Santa Ana’s Access OC Caregivers has a reputation for maintaining high-quality stock—if it were a wine collector, folks would say it “keeps a very good cellar.” So we were hardly surprised to find AOCC’s top-shelf Blueberry to be one of the finest examples of the sativa-owned hybrid in all of OC. Its physical beauty alone is enough to recommend it: thumb-shaped buds of crystallized green wrapped in orange hairs. Someone at the shop really knows how to tend bud, as the bud we sampled was so expertly trimmed it seemed almost a shame to break it up.

Blueberry has a shockingly cloying aroma not unlike molding citrus. Fruitiness is a major theme with this variety—the flavor strongly reminds of mulled wine sweetened with wild berries. Other reviewers frequently describe the stone as fast-hitting, but in our experience it snuck up on us when we weren’t looking—the sneaky bastard. The high can best be described as electric; a hearty, exuberant intoxication that makes you want to get up and move. If you’re an active patient with a chronic pain condition (or a passive patient who just wants more action), this is the medicine for you.