Pubdate: Wed, 15 Jan 2014 Source: Seattle Weekly (WA) Section: Toke Signals Copyright: 2014 Village Voice Media Contact: http://www.seattleweekly.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?department=letters Website: http://www.seattleweekly.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/410 Author: Steve Elliott Webpage: THE GREEN COMFORT OF FRANKENSTEIN I've had pleasant experiences on both of my recent visits to Port Orchard's Green Comfort, a good solid dispensary with a smallish but high-quality flower selection and friendly budtenders. Green Comfort, open since last July, offers about a dozen strains of flowers, and everything is $10 a gram, with one exception: The indica strain Frankenstein is $12. On my first visit, proprietor Dan helped me select Frankenstein when I asked for the best indica in the place, along with The Hog, another worthy pain strain. I won't say I'm jaded about flowers, as plenty of dabbers do. I actually prefer flowers over hash oil for smoking, due to their superior terpene profile. Many of the aromatic terpenes and flavinoids are too fragile, too subtle, to survive the extraction process. Solvents like butane and alcohol take away most of the subtle tastes and smells along with the vegetable matter; in the process of concentrating the cannabinoids, some of the healing properties of the raw flowers are lost. And these Frankenstein flowers were some of the best I've smoked in a while. What's so special about Frankenstein? Well, most decent strains work medically for me, to a greater or lesser extent, in controlling my pain and nausea; I usually don't get high on them, though. When any strain breaks through the elevated tolerance I've developed due to my daily use of full-extract cannabis oil (for which alcohol was used as the solvent), I know it's something special, and I got quite high indeed on Frankenstein. The Hog is effective for pain as well, and displays some tendency toward couchlock, but doesn't offer as heady an experience as Frankenstein. Bred in the Tennessee mountains a few years back from Afghan forebears, The Hog offers as pure an example of Central Asian genetics as you are likely to find anywhere, and is sure to please indica fans. On my second visit to Green Comfort (yes, to get more Frankenstein), I was helped by vivacious budtenders Ashley and Amanda, who told me it was my lucky day: The grower who produced Frankenstein had just visited and restocked them with the popular indica. Ashley (who told me she's Dan's daughter) also recommended Black Domina. Black Domina's sparkly, trichome-covered flowers have a smoky, almost hashy spiciness and a heavy indica high with noticeable body effects. This isn't surprising in view of its sterling genetic background: Afghani, Hash Plant, and Northern Lights are all part of this stout bush's family tree, and all that indica will speak to you loud and clear after a few deep-lung tokes. It just so happened that the days I had Black Domina were some of the worst nausea days I've had in a while, and Black Domina could stop the nausea in its tracks. Patients get a free joint at Green Comfort, not just on their first visit, but every time they come by-a nice little perk, and just another way these nice folks make you feel welcome. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D