STRAWBERRY COUGH, The Ultimate Cannabis Strain for Mental Health

April Pride: This podcast discusses cannabis and is intended for audiences 21 and over. Coughing when you smoke weed sometimes happens. But did you know that coughing may also get you higher? 

April Pride: Google can help you figure that one out, but this strain hits hard so expect to cough. And don’t forget, I told you so. Welcome to Saturday Strains. 

April Pride: I’m your host, April Pride. And I’ll be your guide each Saturday as we move through the 12 essential cannabis strains that every woman should have in her stash. 

April Pride: If you haven’t already, please listen to the three Short Strains Explained episodes to learn more about how cannabis is a lot like another substance we can count on to change our outlook, wine. In each episode, you can expect more weed hacks, and remember, we’ll guide you from less intoxicating strains that are nearly all CBD to strains with increasingly higher THC levels.

April Pride: Today’s strain, Strawberry Cough, was developed in 2000 by a former High Times editor named Kyle Cushman. The story goes that he was gifted a runt clone, yes, there is such a thing, grown next to a strawberry patch in Connecticut. Inspired by the strain Strawberry Scent, he crossed it with a haze plant to create Strawberry Cough. 

April Pride: The hybrid gained popularity in New York City’s underground cannabis market. He then moved to California and handed out clones of Strawberry Cough on the cross-country drive, boosting its popularity all over the U.S. So let’s review five reasons why women should include Strawberry Cough in their stash. 

April Pride: Number one, what does it help with? Mood, depression, fatigue, seasonal affective disorder, aka sad, stress and anxiety. Number two, how high will I get? Strawberry Cough is an excellent strain to experiment with varying amounts or doses to dial in your right high.

April Pride: Strawberry Cough in small doses, like a single baby puff of a J, nets you a clear head high. You could also try hitting a small bowl intended to be smoked in one hit, also known as a snap, snap, snapper. Strawberry Cough in a higher dose is going to get you really high. 

April Pride: So be aware if you make a half gram pre-roll, a selfie, keeping it all to yourself, or take a bong hit. Also, the high induced by Strawberry Cough is known to last longer, three to four hours in total. 

April Pride: Number three, how will it make me feel? You may recall from Episode 23, Strains Explained: What is a Strain?, that the Hayes family of strains induce a clear headed energetic high. This strain variety also promotes a deep sense of relaxation that follows the intense cerebral high.

April Pride: Strawberry Cough has been labeled by some as the ultimate mental health strain, decreasing stress levels by regulating the heart rate, bringing you back into your body through calm breathing, and back into a more focused, less anxious mind. A small dose of Strawberry Cough does provide a moderate to strong high. For those with pre-existing mental disorders, it’s recommended you start with a small dose. 

April Pride: I tried the strain myself and read a lot of reviews and totally agree with one description of feeling little tingles on the bottom of my feet and a warming in the chest area. Higher doses bring on more intense body sensations and you can expect sounds to be more pronounced, so plan to have a playlist on hand to get the most out of your high. 

April Pride: I’d suggest downtempo house or trip hop to give into the trance like state Strawberry Cough can induce when your mind wanders and your body is deeply relaxed.

April Pride: Number four, why do women love it? Here’s the truth. Strawberry Cough was not the first pick for this strain pick. Blue Dream, as many people call it, America’s favorite strain, has a similar chemical profile to Strawberry Cough. 

April Pride: So Blue Dream really would have been the obvious pick for this list, because it’s available everywhere. But I don’t love Blue Dream. In fact, of the three farms I tried between Oregon and Washington, two gave me a headache. 

April Pride: Ellen, the co-creator of this show, is also not a fan of Blue Dream. And the fate was sealed when I mentioned Strawberry Cough as a possible replacement to two different women and they both immediately exclaimed their love for the stream. 

April Pride: You don’t remember every strain, but you remember the strains that induced an unforgettable feeling. So we chose Strawberry Cough instead. But please reach out and let us know what you think.

April Pride: Number five, what will it inspire? Strawberry Cough and large doses can go either way. To channel the euphoric energy I’d plan to go outside and be active rather than start on a series of tasks. Strawberry Cough’s head fog can get in the way of clear thinking, but it’s a great strain to settle into a long and lively conversation on the chill side, from your posture to your attitude. 

April Pride: And some parting words, please reserve judgment if a strain we recommend doesn’t work for you. You haven’t failed and neither have we. In fact, having gotten it wrong, you’re one step closer to your right high. You didn’t quit drinking when a Long Island Iced Tea as your first bar drink turned out to be a wrong move, right? 

April Pride: Send us a DM to @dothepot or to me directly, @AprilPride, and let us know how this strain worked.

April Pride: Thank you for listening to Saturday Strains. Check us out online at dothepot.com. Special thanks to Lo Friesen, Founder, CEO, and Chief Extraction Officer of Seattle’s beloved cannabis brand Halo for vetting our strain selects. We’d also like to thank Jeffrey Raber, PhD, and Colin Montgomerie of The Wercshop, as well as Nick Jikomes, PhD, of Leafly for schooling us on strains. 

April Pride: Thanks to my co-founder Ellen Scanlon, Madi Fair, our Marketing Manager and our producer, Nick Patri. I’m April Pride, and we’ll be back soon with more of How To Do The Pot.