The high holiday of 4/20 falls on a Saturday in 2024 — the first time since 2019, but perhaps celebrations should go all week. Spread the zen out, as it were, with a different edible each day. That way when the foretold April 20th Saturday arrives, it’ll be easy to know which yummy gummy is right for a proper weekend 4/20 celebration.
But, what gummies are yummy? These are five of my favorite gummies made with Illinois cannabis. (Of course, these are for people 21+ years.)
For this year’s list, I picked these five based on yummy factor. Besides being delicious, each also serves a different purpose from pain relief to inducing the giggles to aiding with sleep.
For a Relaxed Fun Vibe: Good Tide Guava
Good Tide’s hybrid guava gummies ($26) come in a pretty package with ten gummies, each containing 10 mg of THC. As expected, the gummy’s guava flavor was sweet and tropical. I loved the gummy’s bright, fruity guava taste and the circle’s soft, easy chew. Because this edible was made with rosin (a highly potent and concentrated form of cannabis), it didn’t take a lot to feel the effects. I took three and felt relaxed in 30 minutes.
The happy headspace lasted for several hours, and the relaxation came so subtly that it was hard (for me) to tell if I was just naturally that relaxed and chill of a person or if it was the gummies. And I did (eventually) realize that it was the gummies, but the effects felt totally, blissfully natural. Admittedly, these gummies did give the munchies pretty bad — which is not necessarily a bad thing. But it’s imperative to have good food nearby for these. This yummy gummy is right for watching comedy, punching up brunch or a birthday party, or any kind of daytime event where a happy, hungry zen would be good.
For the Giggles / Pain Relief: Wyld blood orange
Every flavor edible I’ve had by Wyld brand has tasted good, and in my opinion, the blood orange is up there for the most delicious. With ten gummies in a package ($24), these are a 1:1 blend of 10 mg THC and 10 mg CBC per gummy. The blood orange flavor delivered a pleasant pure bliss thanks to the sativa strain of THC, which is known for its uplifting, happy-go-lucky feeling. The gummy rectangle had a soft, bouncy chew and a super concentrated orange flavor with a sour finish. Tasting like a sour orange creamscicle, the citrus sour-sweetness was so powerful that there was no cannabis taste. I took four, and it hit me within 45 minutes.
I could feel the shift in my mind and how my whole body felt different, slower and more relaxed. Simple tasks were more a bit more difficult (and way more hilarious) than usual. At one point, I was bent over laughing, unable to finish a story due to a massive fit of giggles. The story wasn’t even that interesting or funny, but I’ll tell you what, it was to me right then. Since these gummies are so particularly delectable, it is important to portion them ahead of time. They taste too delicious that it’s hard to remember they’re spiked with cannabis.
For Daytime Focus: Camino Bliss watermelon lemonade
In a little Altoids-esque tin, these Camino bliss watermelon-lemonade gummies ($30) have 20 cannabis-infused gummies that contain 5 mg of THC in each. At first I was disappointed that these didn’t have a sugary outside, but they were delicious without it. The flavor started with a big burst of juicy watermelon and had sour lemon citrus on the finish. Since there’s only 5 mg of THC in each one, my serving size for these was bigger at eight gummies, making for a small yet satisfying sweet snack.
This is a secret weapon for focus. These pink squares activated the creative part of my brain. It felt like something was unlocked, and good ideas — and of course not so good ideas — came to mind easily and steadily. I was able to brainstorm and plan some things that seemed quite difficult prior to this watermelon snacky-snack. For anybody looking to find focus or motivation, nibble on these, and then get shit done.
For a Good Night’s Sleep: Beboe plum berry
If I want a long, luxurious night of sleep, I take indica gummies. I love Beboe’s plum berry gummies ($25) contains 20 gummies, each with 5 mg THC plus 20 mg of CBN, and all it takes is one to have a good night’s sleep all night long. As a flavor, plum berry tasted kind of unique, more fun than grape for sure and less pointed than raspberry. This gummy tasted most like a real candy (a non-cannabis gummy) than the others with its firmer texture and super sugary flavor. The cloyingly sweet center plus the thick layer of gritty white sugar definitely means these need to be consumed before bedtime teeth-brushing.
What I like most about these gummies was the slow, subtle sleepy effect instead of a drastic drowsiness. After 20 minutes, I felt a laziness that gently influenced me to lay down and succumb to sleep. My sleep issue isn’t falling asleep so much as it is staying asleep, and these kept me asleep, swaddled up in my dreams until the morning.
For a Good Night Out: Taste Buds Sour Green Slapple
Last but not least, a yummy gummy for a night out is this sour green slapple ($20). With 10 candies in a bag each with 10 mg of THC, the Taste Buds sour green flavor has that delicious, familiar sour apple taste really similar to sour apple Blow-Pops. Without a sugared coating, this gummy is wetter than the others, so the candy discs stick to each other some, but that’s an easy excuse to eat a handful. They have no cannabis taste, just tasty sour apple.
I enjoyed the easy-going vibe that this one gave me. My whole body felt relaxed, like a chewy bite of self-care, so I was ready for a night out on the town. During conversations, my mind was not exactly racing but slowly churning with silly, stupid ideas. Basking in my momentarily heightened senses, nothing felt serious all, and I was able to live in the moment.
Cannabis Dispensaries in Champaign-Urbana
In Champaign-Urbana, there are four dispensaries that sell yummy gummies (and other cannabis products): Cloud9 Cannabis, nuEra Champaign, nuEra Urbana, and Sunnyside.
