. @40Cannabis Zookies

(50/50 hybrid., lineage: Animal Cookies x Gorilla Glue #4 - 21.73% THC, terpene content (2.58%): farnesene, caryophyllene, limonene, humulene, linalool)

I bought 3.5g ($30.00 + tax) at @Shelter_Market's One Year Anniv. Sale...

This is the cultivar that tried its level best to destroy 40 North Cannabis.

Thankfully for fans of the plucky little craft grower 'engine that could', the reports of their death have been greatly exaggerated.

It was touch and go there for a while though...

So, what went wrong?

According to Gord Nichol, North 40's HMFIC/Master Grower/Marketing Specialist/Social Media Manager/possibly Head Janitor too (?), a couple things did.

Critical things! One was an electrical wiring issue that he describes here: https://twitter.com/40Cannabis/status/1323737282726174720

This, combined with bringing-in what he believes were pre-affected clones, led to a facility-wide powdery mildew outbreak that resulted in 2/3rds of North 40's Zookies crop being destroyed by North 40, as well as other grow rooms running other crops, also affected.

Yikes!!

I spoke to Gord briefly today, he was kind enough to take some time during his smoke break.

He indicated that a period of five months (thousands of man-hours) was spent sanitizing the whole facility, correcting the electrical issue, and looking into ways to internalize...

... functions like genetic-sourcing in-house, to avoid potential calamity down the road.

He's hoping to turn North 40's short-term pain into long-term gains. He was candid about the whole fiasco... 2020 was a tough year for them!

Let's take a look at @40Cannabis' Zookies!

Gord shared a photo of a bud on a plant in the one non-affected room of Zookies stating that the room probably needed another 3 weeks to develop.

They opted to bring the room down early, to be safe.

(Photo credit to G. Nichol)

The buds are exactly as described in the listing on Shelter Market's site: small and dense, likely needing to be closely inspected for any signs of PM.

The scent from the bag is earthy and herbal carophyllene/humulene (almost piney in scent) with a muted floral lemon citrus.

The trichome coverage was thick, with most heads intact.

The cure is slightly dry due to bud size, but not crumbly. The buds withstood pressure, with give.

I sampled this both, combusted and vaped.

Vapor production was very full, and flavorful at the lower temps.

Combusted, the caryophyllene & limonene stand out the most. No harshness in the smoke, no sign of the mildew that cost North 40 several rooms of plants.

The high has been described as 'upbeat', but also 'anxiety-inducing' by some - which concerned me, due to my susceptibility...

Due to this, I tread pretty lightly, consuming smaller amounts with more time in-between hits. I didn't find anxiety to be an issue, although the effects are certainly energetic at first... levelling off eventually, to more soothing and relaxed.

North 40 certainly met more...

... than their fair share of challenges salvaging part of this crop - refusing outright any suggestion of H.C. approved spray remediation for the mildew, not wanting to disrespect their patients like that.

As a patient with Shelter, I certainly appreciate Gord's transparency.

In the end, North 40 sacrificed 5 months of income to handle their outbreak in the proper way... no band-aid solutions, no cut corners, and certainly no excuses!

Other LPs could certainly learn a thing about integrity here (and I'm not talking about South Park!)

It says a lot about a company when their 'worst' crop (while certainly a nighmare of sorts, for them) was still better than a lot of other producers' wares, even on a good day.

North 40 were definitely on the ropes after 2020, but I wouldn't count them out just yet...