar. The snow version of Puck Yeah, as expected, has a much lighter smell. You really have to sniff and look for it, but it is there. The overall funky, sour, berry qualities are detectable upon close inspection, albeit very faintly. There’s a hint of citrus here as well.
What really shines through about snow in this regard, however, is just how smooth each hit of vapor is. It almost feels like you aren’t even inhaling anything; I had to do a double-take and exhale next to a lamp just to ensure that I was actually getting a hit.
Smell/Taste/Vapor Quality Rating: 4.20/5.00
Effects/Medical Use
I didn’t know what to expect from the effects of a nearly pure THCa isolate. To be completely forthright, I have a medium tolerance, so I was a bit intimidated by my first doses of this product. I didn’t want to overdo it and end up in a panic attack, like I have done with flower and other concentrates in the past.
My very first hit of the Puck Yeah snow was very tiny. I’m talking just a very small dab, like flakes of the stuff. The hit was smooth, and I sat back and awaited the effects. They were a bit “creeper” in nature, taking around 10-15 minutes to become apparent – possibly because my first dose was so small. The effects set in very smooth, and contrary to my previous concerns, it did not make me anxious at all. In fact, the effects seemed less overwhelming cerebral and more like a full-balanced mind:body experience. I did not feel overwhelmingly stimulated nor significantly sedated. What I did feel was a relaxed, cloud-like bliss.
After around 45 minutes passed, I decided to take a bigger dab to gauge the effects. This seemed to bring on the effects quicker, more akin to flower or rosin. I felt it more cerebrally and behind the eyes with the larger dose, but again, it never caused me to be anxious or sedated. Both experiences were very balanced and relaxing.
Puck Yeah flower is a fairly heavy indica, but the THCa form seems to be lighter and less likely to cause drowsiness. For that reason, I could see Puck Yeah “snow” being useful at any time of the day.
Another potential use for this product would be to sprinkle it on flower or other concentrates for an enhanced experience and effects, without the cost of higher anxiety. Everything about this product feels “clean”, especially the effects.
Possibly good for treating
- Anxiety
- Moderate aches and pains
- Moderate nausea/gastrointestinal issues
- General Relaxation
- Depression
I’m definitely no medical doctor, so please take the preceding conditions only as my own personal observations from using this strain and having experience with a multitude of different cannabis strains. Every body is different, and every body reacts different to various medications.
Effects Rating: 4.20/5.00
Overall Rating: 4.30/5.00
Overall, I would best describe this batch of Puck Yeah THCa “Snow” as an “excellent quality” product from Trulieve and Blue River.
At $75 per gram, THCa is a product that I will personally reserve for sales and special occasions, as I find that flower and other lower-priced concentrates are usually just as good from a medical perspective. However, if you’re in Florida looking for a truly top-shelf product from our industry’s current offerings, I would definitely say this makes a good choice. I do feel that the quality matches the price tag.
I am really pleased to see more and more options of cannabis medication become available in Florida; this increases the likelihood that each patient will find a product that truly works for them. I appreciate Trulieve (and MUV as well) for leading the charge on this movement in Florida. I
This is a product I’d definitely recommend each patient to try at least once, if nothing else for the fact that it may be just the form of cannabis medication that works the best for you.
I look forward to seeing further developments like this THCa snow come to our industry this year and beyond. What a great time to have a medical cannabis card in Florida!
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