The powers that be may be telling you summer is over, but the powers that be lie a lot. Ads for fall fashion and Halloween aisles in August are but evidence of late-stage capitalism clamoring for your attention. Live in the present and get outside.
According to the calendar, there are 37 days of summer left — over a third of the season in its entirety. Not only is summer not over until Autumn Equinox says it’s over (Sept 22), but September and October are the unsung heroes of beach season. Especially in California. Pesky tourists have gone. The marine layer burned off. The ocean has been warming for months.
But not every cannabis product lends itself to a blissed-out beach day. Edibles can melt in the heat, hash evaporates in the sun, and rolling joints in the wind sucks. While being high at the beach is great, getting high can be harder than it sounds.
Here’s a list of beach-ready weed products to have you vibing on la playa til it’s too cold to do so.
Hoppy Chill Hi-Fi Sessions by Lagunitas
Hi-Fi Hops by Lagunitas are IPAs with weed in them instead of alcohol. They’re happy, they’re hoppy, they’re game fucking changing! All of their offerings taste like you’re drinking a beer and get you high in a bubbly way — it’s much more similar to a carbonated bevvy of the alcoholic variety.
While Hi-Fi has a ton of different flavors to choose from, I like the Hoppy Chill from their new THC:CBD ratio-based Sessions line. With 5mg THC and 5mg CBD per can, they’re balanced, relaxing, and social. But still strong enough to get you splashing in the waves.
Bottom line: Great for partying at the beach sans hangover.
Buy it here: $17 for 4-pack
Beach Crasher by Hogwash Pharms
Beach Crasher is an award-winning cultivar from Hogwash Pharms that makes you feel how weed is supposed to make you feel: lighthearted, happy, and really, really high. Grown in the hills of Humboldt by multi-generational master growers, her nugs are green and orange, dense and crystalline. The smell is a tart, tropical fruit, with a sour, spicy finish. The flavor is earthy lemon pepper.
High in the terpenes caryophyllene, limonene and myrcene, this is a strain that leaves you cruising at a higher altitude than usual. It comes with a stoney head high, red eyes, and a big smile. This flower is potent and heavy, but in a whimsical way that doesn’t lock you down. It kind of mimics the feeling of being at the beach — psychically euphoric and buoyant like water, with mental serenity. Great for getting high in the sand, feeling the sun on your skin, and watching the waves roll in.
Bottom line: The name says it all.
Buy it here: $25
Octo-taster by GRAV
GRAV is a glass brand that’s been around forever and makes pieces that feel good to smoke out of. While the new wave of arty bongs and pipes are cute, they don’t always deliver when it comes time to take a solid hit. GRAV pieces are for stoners, by stoners and I appreciate that.
The Octo-taster, essentially a hitter-shaped pipe with a rubber sleeve on it, is my staple summer adventure companion. It’s discreet, break-proof, and designed to pack and go.
What makes this rubber-clad hitter so effective at the beach is that you can hold the rubber mouthpiece in your teeth, light with one hand, and shield wind with the other. Whereas hitting a normal pipe at the beach can require a towel shield and often another human to hold it, you can use this pipe at the beach easily by yourself.
Bottom line: This life-proof little pipe is perfect for exhaling worries into the sea breeze.
Buy it here: $14
El Bluntito Rosas by El Blunto
The El Bluntito Rosas by El Blunto are some of my favorite cannabis products of 2022. Each of these little joints is meticulously rolled in organic rose petals and contains .5 g of high-quality Limoncello or Bubble Gum flower.
I’ve only tried the Limoncello, but I was completely blown away by the experience. The flower is bursting with lemon flavor, offset by a hint of floral terps from the petals. The joints burn perfectly, slowly, and evenly, which is often not the case when it comes to rose petal prerolls. El Blunto hand rolls and cures all of their products. Their attention to detail has made them a favorite in even the snootiest corners of the canna world.
While these are great for special occasions, I found them to be perfect for the beach because they burn slower than your average paper-rolled joint would, and hold up better to the wind. Plus, pretty much the cutest thing you could ever do at a beach hang is pull out a pack of these babies.
Bottom line: Sophisticated and fun, they’re as good for a wedding gift as they are for a beach picnic.
Buy it here: $45
Little Strong Drink by Pure Beauty
When it comes to Alice in Wonderland-esque weed beverages, Pure Beauty takes the auspiciously small cake with their Little Strong Drink. This 2.2 oz bev packs in 100mg of THC, making it the perfect touch of magic to top off a beachy cocktail, mocktail, or my personal favorite, bottle of seltzer.
The flavor is chic, kind of like a non-alcoholic red wine with a spicy cardamom twist. It almost tastes like mulled wine or a holiday drink when concentrated, but stretches into a mildly tart and spiced grape flavor when added to drinks. In addition to the THC, it contains ashwagandha to take the edge off, and add an anxiety-free overtone to the hyper blast of THC.
Bottom line: Great for adding a touch of magic to your everyday beach beverage.
Buy it here: $20
Solventless Cranberry Almond Granola by Kaneh Co.
The notion that edibles should be bad for you is antiquated and tied to the concept of weed being a vice as opposed to what it really is, a motherfucking virtue! Thankfully the market is maturing, and we’re beginning to see high-quality, healthy edibles hit the shelves, like Kaneh Co’s Solventless Cranberry Almond Granola.
Kaneh Co is a woman-owned edibles brand out of San Diego that has always been ahead of the curve. This granola is an amalgam of superfoods like chia seeds and hemp seeds with gluten-free oats and coconut oil, among other things. Each 100mg package contains two 50mg bars, with a dosing cutting guide, of course.
Bottom line: Perfect for maintaining your bikini body (and bikini mindset!) while snacking in the sand.
Buy it here: $20
Caramel Apple Solventless Live Rosin Vaporizer by A Golden State
While I’m not much of a vaper myself, I certainly see their merit for new and casual users. Vapes are simple to use and offer a mellow experience that is hard to overdo. They’re also great for the beach, because they’re ready to hit at all times regardless of the circumstances existing around them.
If you’re a cannabis consumer of the vaper variety, A Golden State’s new line of Solventless Live Rosin Vaporizers is a fantastic choice in a product genre riddled with duds. There are a few strains available. I tried the Caramel Apple, which was super peppery, earthy, and lemony. The high was perfect for melting on the sand, relaxing, and overall buzzy.
Bottom line: Perfect for the new or casual user looking for a no-fuss, mildly stoned beach experience.
Buy it here: $65
Wedding Cake Deli Greens by Caliva
While I rarely write about budget flower, I feel it’s appropriate here because certain beach days, especially party days, require you to bring a bunch of weed to share with all your friends. This weed might get sandy. It might get wet. You’ll probably lose track of the bag at some point in the day and never see it again. For days like this, bring Deli Greens.
Cheap and widely available, this Wedding Cake isn’t the best weed in the world but it’s great for sharing and not caring. The high is mildly relaxing and good for social settings.
Bottom line: The weedy equivalent of bringing a 12-pack of Coors Light to a beach party.
Buy it here: $15
