Annie Jacobsen is a nonfiction writer I’ve been perusing a lot this year. As someone who’s totally fascinated by extrasensory perception, I read her book Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government’s Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis, and after that, I was hooked. I just finished reading her 2011 book, Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base, and oh man, it blew my mind so hard I had to scoop my brains off the floor! I was wildly enthralled by her accounts of the 1950s-era U2 spy planes. These bad boys — essentially jet-powered gliders — could reach an altitude of 73,000 feet. It was exhilarating reading the tales of those brave pilots and it makes me proud to be living so close to the Air Force Academy. Stoked and toked off that spectacular tome, I knew I needed to head to a rockin’ and rollin’ dispo to keep my head up in the clouds. So I decided to stop by Living Rose Wellness.

Dispensary: Living Rose Wellness, 719-473-9797

I’ve always been a huge admirer of the Rose and knew they would be top shelf, but it was even better than I remembered. The website sums it up sweetly: “Living Rose Wellness was started by Sasha Livingston and Dustin Rose with patients in mind first ... Everything from our lush grow to our welcoming dispensary and everyone from our growers, trimmers, and budtenders were hand-picked specifically to provide our patients with the gold standard they desire and deserve.” The Rose lives up to its catchphrase, ”Living the gold standard.”

The budtender was helpful and conversational and fit the true definition of a weed sommelier/steward. The dispo was spacious and professional but it also had a welcoming, even cozy, feel — like you’re being invited into someone’s home. Adding to the ambiance was a gorgeous African gray parrot named Kickles who whistled and shyly watched as my budtender got me settled. The cherry on top: Before I left, I took advantage of their claw machine (filled with stoner goodies, of course) and on my first try I scored a new Morty silicone bong (à la Rick and Morty).

Their in-house hash was scrumptious, but I was most attracted to their Runt Gruntz Live Resin from Viola. According to LRW/Viola, this strain comes from strain parents Durban Gruntz and Runtz. Further research indicated that the strain parents and strain are all hybrids, and the associated high leaned in this direction as well. It doesn’t surprise me that Runtz was named Leafly Strain of the Year in 2020, so with a parent like that, it’s easy to see why this batch was so elevating. The most important part: This stuff sent me skyward!

I found the stone to be very heady and the hash really hit me with red eyes, a creative drive and a giddy/infectious high. It was euphoric and enlivening and I would highly recommend this hash for a perfect “wake and bake,” since it gives you that extra zing to face the day.

The smell was a mixture of chemicals and freshly cut grass with citrus notes, but admittedly the smell was so unusual it was tricky for me to pin down. The taste was like ambrosia salad with some greens — and then a dash of an assortment of candy.

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” is a popular/overused adage from William Shakespeare. However this awesome rose is one of the sweetest I’ve ever had the pleasure of sniffing. And speaking of U2s, if you wanna feel as high as a spy plane, fly on over to Living Rose Wellness.

Editor's note: Due to an editing error, the bird's name was originally reported to be Kiggles, not Kickles, which is the correct name. We regret the error.

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