When I first got the text from my roommate that she picked up an eighth of weed last weekend, I was psyched. With fall break around the corner and all the deadlines that come along with it, I knew I’d need a “calm before the storm” evening to recoup before diving into the week.

I won’t lie: I was a bit hesitant about using the Cheese Puffs strain for my review, given my predisposed distaste toward any inhalant that includes a dairy product in its title. After smoking it, though, the dairy affiliation quickly became a forgotten thought.

Cheese Puffs is a generic hybrid strain from Willie’s Reserve containing 19.76% THC, bought at Green Dragon on College Avenue for $34.99 before tax. I also picked up some King Palm wraps to enhance the smoking experience.

“I felt I couldn’t help my brain from needing to make dumb jokes about my newly appointed connoisseur status with cheese puns and ganja jargon.”

After the weekend’s activities wound down and I found a good stopping point with my classwork, I called and invited a tried-and-true stoner queen (and a very good friend of mine) to help me in my novel experience of evaluating a strain. Conveniently, she was also looking forward to relaxing that evening.

We queued up the infamous Cameron Diaz movie “Bad Teacher,” which neither of us had seen before, then rolled up our first palm joint. After packing as much ground Cheese Puffs as I could into the palm leaf and lighting it up, the gooning began before we knew it.

As if we were suddenly highly accredited budtenders, we began spouting off an array of vernacular attempting to describe the taste of the weed, using words like “zesty,” “skunky” and “charcuterie-esque.” The taste was initially fruity and pleasing and then seemed to have a subliminal punch of savory that felt similar to kush strains.

Given its hybrid nature, I felt I couldn’t help my brain from needing to make dumb jokes about my newly appointed connoisseur status with cheese puns and ganja jargon.

My body felt blissfully content in its cozy position under the couch blankets. The freely spoken conversation at the beginning of the high was lighthearted and giggly and continued that way throughout the evening. At one point, we almost forgot about the movie because we went on a random — and at the time, hilarious — tangent about a meme from 2014.

I really appreciated the notable absence of overthinking this strain facilitated. The transition from sober to stoned felt easy and natural. With some strains, I’ve felt overwhelmed after the inhale, as their effects on heart rate and brain activity take place quite quickly and are more prone to induce the uneasy cycle of anxiety. Cheese Puffs felt like the opposite, providing a kinder, more mellow impact on my nervous system. 

The smoking process was incredibly enhanced by the King Palm leaf, both through taste and filtration. I recommend enjoying this pricey strain using your favorite method, whether that’s a gravity bong, a blunt wrap or a smooth palm, like what I went with. Whatever your method, choose wisely, as Cheese Puffs burns fast.

Overall, getting high on Cheese Puffs was a fun experience — it brought me back to a childlike energy reminiscent of the first time I ever smoked weed. Be forewarned, though: Smoking this strain gives a contagious desire to giggle, no matter how cheesy the joke.

Reach Catey Nelson at cannabis@collegian.com or on Twitter @csucollegian.