Space Oddity

This flower comes to us from THC Design, a grower/brand that’s quickly becoming one of our favorites. But honestly, we bought this strain because of the name. David Bowie was a one-of-a-kind artist. And we’re more than happy to blast off like Major Tom any day of the week.

Appearance 5/5
This flower is no oddity. In fact, it’s downright gorgeous. The colors of this plant really pop. Everything about it, from the light-to-medium shade of green on the leaves to the bright orange tendrils, is amazing. Not only that, but it’s covered in fine crystals that make it sparkle.

While it looked great, the buds were very tough and brittle to break apart. The leaves pulled off with a lively snap. If that isn’t fresh, we don’t know what is!

Aroma 4/5
We loved the look, but the smell wasn’t as “showy” as the leaves. This flower gave off a very muted smell. It was light and distinct, but nothing popped out to us. We thought it almost smelled like vegetable stir fry. To be honest, there seemed to be several different odors that harmonized together as one. It not only smelled great, but it was making us hungry. Even before we smoked it!

Taste 3/5
While the aroma may have surprised us, the only thing about the taste that caught us off-guard was how unremarkable it was. There was a mild fruity flavor to our inhale. And our exhale was a neutral, manageable smoke. Very smooth. Not something that’s going to burn your throat.

Effect 4/5
Initially, we didn’t think that this strain was going to take us “out of this world” so to speak. It was a very subtle sensation as we were smoking it, and we finished our bowl with a shrug, thinking, “Oh well. That was pretty weak.”

Oh, how naive we were.

The truth is that this Sativa strain is a total sleeper. Also, it’s a true “companion - not a tour guide” type of high. We wanted this flower to be a rocket ship, but instead, it was our oxygen. It didn’t take us anywhere, it helped us be present where we already were. We relaxed and felt loose, but also focused and alert. Our brain wasn’t chattering away with idle thoughts. Everything seemed to simplify down to the moment itself.

This turned out to be a much stronger Sativa trip than we initially thought.  We were looking for a buzzy high feeling, and this strain turned out to be a flower that would do everything, except the obvious -- it didn’t make us feel stoned.  Instead, it melted away everything else and that made all the moments we had sweeter, and more gratifying than they would normally be. It wasn’t a trip beyond the stars, but it made being on Earth feel just as wondrous.

If you live in LA, or you’re just visiting, we highly recommend dropping into Buddha Company DTLA for a visit.  It’s unlike anything else in the city, and there’s plenty of great shopping districts nearby for you to find some great stuff.  And, honestly, no visit would be complete without some bud from Buddha Company DTLA.

Space Oddity (Sativa) - $15/g

Address:
837 S Los Angeles St.
Los Angeles, CA 90014
Phone: (213) 943-7950
Open: Mon-Fri - 8am - 10pm; Sat-Sun - 10am - 10pm

If you’ve ever driven in any major metropolitan city, you know that parking is not always easy to come by. Especially if you’ve ever driven in Downtown LA (DTLA). If you have, then you know it can be near impossible, unless you’re willing to shill out several bucks for a parking lot. Which is why any business that provides their own parking is a hero. And Buddha Company DTLA is one of those heroes.

For real, DTLA is one of the coolest and most overlooked neighborhoods in all of Los Angeles. Once seemingly abandoned by everything except the Business District and the infamous Skid Row, you can actually find a lot of amazing shopping districts nestled among those many skyscrapers and one-way streets.

There’s plenty of fashion, jewelry, toys and, of course, marijuana. The last of which is led by the splashy and ubiquitous MedMen. There’s been a growth spurt of other dispensaries in the area, including the aforementioned parking space providing hero, Buddha Company DTLA. The reason we’re being specific here because there’s actually another Buddha Company that’s adjacent to downtown. So don’t get confused.

If you pull into the alley off 8th Street (minding the fact that it’s a one-way), you’ll enter the establishment through the back door. Unlike most traditional dispensaries that have a specified “Waiting Room” and “Showroom” - the Buddha Company does it all in one big space.

The storefront is fully glass, allowing tons of natural light to pour in, giving the place a nice, healthy feeling that’s really refreshing. The Security Guard by the front door will check you in, then he’ll enter your information into an iPad that the budtender will use to assist you. This shop has fully embraced the modern era, with the entire inventory and checkout process done through an iPad. That means no traditional register or checkout space. Buddha Company is throwing all those rules out the window.

The only rule they’ve decided to keep is: to have a ton of products to choose from.

This shop carries a lot of great looking stuff -- flower, edibles, pre-rolls, waxes, vapes, and CBD. It’s got so much stuff packed into its display cases that we had a hard time taking it all in. That’s where our budtender came in.

They were crucial in pointing out all of the products they have available, guiding us from display to display, showing off their wares. But they have so much product that, at one point, even the budtender forgot they had even more pre-rolled joints stacked on the back wall.

Despite everything they had, we came looking for one thing -- some dank flower. And they set us up with a Sativa strain named after one of our favorite artists -- Space Oddity.