Reeferfront Times

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[STRAIN REVIEW]

Quiet as a Mouse

Sinse’s Rainbow Belts strain underwhelms with a disappointing lack of flavor

Written by GRAHAM TOKER

Along time ago, I had a friend who started growing cannabis.

They went all-in on the space, the equipment and genetics. After visiting throughout the grow cycle, it was all very exciting to see and smell some fantastic plants. I thought we’d be on easy street once harvest time rolled around. But after the plants were cut down and dried, the weed was not loud at all. It was quieter than a library.

All the smells I experienced when helping trim were nowhere to be found. It smoked like a Marlboro Ultra Light. All the wind in my friend’s sails disappeared. It was akin to painting a masterpiece, only to have the paint disappear while it dries. Experiencing that heartbreak in the past doesn’t prevent heartbreak in the future. But you gotta put yourself out there still to experience that tasty smoke again.

One strain that has been catching my eye within the weed community lately has been Rainbow Belts. A cross between Moonbow and Zkittlez originally bred by Archive Seed Bank, Rainbow Belts has seemingly been a low-key favorite for cannabis connoisseurs since it was created due to its “Z terp” qualities. This seemed like a slam dunk for terps, which I’m here for all day every day.

I procured an eighth of Sinse’s Rainbow Belts at the Ellisville Swade location. This is the furthest west I’ve been to get to a dispensary, as most are inside of the inner belt. On my drive I passed multiple police cars — Ellisville doesn’t play. After being ushered into the patient area after check-

Rainbow Belts is disappointingly underwhelming. | TOMMY CHIMS

ing in, I was briefed on some options, but I knew what I came out to the county to get. I paid $30.20 after tax for the eighth due to a sa e and the o er tested at . percent THC.

When I ripped the mylar bag open, I got three large nuggets of the Belts, several stems and no smells whatsoever coming out of the a . he o er and oran e hairs hugged to the stems tightly. My initial thought was that it seemed very underwhelming, and after s okin the first oint it turns out that first i ression was an accurate assessment. I had a mild head high and a mediumplus body high, but there were no vibrant terpenes dancing across my tongue when I inhaled.

he se ond s oke as ust as for etta e as the first session. he effe t as si i ar to the first experience; once again, the terpenes were nowhere to be found. Normally I’m one to get excited about being paid to smoke and write about weed, but there was zero motivation to keep smoking this stuff after the se ond oint. s Cypress Hill once said, “It’s a fun o ut it s sti a o .”

I tried to make the Rainbow Belts more palatable. I attempted to re i e the nu s in a ar ith a small humidity pack. I was using great rolling papers (Team Element, baby), and I even picked up the hot ne oint ro in a essory: the Rip Tip. I did everything in my power possible to make this

[WEED NEWS]

St. Louis, U. City Consider Weed Tax

Written by MONICA OBRADOVIC

St. Louis city and at least five municipalities in St. Louis County are considering additional sales taxes on recreational marijuana sales.

Missouri’s constitutional amendment for recreational weed allows municipalities to levy a 3 percent retail tax on recreational marijuana purchases in addition to a 6 percent state tax. So far, all the Missouri cities proposing such a tax are leaning toward the 3 percent maximum. Voters will give the final OK to any city’s proposal in the Tueday, April 4, general municipal election.

In St. Louis, a board bill sponsored by Third Ward Alderman Brandon Bosley calls for revenue from the tax to go toward adressing “historic inequities.” According to the bill’s text, this may or may not include funding access to education, workforce opportunities and youth engagement.

In a phone call Friday, Bosley tells RFT the tax could also help fund curfew centers. He recently introduced a bill to impose a curfew for the city’s youth. Additionally, he says the tax could in part help fund reparations. What exactly the marijuana tax would ultimately be used for, though, is still very much up in the air.

“There’s a plethora of ideas that are being thrown around,” Bosley says.

In any case, revenue generated from the tax would go to the city’s general fund. Bosley said the tax could generate approximately $300,000 a year, an estimate he based off of current marijuana sales in St. Louis.

Other cities considering a recreational marijuana tax include University City, O’Fallon, Chesterfield, Olivette and Maryland Heights. Some are scheduled to hold first readings of bills for the tax during meetings this week.

Plans are still up in the air for others, including Chesterfield and Maryland Heights, whose city clerks tell RFT that legislation is still being drafted.

Some municipalities considering a recreational-marijuana tax house no dispensaries, including Olivette, where residents strongly protested a special-use permit for a medical-marijuana cultivation facility earlier this year. How much a tax on recreational marijuana could generate for these cities is unclear.

Regardless of whether municipalities pass an additional marijuana tax, marijuana will still be taxed less for medical users. Medicinal marijuana kept its 4 percent tax after Missouri voters passed recreational marijuana. n

A bill sponsored by Alderman Brandon Bosley calls for revenue from the tax to go toward addressing “historic inequities.” I did everything in my power possible to make this weed taste good, meeting Sinse halfway like I was dropping acid at a Phish concert.

weed taste good, meeting Sinse halfway like I was dropping acid at a Phish concert.

I rolled up all the remaining ain o e ts into a ar e oint and prepared to light it like a Viking funeral pyre. As I begrudgin y s oked do n the a or ess oint after a reat dinner ith friends, I wished to the weed deities that the next batch would be better and more dialed in. Sinse, please turn the volume up on the Rainbow Belts so it’s loud AF. Missouri’s medical patients and the soon-to-be recreational market deserve better. n