Deschutes Hemp Flower

Deschutes is grown in an LED dark room in a local Hemp farm near Buffalo, NY for Upstate Hemp Co.  According to the website, Deschutes comes from a 2019 harvest and contains 16.5% CBD and 0.07% THC.  As this was my first order, I was very excited to try it.  Having experienced legal marijuana in 4 recreational states, experiencing Hemp flower would give me an opportunity to try the other side of this wonderful plant. 

Many questions swirled in my mind:

• How would it look?
• How would it smell?
• Would it be confiscated by the authorities before being delivered?
• Would I feel any affects?

It only took a couple days for the package to arrive via USPS.  To my joy and surprise, it arrived intact and without mysterious unmarked cars sitting outside my house.  I hurriedly took it upstairs to open it up and start experiencing the flower.

The package arrived double wrapped.  Not only was the shipping package wrapped extra with tape, inside the hemp flower was sealed within another plastic shipping package.  Absolutely no smell was emanating from the package.  The Hemp flower was individually packed in sealed ziplock packages to further contain the smell.  Also within the package were the Hemp flower’s test results showing compliance with the 2018 Farm Bill.

Opening the Deschutes flower gave a very pleasant smell.  Fruity overtones mixed with the familiar smell of cannabis.  It smells and looks just like the technically illegal cousin(which is no surprise, it is the exact same plant just bred to have a lower THC and higher CBD content).  I was very excited to try some later in the evening.

The flower is lighter green in color and is covered in trichomes.  The bud itself is rather dense but not tightly packed.  Even though it was cured for 5-8 weeks, this bud is rather suited for either a bowl or bong.  Breaking it apart, the flower has a lot of resin as my fingers were a bit sticky afterwards.

I eventually purchased a Hemp-only glass pipe to enjoy the smoke without contaminating the flower with higher THC resin.  The first smoke of Deschutes was very pleasing.  The flower burned for quite awhile which was expected due to how sticky the flower was.  The smoke was not harsh and very flavorful.  I shared one packed pipe with my wife and we went back upstairs to observe any affects.

Would I feel anything?  Would what I feel be just a placebo affect from tasting cannabis?  Recounting the experience, it felt most similar to the brief feeling before one experiences a full THC high.  Sort of this in-between feeling.  Another way to describe it is the feeling when the high begins to wear off.

Overall it was a very enjoyable experience.  Deschutes is a good “wind down” Hemp flower and provides a relaxing/calming sensation.  Deschutes has quickly become my favorite evening Hemp flower as a way to settle in before bed.  This strain reminds me of an Indica dominant strain providing a more relaxed and body feeling rather than a cerebral feeling as with a Sativa.