It’s been a while since we’ve seen Tikun Olam flower in Florida. The last time I had it was when Eran Almog flower first dropped on January 25, 2020.

The Alaska vape cart (review here) is still one of my favorite sativa vapes in Florida, and probably still the absolute best at treating my depression, PTSD, and anxiety. I’ve always been interested to see how the whole flower form of the strain would stack up against the vape.

I was actually on the fence about purchasing this strain – not because of anything other than my current having more flower than I could smoke in 2 or even 3 months. But after seeing over a dozen rave reviews for Alaska flower on social media, I thought – “hell, one more eighth can’t hurt..” – and here we are!

(Let me take a second after that lighthearted statement to express that I am most thankful and humble to be able to afford an abundance of medication due to my wife and I both having good jobs/stable income; I realize this is not the case for many patients and still advocate for affordable medicine every single day. We all stand together!)

Quick Facts:

Alaska (Sativa)

Price at time of review: $55/eighth 

Lineage: Unknown; Proprietary Genetics

Batch/Harvest Number: 0793507618221130

Cannabinoids

THC: 15.2%

CBGa: 0.38%

Total Cannabinoids: 15.58%

Terpenes

(This is not an exact lab report for this batch of flower.)

ALPHA-PINENE	39%
BETA-MYRCENE	28%
BETA-PINENE	12%
LIMONENE	10%
OCIMENE	7%
OTHER	4%

Appearance/Cure

What I think makes this batch of Alaska flower stand out from so many other flowers I’ve gotten in Florida, is that it was allowed to fully mature before harvest, and from there was allowed to fully cure. You can see it in the full, rich amber color of the trichomes, and you can feel it when you handle the buds. Not only does this help the aesthetic qualities of an otherwise unremarkable-looking strain, but I believe it significantly impacts the quality of the effects as well (we’ll look into that in the effects section of this review.)

Tikun themselves have admitted that they don’t grow for aesthetic qualities; it’s purely for the medicinal properties of the flower. But this batch of Alaska deserves a high score in this category – not because it looks amazing – but because you can tell that a lot of care went into every step of growing this flower.

Appearance/Cure Rating: 7.70/10.00

Smell/Taste

The Alaska vape cart has always had a very strong, notably pine-dominant taste, with hints of citrus and sweet terpenes as well.

I suppose that’s part of the reason I was surprised at how dank the Alaska flower is. It’s immediately loud as soon as you open the jar. There’s some really musty funk there, with equal amounts of citrus and pine. It actually reminds me of VidaCann’s I95 x Lemon G13 flower‘s smell in some ways. Some patients also described it as “the smell of a pine forest after a thunderstorm”, and that’s a fair assessment as well.

When smoked, I taste pine and hints of fuel and spice the most. It may slightly resemble the taste of the Alaska vape cart in some ways, but it isn’t exact – for me, anyway.

To be candid, this flower had a much better smell and taste than I expected. Well done!

Smell/Taste Rating: 7.40/10.00

Effects/Medical Use

The effects are the real “bread and butter” of Tikun Olam products. They’ve had decades to refine their genetics, and it is always evident to me when I try their products.

The Alaska flower is no exception, and this is a perfect example of why we cannot look at just the THC percentage when deciding what product we will purchase. I have, we’ll say.. quite a few, strains of flower at my disposal right now. They range from ~12% THC (old batch of Fluent’s Lyra I still have plenty of) to over 26% THC in a newer batch of Trulieve’s White Buffalo.

Usually, almost any flower will do something for my depression. But this past week, it’s been an episode that seems more relentless than usual (probably because I feel the United States is rushing to open up the economy and inviting a worse second wave of COVID-19 to ravage the nation, but I hope I’m wrong, and that’s a different subject entirely.) I digress – the point I want to make, is that none of the strains I have were completely lifting me out of that funk. Not even the several strains I have that are in the mid-20’s percentage of THC.

Then, I bought this Alaska flower, and took two hits of it. About 10 minutes later, I found myself in a psychedelic-esque shift of mindset, and I was finally able to start willing myself into some more positive, constructive, and hopeful thoughts. This 15.2% THC flower lifted my depression in a way none of the others have. Not only that, but it hit me hard, and really felt more like it was almost double the reported THC.

I hope this example really helps drive it home: terpenes, flavonoids, and cannabinoids all work together to produce the medicinal effects we seek. No single variable will determine how a product or strain will affect us. In fact, there are probably many other variables in cannabis that we haven’t even discovered yet.

Does this mean all lower-THC flower hits hard? No; sometimes low THC strains are actually terrible and offer little medicinal value. But the same can be said for strains that approach 30% THC. I invite all of my readers to truly keep this in the forefront of their mind when considering products. Don’t miss out because of a self-imposed restriction that may not even be accurate.

Back to the Alaska flower: This is what I imagined “sativa” flower to feel like when I joined the registry. It is perfect for daytime use, with its uplifting, motivational and cerebral effects. However, there’s just enough body relaxation and anxiolytic effect in this flower to make it a truly well-rounded sativa strain.

In short: If you tried the Alaska cart and liked it, you should like the flower, maybe even more so than the cart. If you’re looking for a product to lift depression without triggering anxiety, I recommend either (or both) the Alaska vape and flower. As always, please remember that your mileage will vary.

Possibly good for treating:

• Depression 
• Anxiety
• Minor to moderate aches and pains
• Headaches
• Lack of motivation
• General relaxation/relief 
• Relief of nausea and other gastrointestinal symptoms

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. Everybody is different, and every body reacts differently to various medications. 

Effects Rating: 9.00/10.00

Overall Rating: 8.03/10.00

Overall, I would best describe Alaska as an “outstanding, medicinally valuable” sativa strain from VidaCann and Tikun Olam.

As with the vape cart, this has been one of the absolute best products for treating my depression that I’ve currently found in Florida. Alaska is what I consider to be a true medicinal sativa strain, and a very good one at that.

Many more reviews from the various MMTCs and other content are coming soon – especially as I find myself at home nearly 24/7 during this COVID-19 pandemic – so stay tuned!

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