One of the questions I’ve been asked the most since founding Illinois News Joint is, “What is your favorite strain?” I’ve had a couple pat but true answers that basically avoid the question. One answer involved having favorite effects (Work Sativa) instead of a favorite strain, and the other answer was that I enjoy the most having a variety of strains at my disposal. Also true: I finally have to admit that I do have a favorite strain.

Before legalization and growing my own medicine, I had no real choice in strain selection. Even if I’d found a strain I enjoyed, nothing had consistent availability. Legalization opened up my options for Work Sativa, and growing my own medicine has allowed me to narrow down on my ideal effects as well, and ultimately, a favorite strain.

My preferred effects are a strong head high with clearheaded focus, motivation, creativity, energy, and an overall uplifting and cheerful mood. I enjoy weed that puts a smile on my face without me even knowing I’m smiling like a cheeseball. The head high has to be strong enough to stop me in my tracks if I overindulge while working. I also prefer the effects to include a strong, but not overwhelming, body buzz that eases my muscle pain and body aches and allows me to sit at my work desk for long periods of time.

Another consideration for a favorite strain includes my flavor preference. I enjoy lemon, orange, mango, pineapple, cherry, chem, sour diesel, pine and skunk, with added notes of sweetness. My least favored flavors include mushroom, earth, soil, black pepper, wood, nut, and floral notes. I also enjoy hybrids with clearheaded focus but without as much energy to dose while working late at night.

I have reviewed dozens of Work Sativa strains and sampled several times as many, and the one strain that comes closest to checking my all my preference boxes is Green Crack. As mentioned in my grow journal, I popped a Green Crack seed that grew in 54-flowering days into a sweet mango cream and skunk flavor (instead of that earthy flavor I’ve tasted in other green crack phenos) with the precise effects I’m looking for. The plants’ yield was not super high, but the buds were dense with heavy trichomes and easy to trim.

I am continuously hunting for and growing new Work Sativa strains to try to find another keeper (because I still want a variety in my terpene intake), and I have several more strains lined up for future grow journals. Eventually, I plan to make a list of all my favorites, but for now, Green Crack is at the top of the list with a few others right behind. To follow News Joint Grow Journal, click here.

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