White Dawg - Lightshade

When our friends at Lightshade expressed interest in a strain review, we knew we’d be in for a treat. And boy were we right. Lightshade brought some serious heat with their White Dawg strain, leaving our entire review team with a smile and pleasant high.

Falling under their “Calm” category, White Dawg is a true hybrid strain generally known for its pain and anxiety relieving properties. A potent cross of The White and Chem Dawg, White Dawg brought Lightshade a second place award during the Denver Medical Cannabis Cup, proving its popularity with consumers. Let’s take a look at our results.

The sample we received was light-green in hue and covered with long, red pistils. Combined with a hefty coating of trichomes, the buds looked quite enticing. In fact, upon our initial “naked eye” glance, the first things that caught our attention were the trichomes bursting from the nugs.

From a density perspective, the sample was above average. The buds were firm, not too airy and had a solid cure. Although they may have been a tad on the dry side, it was nowhere near the “Colorado crumble” many people are turned off by. There was still a sticky presence and a resistance to crumbling when breaking down the buds by hand, indicating that the cure was conducted mindfully. When broken down with a grinder, the buds yielded a pleasant amount of ground flower and an even consistency perfect for rolling.

The trim job on the flower was done pretty well. Although there were several sugar leaves left towards the base of the nugs, the majority of the sample had a nice, tight trim.

After shooting some macro images of our sample, we were further impressed with the trichome formation/density as well as the bud’s structure as a whole. The thick, frosty coverage of trichomes was reminiscent of the powdered-sugar trichome coating seen on The White. While some trichome heads were missing from the sample, the overall coverage was thorough and robust. Additionally, the trichome heads were mostly cloudy with about 10 percent containing amber coloring, leading us to believe the harvest of this plant was right on schedule.

Straight from the container, the sample smelled of sweet-diesel and slight pine. In its un-ground form, the smell wasn’t extremely potent but not subtle either. Call it a happy medium between the two with hints of freshness and earthiness. When we broke a nug in two by hand, the most dominating olfactory tones were diesel and pine. We really enjoyed how the sweetness of the diesel was accentuated by the chemical, pine-fresh scent.

After breaking down the buds with a titanium grinder, the sweet-diesel aroma showed its true form as the leading scent. The piney aroma was still present in the sample, but mixed with the diesel emitted a more pungent, gasoline musk. The ground smell definitely leaned more towards that of a Sour Diesel or Chem Dawg for sure.

Compared to the aroma, the flavor was pretty similar. When smoked via combustion inside of a joint, the flower had a sweet, almost fruity and piney taste with a hint of sour earthiness on the exhale. The flavor stayed true throughout the joint as the piney, diesel taste became more noticeable after every puff. The smoke was very smooth in nature and each hit was noticeably clean with no throat irritation or coughing. The ash was a nice white/light-grey in color and the flower burned evenly and consistently down to the filter. As evidenced by a clean smoke and nice ash, this sample was flushed well.

When consumed through a vaporizer, the sweetness of the diesel was more apparent with a strong, piney finish on the exhale. The strain produced a nice, hearty vapor that was smooth and clean-tasting. One average-sized bowl used with a Volcano vaporizer yielded roughly ten bags before the flavor diminished and the bud became fully brown – a great sign of the sample’s freshness and quality.

Staying true to its hybrid lineage, the effects of this strain were a pretty even blend of sativa and indica qualities. The high started off slowly and began with a pleasant body high. Moving its way up the body to the head, the high began to transition into more of a sativa-style high. The head high came on smoothly and was very clear and motivating. The majority of the head high was felt behind the eye and toward the front of the head, making this strain a great option for headache-relief.

The high was also very relaxing and calming, but not sedative by any means. After waiting about 45 minutes, we still felt an uplifting sense of motivation and quelled feelings of stress and anxiety. The combination of both uplifting and relaxing effect was both refreshing and unique, making for a completely positive experience.

With a pleasing, uplifting high and a nice, smooth smoke, White Dawg is the perfect strain for anyone looking to relieve pain or stress while still maintaining a clear mind. We’d definitely recommend giving it a try if you’re looking to get rid of a pesky headache or trying to reduce your anxiety.

Fans of Sour Diesel will love this strain, as it provides a parallel high without the raciness or paranoia. All in all, we found White Dawg to be a great strain with excellent therapeutic value. Pick some up next time you’re at Lightshade and let us know what you think!

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Photo Credit: Gary Barber Photography