For this review series, I’ve had to keep a close eye on the menus for the dispensary in central Illinois. Shockingly, flower with THC levels of 30% plus THC don’t stay on the menu for long. So when I saw that NuMed in Urbana had Meltdown by Matter listed as having 30.19% THC, I picked up an eighth the next morning (it was off the menu two hours later). When I got home, I noticed the container label listed the strain at “only” 29.71% THC, so we’re rounding up on this one. Matter products are produced by PharmaCann, which operates dispensaries under the name Verilife.

Photo by ILNJ

I’m just going to spoil alert this review and get to the point. This strain grew on me more and more each time I medicated. By the end of the eighth, I wanted to make Meltdown my “side weed.” It’s perfect for when you want something a little different, stronger, a strange able to do what others won’t. Deliver interesting flavors to go with a heavy head and body buzz. But I haven’t seen her on the menu since.

Photo by ILNJ

NuMed had Meltdown listed as a sativa, but besides the taste, I’m not sure why. The strain is reportedly a cross between the hybrid Orange Valley OG and the indica-leaning The Cube. The dense bright-green buds were well groomed and thick with orange hairs and trichomes, especially when the bud was broken apart. The aroma reminded me of the Lemon Pledge Furniture Polish my mother used to clean our wooden table with when I was younger. The smell also contained floral and pine notes from Meltdown’s terpineol and pinene profiles. The flavor hit first with the lemon pine, almost menthol, but then finished with a sweet herbal note. The flavor on the exhale was the opposite with spicy floral on the front end and a sweet citric aftertaste.

Because of the massive level of terpenes, Meltdown didn’t sacrifice taste for the extreme high. Even for a veteran smoker, this strain packed more than a punch. The high hit within seconds. This was not a sativa “Work Sativa”but was not couchlock either. More of a mindlock with a great body buzz.

Photo by ILNJ

The start of the high had characteristic of a sativa and was filled with cerebral creative thoughts, but after a couple doses, those thoughts wondered, and a heavy and pleasant body buzz sunk in the muscles. The happy high had me thinking about doing a lot of things but not actually getting anything done. In fact, I had to stop smoking it while writing this review to avoid mindlock. It also made time fly by no matter what I was doing.

Photo by ILNJ

Meltdown delivered a strong head and body high that was a great change from my normal night weed. I was functional but blazed to the bone at times, and each night I dosed with Meltdown, I slept well. Again, if I see Meltdown on the menu, I’ll pick her up again so I’ll have a fantastic “side weed” for my night medications. Because everybody needs a side weed at night, right?

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