These Reviews Are Dope

The High Ya Doin’ Show, a favorite podcast of mine, has been posting reviews on Instagram the past few weeks. The most recent of these “Weekly THC Potency Audit” videos drew a lot of attention, dozens of impassioned comments, and a content review that took it down for about two hours before it was restored. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPllEU2kX5E/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The “Weekly THC Potency Audit” videos are great consumer advocacy. Much like my Tasting/Testing series, they combine LightLab measurements with a review of cannabis. They select the brand to review at random from a list of candidates built from fan suggestions. Trevor visits a dispensary that carries the brand, and buys the two strains that have the most recent test dates.

I’m a friend of the Show, and I’ve enjoyed many conversations with Trevor about testing and reviewing cannabis, including in consultation for the “Weekly THC Potency Audit.” Here’s why these videos strike a nerve, and are essential.

Trevor and Rob are funny

The ultimate judge of the flavor and quality of the cannabis is Rob. He typically smokes from a joint each of a couple of strains, and shares his reactions off the cuff. Rob is hilarious – a plainspoken, clever guy who likes motorcycles, dirt bikes and jet-skis.

Trevor tests the weed and rolls the joints while Rob sits behind the desk and expounds. These guys have known each other for many years, and a bit of their banter is captured in the brief clips. They aren’t afraid to have a laugh at each others’, or their own, expense.

The testing is accurate

In their most recent video Trevor declared that he is “not a scientist,” but you can trust his results. I’ve worked side-by-side with him, two LightLabs blazing, on several occasions. He knows how to test weed, maintains his instrument conscientiously, and reports results honestly. We’ve each compared against licensed testing labs to find that LightLabs deliver results that are accurate to the precision stated. 

While not educated as a scientist, Trevor has a scientific way of thinking. I’ve found him to be quite an engaging partner in planning experiments. He knew enough that in his last video, he considered the levels of THCA and THC to evaluate whether degradation could explain his lower results. His attention to detail is one to trust.

The consumer is centered

The engaging hosts and honest reviewing are the reasons people watch these videos, but the reason they are important is the same thing that draws such intense and varied responses. These videos center the perspective of the consumer. The guys consume and test products and, if they aren’t impressed, they say so, names and all. That is beautiful and terrifying.

I’ve become a part of the “cannabis industry,” that coterie of operators, employees, ancillary businesspeople, consultants, and just a couple non-profiteers that hang around all the conventions and trade shows becoming buddies. I have experienced the openness, conviviality, camaraderie, and sense of shared stigma that this amazing industry offers, but there is a dark side. We don’t always want to tell the truth about how good each other’s weed is. I myself have pulled punches, choosing not to write a review after lackluster tastes and tests.

The High Ya Doin’ Show is doing important work by bringing accountability to cannabis. From the perspective of the consumer, paying for 26% THCA and getting 16% is fraud. You can’t get away with selling any other product under such a prominent and incorrect label of contents. Producers and labs should be grateful for the honest feedback on their results. Trevor and Rob are normalizing cannabis, in every sense of the term, and we should thank them.