“As the sun began to break through Point Dume’s thick veil of clouds, I could feel the pill working, taking away everything bad so the good could flourish in its place.”

As a cannabis journalist, I’ve been familiar with the brand AbsoluteXtracts for years. Known for its high-quality concentrate cartridges, the Northern California brand has expanded into soft gels and tinctures. Soft gels, which in this case are filled with 50mg of THC in MCT oil, are particularly popular with those utilizing cannabis for medicinal purposes. Because there’s no inhalation or calorie count involved, they’re perfect for patients dealing with illnesses that prohibit smoking, or for those who simply don’t want to combust or vaporize anything but still reap the benefits of cannabis.

The first thing that struck me about this particular product was the dose. Fifty milligrams of THC is A LOT for a single pill, even for a super stoner like me. I’d been under the assumption that soft gels fell into the edibles category, which after Prop 64 passed in 2016, capped the dose on single servings at 10mg THC. I reached out to the brand to clarify how they got around the 10mg cap.

A rep for the brand clarified that soft gels are considered concentrates—not edibles. Concentrates have a 1000mg limit in recreational dispensaries. So, the 50mg ABX soft gels are available only in 20ct bottles at recreational dispensaries (1000mg total), and the ABX 100mg (20ct) (2000mg total) soft gels are only sold in medicinal dispensaries.

Not only is the presentation of this product distinctly medicinal, but the high is also. The reality of which really started to set in about an hour and a half after I took the pill. Sitting on the gloomy beach, staring out over the tumultuous grey sea, I waited for the high’s big reveal. The notes I was scribbling for this review in my notebook were taking a bitter turn. A cold breeze blew. I was mere moments from becoming bummed.

Thirty minutes later, boom, everything changed. Suddenly, the icky feelings I normally grapple with, anxiety, boredom, and depression, evaporated like the marine layer lifting off the sea. I felt happy, bright, and totally present in the moment. As the sun began to break through Point Dume’s thick veil of clouds, I could feel the pill working, taking away everything bad so the good could flourish in its place.

Boredom became mindfulness. I ran around with my dog in the haze of a still somewhat cloudy day. The cold ocean lapped the shore, and surfers moved around the waves like flies buzzing in the distance. Time moved fast. I ate a grapefruit, washing the juice from my hands in the ocean. Then I stared at the banana for a while, overwhelmed by this foreign sense of total peace, a calm that flowed and existed both internally and all around me.

“The lucid, capable high of this soft gel was a welcome break from the hazy world I often find myself lost in.”

Even though the soft gel was nothing like what I expected, it reminded me that not all weed products are aimed at getting you fucked up. Sometimes it’s more effective to take a medicinal approach to getting high, one that doesn’t include giant blunts drenched in oil and rolled in kief, or keeping a peak on your person at most times. Since the pandemic, my weed intake has increased a lot. Unfortunately, so has my tolerance. The lucid, capable high of this soft gel was a welcome break from the hazy world I often find myself lost in.

On the way home, we drove through Topanga Canyon towards a big blue sky, and ultimately into the hot afternoon sunshine of the San Fernando Valley. The clouds shrouding the coast of Malibu collected in the mirror-like a fluffy cement wall. With the sunroof open and the windows down, fresh, warm air swirled through my hair as the radio sputtered something in Spanish.

“What do you want to do for the rest of the day?” I asked my dog. Warm air swirled through her hair, too. The summer day was still young. I didn’t know what was next, but it sure was nice to get out of that fog.