Reeform - Solitary Haze & Konvict Kush

Originally featured in Fat Nugs Magazine Vol. 22: Prisoners Edition. Enjoy the great articles and community at fatnugsmag.com.

Reeform is a brand partnership between Weldon Angelos and Oaksterdam University to share his story and mission to help those that have been affected by the war on cannabis. Weldon was charged with a felony and minimum sentence of 55 years for his first and only cannabis offense in 2004. This is longer than the minimum jail time somebody could get for hijacking or kidnapping for selling a little over $300 dollars of cannabis. He served 13 years before being released, thanks to advocacy that he continues to pay forward with the brand. Weldon and Oaksterdam provide scholarships and educational programs to help rebuild and restart life for pardoned and released prisoners while advocating for pardons and cannabis law reform. Bringing his story full circle, Weldon is now the CEO and Founder of the Weldon Project still selling the plant he loves but now on a bigger scale with a purpose.

Happy to see this available here in Las Vegas, I picked up two strains to review. Solitary Haze and Konvict Kush! From the strain names to the packaging, the story is front and center here. Along the top of the bag you can see lines representing all 55 years of Weldon’s sentence with the 13 years he served colored orange. The black and orange packaging stands out on the shelves and features Weldon at the DJ decks with bars visible behind him. Each bag has the strain label in the upper left corner showing the cross, top terpenes and tasting notes, all of which should be standard for branding and packaging these days as it sets out some expectations and draws attention to the terps.

Solitary Haze is a cross between Animal Mints and Bubba Kush. I really couldn’t resist this one with Bubba Kush in the lineage. When I was cultivating, we had a cut of Pre ‘98 Bubba Kush that was top notch, so I try to smoke it if I find it these days. The dominant terpenes are Caryophyllene, Limonene and Linalool promising a floral/herbal citrus experience. The bag opened with a burst of citrus. Exploring the aroma further, I found that the bright citrus tones were tempered and rounded by floral notes. The two flavors were woven together with a thin thread of familiar earthiness, like having a glass of fresh pressed orange juice after doing yard work.

Solitary Haze

Konvict Kush

The aroma itself was moderate; I had to really break some of the buds up to get a better sense of things. Trichome coverage was dense with a fair amount of the trichome heads still intact which can be hard to do with bagged flower in today’s supply chain. The bud structure was dense and the product was perhaps a little on the dry side. We are in the middle of the desert here after all, but it was right on the line of dry enough and too dry which impacted the aroma and flavor. Speaking of flavor, I didn’t get much from the dry hit except for echoes of citrus. Lighting this one up, the inhale brought the citrus and floral notes back and the exhale tasted of oranges spiced and roasted over a campfire. The flavor lingered on the palette well and coaxed you back for another hit or two.

Effects were felt quickly. A heady high with a bit of a euphoric rush before mellowing out into a long lasting experience. Coming out of the bag with ~25% THC and terpenes at 5.4mg/g (Caryophyllene), 4.1mg/a (Limonene) and 2.0mg/g (Linalool), Solitary Haze does not disappoint. All of the terps were represented and the flavor notes were on point for this one. I would love to track it down closer to the harvest next time to see how much better it could be.

Konvict Kush is up next, a cross between Motorbreath 15 and Fleetwood Mac. Opening this one up released a deep spicy, pepper and pine aroma. It was very complex and cloying and difficult to focus on one note like the spice for example because the pepper and pine would be fighting for attention. It had an interesting aroma and was more powerful than the solitary haze in that department. Smelled like pine needles and black pepper all ground up and sprinkled on a fresh piece of melon. While I don’t think that would taste good, I can assure you it smells wonderful.

Again, I do need to mention that this flower smelled great, but maybe not as great as it could have. It was a little dry and maybe just over that line into too dry as well leading to a more powdery grind. I’m sure it was pretty loud a few weeks after the harvest as the trichome coverage on it was very dense giving it an almost fuzzy look with many of the trichome heads intact to deliver that goodness. The grind opened the aroma up and allowed the flavors to spread out bringing out the melon flavor more to balance the pine and pepper. The dry hit was moderate with a decent representation of the aroma in the hit. While smoking, the inhale was smooth and light on flavor. The exhale brought the pine and pepper to the palette and left a resounding note of spice. It was a nice clean smoke all the way down to the crutch.

Effects were a little slower to come on and overall duration didn’t seem to be as long as the Solitary Haze. I did enjoy this one though; it was a heavier high, more thoughtful and sedative. Lab results showed ~27% THC with top terpenes at 6.6 mg/g (Alpha-Pinene), 4.8 mg/g (Myrcene) and 1.8 mg/g (Beta-Pinene). Both of these pinene isomers are found in coniferous plants. Alpha-pinene is fairly common in cannabis, but beta-pinene is unique and not found in the top three terpenes often. Together, they create that pine smell we associate with the forest and what I’ll now associate with Konvict Kush.

Reeform is doing a great job bringing unique flower to the market and fighting a noble fight for cannabis prisoner advocacy while they’re at. It’s difficult to hear these stories and to see members of the cannabis community still behind bars. Building a brand that puts this issue front and center is bold and needed to enact the change and hasten pardons across the nation. If you see the Reeform brand in your shop, please contribute to the cause, give it a try, enjoy the high and share the love.