Strain Integrity

According to Leafly, ” Raider Kush is a hybrid strain grown in Leamington, Ont., with very high THC potency potential and minimal CBD levels. RIFF’s Ontario-grown Raider Kush is a hybrid strain with very strong THC potency potential. The plant lineage includes OG Kush and Kosher Kush, and its main terpenes are limonene (scents of lemon, lime), beta-caryophyllene (scents of peppery spice, wood) and myrcene (scents of musk, earth, ripe fruit). ”

According to the OCS website, “RIFF’s Ontario-grown Raider Kush is a hybrid strain with very strong THC potency potential. The plant lineage includes OG Kush and Kosher Kush, and its main terpenes are limonene (scents of lemon, lime), beta-caryophyllene (scents of peppery spice, wood) and myrcene (scents of musk, earth, ripe fruit).”

The two descriptions are exactly the same probably because the source was from RIFF.  This is a proprietary strain?  If it is, RIFF should highlight it.  Given that RIFF give names like DT81 for Super Lemon Haze, we are not sure if Raider Kush is proprietary, or just given funky names.

A budtender’s favourite?

THC was 18.22% at the low end.  According to the Reddit community, Raider Kush have had THC as high as 27%.  Popcorn buds were dry but the scent of pepper light musk is present.  It was package August 19, 2019, or almost 3 months to this review.

Immediately after completing the inhalation session (3 to 4 mins), you are rewarded with a quickly growing calmness.  The “high” is a heavy sedative head buzz to begin.  The body effects of lethargic lower energy slowly grows.  It’s a relaxing feeling just like having a glass of wine.  There is some cerebral stimulation but it’s more of a background noise.   Your thoughts are hazier and slower.  Time dilation grows stronger until the 20 minute mark where peak time distortions arrive.   Getting organized will be challenging at this point.

The expected classic Indica expressions grow and by the end of the first hour your mind and body is fully sedated.  Your body is relaxed and your mind is slowed to a crawl.  This maybe the answer for those people who suffer anxiety attacks because of their intense fixation on their concerns.  Your thoughts are slowed to a crawl and that rapid fire panic stressed mind is calmed.  This is Indica land.

Our selection of this strain for review was motivated by local budtenders and the positive sentiments in the Reddit community.  Did we say “expectation” is a killer of experience?  We had high expectations (no pun intended).  In that frame of mind, this strain did not perform well for us.  We were expecting fireworks and we got a sunset, which is also nice.  Take away all the expectations and we have a decent indica strain that will put you at ease and make all your anxiety go away.

Conclusion

Raider Kush by RIFF

In the last six months, consistency has plagued LPs as we see THC percentage dropping.  With Raider Kush, the THC has dropped almost 10%.  Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to try their high test batch.  Based on what we have, Raider Kush is what you would expect from a normal Indica.  This strain from RIFF will provide stress relief and relaxes your body.  At below $10 a gram, this is a price point that is competitive with the grey market.

THC: 18.22%

Quality: 7.3

Intensity: 7.5

Duration: 7.7

Total:  7.5

Cost: $33.45 for 3.5 grams

It appears growing cannabis is a challenging endeavour.   The lowering of THC yields have affected the top growers like Broken Coast and Whistler Medical.  It probably is not fun growing cannabis under a public umbrella.   It is hard to imagine there is no pressure on Broken Coast or Whistler Medical growers.  A public company means the need to perform and continuing growth with profitability.  It appears the THC yield problem seems to be plaguing public LPs.  Is this extreme lower THC yield the result of pressure to perform for RIFF and Aphria?  What’s going on?

On an investment note, Christmas is here.  The recent quarterly results from Canopy and Aurora have sank the industry sentiments.  What are they thinking?  If you grow they will buy?  Do you know what cannabis consumers want?  It is not edibles.  It is not low grade bush weed.   LPs and investors in the public market talk about capacity, production cost as recipes to a profitable future.  These are the wrong metrics for selecting winners in the cannabis space.

We believe the winner is the grower with the BEST cannabis.  Nothing more nothing less.  If you don’t use cannabis, than you have no idea what we are talking about and should not be in the cannabis industry.  We dedicate ourselves to this view because we believe a successful business is built on strong products or services.  We evaluate the product first before the financial metrics.  You, the daily user, is in the best position to pick the winners by product offering.  Any financial problem that may exist is fixable.  Not able to grow the herb is a problem that is not easily fixable.  It is not easy growing the best herb.  You know the herb you know the winners.  So easy.

While Raider Kush is not the best herb of it’s type, this is another decent product from Aphria.  Ya doing good, Aphria.