It’s the biggest holiday of the year in the galaxy’s biggest legal cannabis market here in Los Angeles, and we’ve got a rundown of the must-smoke strains to take your 4/20 to the next level.

Let’s be honest, we’re a spoiled bunch. The selection available to the discerning cannabis enthusiast in Greater L.A. is similar to the experience a sommelier would have living in Napa or the French wine regions, if not even better. All that the cannabis people dream about is here

In the not-too-distant future, the lounge scene likely will be the heart of 4/20 festivities in Los Angeles. But that day has not come yet. So it’s reasonable to say the weed is still the star of the show for now. Don’t take this as the concrete list of the best pot in SoCal this holiday season — it’s more of a collection of genetics that we’re exceptionally excited about.

If you check out the names on this list, you’ll see the champions of marijuana cultivation. Whether they’ve dialed in their garden inside of high-tech facility, or grew it under the mountain sun, everything on this list is worth checking out at least once, but we would not be surprised if you find yourself coming back to them after the holiday.

Fig Farms' White Nectarine — Med Men
 Every time the elite garden at Fig Farms produces a new strain, people quickly take notice. Whether it be for its past cup victories or the simple enjoyability of now popular names like Purple Fig, there is something special about Fig Farms dropping a new strain. Like many, Fig Farms tends to focus on doing a handful well rather than creating 20 options. So when a new one like White Nectarine can take its place among the lineup, you have to know just how great it is. We were lucky to get our hands on a nug of the White Nectarine in the fall. It looked like it was some kind of organic magnet for trichomes, and the white in its name comes from that visual. To create this forthcoming sensation, Fig Farms crossed its Purple Fig with Satsuma. Expect dense nugs that smell like potpourri and stonefruit.

Ridgeline Farms' Green Lantern — Rite Greens
 Southern Humboldt County has had it pretty rough in the age of legal cannabis, with many small farmers having trouble meeting the permitting demands of the times. But through it all, the region is still the heart of the ancestral homeland of top-shelf marijuana, and it got the world title back this fall when Ridgeline Farms won the Emerald Cup, which is essentially the sun-grown pot world championship. Ridgeline actually had been growing the Green Lantern for years, and was still sitting on some trying to move it when it won the cup. Needless to say, demand quickly increased for the strain, which pairs a fuel and fruit flavor.

Alien Labs' Gelonade — Connected
 The mothership has landed in L.A., and multiple encounters of the 420th kind are in-bound. Gelonade pairs the legendary Gelato 41, arguably the best pheno not directly produced by original breeders Jigga and Mr Sherbinski, with the limonene-packed Lemon Tree. The resulting cannabis has a dynamic flavor profile for sure, and the resulting high is super upbeat yet full-bodied in a way that’s not going to get you stuck to the couch. Alien Labs' special 4/20 drops will be one of the first things that sell out anywhere in L.A. this holiday; get your hands on the Gelonade or one of its other heaters as soon as you can.

IC Collective's ChemDog 91 — AHHS West Hollywood
 In a world stuck on the latest and greatest mentality, it’s great to see a classic like Chemdog 91 still being cultivated by longtime killer cultivators, including IC Collective. Before the days of terpene profiles and menus separated by indica and sativa, ChemDog 91 was what you smoked when you wanted to stay amped up while following the Grateful Dead from city to city. ChemDog also has found itself in the lineage of many exciting strains of the modern ingredient. IC Collective said ChemDog is the godmother to contemporary cannabis and also gave birth to the fuel era of cannabis, with jars starting to smell like gas stations when you open them.

Sun Roots Farm's Velvet Purps Buds & Roses
 If you want to smoke some great pot attached to uber-responsible farming practices this holiday, Velvet Purps by Sun Roots Farm is the strain you’re looking for. Sun Roots Farm is one of three farms to take home the Emerald Cup’s regenerative farming award in 2018; it is awarded to cannabis farmers who grow their cannabis as part of a wider symbiotic relationship with the land they look to nurture and protect from more destructive farming practices. With the Velvet Purps, expect a full-bodied experience from the myrcene present — that’s what gives purple weed its heavy kick.

Jungle Boys' Jungle Cake — TLC, Los Angeles Farmers
 The Jungle Boys will be dropping plenty of heat this 4/20 and it’s certainly a tough spread to pick from, but we find ourselves very excited for the Jungle Cake. The Jungle Boys paired its WiFi #43 with Animal Mints from Seed Junky. Seed Junky definitely has a place in the conversation when talking about the breeders people are most enthusiastic abut, Animal Mints and sister Kush Mints are two of the most coveted strains on the planet right now.

PistilPoint's Garlic Breath — LAXCC
 PistilPoint has brought some solid cannabis to L.A. in recent months — we featured its King Louis O.G. in our Christmas list, and the newest batch of Garlic Breath is equally deserving of accolades. As with much if this list, the Garlic Breath is a pairing of two strains you would love to get your hands on individually, GMO Cookies and Mendo Breath. With this blend, expect a high that won’t put you down but still provides relief for light aches and pains.

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