My Favorite Strains: Agent Orange

Before I start telling you about this particular strain, I want to tell you first and foremost that I do not agree with the name and the connotation that the name implies. I have a good friend who lost his father to a nervous system disease while we were in college due to effects of agent orange or dioxin poisoning during the Vietnam war, which was a herbicide made by the Monsanto corporation.

Many others agree that this is one of the top worst strain names. So to whoever named this strain I say — you could have done so much better, especially with the genetic heritage you had to work with. Nonetheless, I digress, and now I will tell you what a beautiful flower Agent Orange truly is, regardless of such a negative name.

Coming from the cross of Orange Velvet and Jack the Ripper (again another name suggesting a harsh character, and the offspring of a Space Queen x Jack’s Cleaner cross), Agent Orange is a sativa dominate hybrid strain that truly excites and enhances the senses — which again makes me upset with the name since nervous, muscular, digestive, respiratory, reproductive and most body systems are affected by the actual agent orange chemical.

I try and push aside the differences I have with the name and its suggested character.

The flowers of this plant are simply beautiful. The light to dark colored calyxes are covered in mature, amber colored trichomes and sprout thin dark orange pistils. The nugs are very dense and well packed together, requiring a nice grinder for proper preparations due to its highly resinous quality.

Her smell erupts from the container as soon as I open the jar, with very strong odors of orange, lemon lime and a hint of grapefruit — possibly from an array of limonene terpene presence. The taste however, varies slightly. It has a sweet, creamy taste of vanilla or lavender without the overly floral notes, possibly from the terpene linalool.

As I exhaled there was something there on the back of my tongue that suggested a wintergreen or anise (licorice) component mixed with a fizzy sensation on my taste buds. As I let the smoke linger in my mouth, I also get hints of a tropical note, which I think may be of pineapple and/or a mango-orange combination. From my bartending days, it also sort of reminds me of an old-fashioned Manhattan cocktail, with the scent of fresh orange and slight hints of sweet cherry.

Overall, the effects of medicating were rather enjoyable and left me in high spirits. My realized pain level diminished, and I just relaxed into a blissful energy that kept my mind focused, yet feeling creative and contemplative.

If the various growers of this strain would only change the name to something more positive that highlights the superior quality this strain has to offer, I would be content with this plant as a whole. Because between the potent smell, taste and uplifting buzz she offers, she doesn’t deserve to be associated with a poison, but rather beauty and finesse.