Weed’s peak season has arrived, and while you can always roll a joint or pack a bowl to celebrate the big day, edibles are a better option if you’re taking the smoke-free route. Over the past few years, the number of edibles available on the market has exploded, and you can now get high from pretty much any category of food. Of course, gummies are still ubiquitous, but you can also find edibles in both savory snack and dessert form.
There are countless brands out there to try and experiment with, especially as we near 420. But if you don’t know where to start, I’ve drawn up a list of some of my recent favorites. If you can get your hands on them in the state in which you live, they’re worth a try, both for their effects and their flavors. Without further ado, these are our top edible picks for 420 2024.
1. Dr. Norm’s Cannabis-Infused Salted Caramel Blondie
If you want your edible to taste like dessert, look no further than Dr. Norm’s lineup, which boasts cannabis-infused sweet treats ranging from crispy rice bars to cookies to brownies. My personal favorite is the Salted Caramel Blondie, which offers 10 mg of THC per serving. This blondie has essentially none of that bitter cannabis flavor you can sometimes detect in edibles, and the combination of sweet caramel and salt makes this a treat you’ll wish you could eat more of in a single sitting. Dosing can be a bit tricky here, so make sure you use a knife to cut individual servings instead of just taking a big bite.
2. Marmas Sleep Wildberry Lavender
Some cannabis users primarily use edibles to fall asleep, and if that’s the effect you’re looking for, Marmas’ Sleep Wildberry Lavender gummies are a good option. Each dose combines 5 mg THC with 2.5 mg CBN, which some claim can improve sleep quality. Whether the CBN actually makes a difference or not, I’m not entirely sure, but I definitely slept well after trying these for the first time. The gummy is soft, fruity and mildly sweet, which makes it a nice before-bed snack—just make sure to brush your teeth after taking this edible, not before.
3. Pax Live Rosin Gummies Wild Strawberry
I’m not always a fan of gummies—the artificial flavors can be too sweet and cloying sometimes—but I love the flavor of Pax’s Live Rosin Gummies, particularly the Wild Strawberry flavor. It tastes like fruit leather with a touch of crunchiness from the sugar crystals. I found that the high from these gummies was also super mellow: not putting me on the couch for hours but not prompting any anxiety either.
4. Squier’s Drink Mixer Raspberry Lime
The cannabis industry is taking its place on the beverage market, and chef-produced Squier’s Specialty Elixirs are one of my favorite products. They’re concentrated drink mixers you can add to sparkling water (for a simple sip) or a variety of ingredients (if you’re talented in the mocktail-making department) for an alcohol-free sipping experience. The raspberry lime flavor is my favorite of all the different varieties I tried, with its fruity flavor cut by palpable acidity from the lime. These drink mixers are made with real fruit, and the result isn’t a bitter, oily-tasting drink mix you have to force yourself to down but a concentrated, flavorful mocktail ingredient that you’ll love for the flavor, not just the effects. This drink mixer contains 10 mg THC, so only use half if you prefer a lower dose.
5. Lumi Gummies Sour Caramel Apple Kush
Lumi prides itself on sourcing its ingredients from “designer strains,” and its higher-dose gummy options are all strain-specific, including the Sour Caramel Apple Kush, which combines terpenes from Sour Apple Diesel and White Caramel Cookie strains. As the name suggests, these gummies really do taste like caramel apples, with a restrained sweetness that isn’t overwhelming or overpowering.
Samantha Maxwell is a food writer and editor based in Boston. Follow her on Twitter at @samseating.