“My head turned into a big yellow balloon and detached from my body, floating in the clear blue sky.”

It was a hot, dull afternoon. The end of quarantine, or beginning of summer, had begun to beckon me outside. I’d found myself feeling stifled enough to make excuses for things I didn’t need, like a single egg or a bottle of kombucha, just to suffocate under a mask in line for the grocery store. I mean, nothing else is open. The trails are clogged with maskless wonders. And going to the grocery store does technically constitute an activity, even if it’s a wack one.

On this particular day, it was hot enough for waves of heat to radiate up from the pavement. The line for my local Gelson’s, a grotesquely overpriced store catering to the Hollywood Hills, was packed with industry douche bags yelling on cell phones in athleisure wear. The line didn’t seem to be moving. I looked up at the beating hot sun, thinking to myself, I need a new fucking hobby.

As if struck from God above, I suddenly remembered that the Pax Pod I was supposed to rate today was in my purse. Line be damned, I grabbed the Era device it was loaded in and took a big pull, exhaling dramatically in the direction of the line. Fruity notes of pine and perfume permeated my senses, hitting me hard enough to cause the sensation of pressure behind your eyes that only happens when you bout to be fuuuuucked up. Just then, my head turned into a big yellow balloon and detached from my body, floating in the clear blue sky.

Suddenly, the insufferable line of Weinstein-wannabes transformed into a lazy daisy chain leading nowhere in particular. All of the horrible feels that had compounded my pathetic outing dispersed into the air. Feeling elated, euphoric, and super, super stoned, I glided through the line, past the sanitization station, and into the cool, air-conditioned arms of the expensive chain store.

Happy Sticks is an aptly named California vape brand who make a proprietary line of vapes and cartridges, as well as a line of Pax pods to fit with the Pax Era. Known for their consistent, heady highs and fun, millennial marketing, the brand has built a positive reputation across message boards and weed blogs alike for delivering a level of potency unmatched by most competitors. Not much is listed online about this cartridge, other than that it comes in at 78.6%THC and hails from the AK-47 lineage, which is a sativa dominant hybrid.

However, I can tell you from personal experience that this cartridge hits hard with a head high combination of euphoria and alertness, and a melty, woozy body high that makes everything feel silly and fun.

“Though I could focus on some things, and generally felt mentally bright, I could not focus on work, or rather, did not want to. ”

Swirling around the store, I collected a strange assortment of non-essential products in my sanitized basket. One crate of strawberries, a tongue scraper, two cans of Spindrift, some tuna poke, and one vial of geranium oil later, I was on my way out of the store, thinking about going home to work for the afternoon.

Unfortunately, this turned out not to be the case. Two hours in, I had written one paragraph of this review, rewritten it twice, then deleted the whole thing altogether and resolved to waste the afternoon watching the first season of the Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Attempting to work while high from this cartridge was a very oil + water situation for me. Though I could focus on some things, and generally felt mentally bright, I could not focus on work, or rather, did not want to. Work felt bad, like it was boring and icky, not something I wanted to do.

If I’d been able to be productive on this cartridge, I would have deemed it one of the best cartridges I’ve ever tried due to the fact that the high is just that close to perfect. For one of the first times, I felt as high from a hit of this Sauce Pod as I normally do from combusting flower or dabbing concentrate. This is perfect for days at the beach, outdoor activities, girls night in, or really any outward, social, and fun activity where you’re not expected to email your boss.