Here’s What You Want to Smoke to Build Up an Appetite on Thanksgiving.

Despite cannabis’s reputation as a munchies-triggering substance, not all cultivars are bred to stimulate hunger in users.

Potlander Thanksgiving

Whether you’re “walking” with your cousins before the turkey is served or medicating throughout your Thanksgiving meal, the right strain of cannabis can dial up your holiday cheer and help you develop an appetite suitable for our most gluttonous holiday.

Despite cannabis’s reputation as a munchies-triggering substance, not all cultivars are bred to stimulate hunger in users. Some cannabinoids and terpenes can even suppress appetites, and since endocannabinoid receptors can respond in so many different ways to cannabis, depending on the individual, pregaming with weed on Thanksgiving can be too much of a crapshoot. But we’re here to help.

This year, before paying respect to Portland’s traditional custodians, the people of the Chinook Indian Nation, consider using one of these strains to not only kick-start your gratitude and rose tint your outlook, but also activate your Hoover.

Monster Cookies

This cultivar has a reputation for activating powerful munchies. A cross of Girl Scout Cookies and Granddaddy Purple, this potent nug is high in THC and often features the snoozy cannabinoid CBN. If you intend to eat-nap-eat-nap, one milky dab of Monster Cookies can facilitate that plan, no problem. Expect a sweet vanilla funk in the nose and a flowery, berry-sweet exhale.

BUY: Green Gratitude, 10322 SE Holgate Blvd., 503-444-7707,greengratitude.us.

Head Cheese

This strain is a highly effective appetite stimulant for patients struggling with calorie intake as well as those overcoming eating disorders. The cross of 707 Headband and UK Cheese also tends to make users euphoric and chatty, which might be perfect for keeping the conversation going around the dinner table. Expect a stanky cheese perfume and a pungent, sweet cheese exhale.

BUY: Eden Cannabis, 128 SE 12th Ave., 503-477-9998, edencraftcannabis.com.

Girl Scout Cookies

Famous therapeutic cultivar Girl Scout Cookies, or GSC, has a reputation for not only percolating an appetite but also delivering a calm, cool head high that inspires mellow introspection rather than straightforward sedation. If gratitude is your first order of Thanksgiving business, this might be the right strain to start the festivities with. Expect an earthy, sweet fragrance reminiscent of cookies and gas, and a commensurately doughy-wood exhale.

BUY: TJ’s on Powell, 7827 SE Powell Blvd., 503-719-7140, visittjs.com.

Candyland

For users who prefer an upbeat high, Candyland is a peppy, euphoric cultivar that delivers munchies from the outset without sidelining its users with a sedative hunger. This might be the cultivar to indulge in before putting on your holiday apron and focusing on some stoner cooking. By the time dinner rolls around, the munchies will arrive, and you can feel simpatico with all the cousins as they come back in from their “walk.”

BUY: Kush Cart Delivery, 971-229-1281, kushcartpdx.com.

Purple Kush

Named one of the world’s most powerful strains by High Times, Purple Kush is more than just a legendarily dank bud; it’s also a holiday standard. This deeply relaxing cultivar is a panacea for all manner of disorders, from anxiety to chronic pain. Though its therapeutic benefits may be sometimes overshadowed by its deeply stoney recreational reputation, you can benefit from both during a potentially stressful holiday. Consider this as much a medicine cabinet strain as a stash box staple. Expect a spicy stank and a grassy, botanical-sweet exhale.

BUY: The Green Planet, 17332 SE Powell Blvd, 503-912-1144.

Dolato

Dolato, a cross between popular strains Do-Si-Do and Gelato #41, typically delivers a cottony, uplifting head high and a calm but not quite sedative body buzz. Many users report the head and body highs dissolving into a velvety chill before giving way to strong munchies, so if spacey and syrupy are how you’d like to feel this Thanksgiving, consider this cultivar your holiday go-to. Expect a piney perfume and spicy, sweet exhale.

BUY: Budlandia Woodward, 8135 SE Woodward St., 503-412-8447, budlandiapdx.com.

Ice Cream Cake

This rare cross of Gelato #33 and Wedding Cake is a mind-quieting, chakra-opening, euphoric cultivar that users say is highly effective at treating appetite loss as well as chronic pain and insomnia. Stoners looking for quiet, introspective head effects and cashmere-cozy body effects might enjoy a greasy dab or juicy preroll of this strain, gluttonous holiday or nah. Expect a stinky, cheesy nose and a nutty-sweet exhale

BUY: Cookies Portland Dispensary, 2404 SE 79th Ave., 503-832-6580, cookies.co.

Mimosa

Another perky phenotype for users who prefer snazzier highs is Mimosa, a wake-and-bake strain that’s as sunny as its name implies. Users with a holiday to-do list requiring a modicum of focus might appreciate Mimosa’s uplifting genetics and clearheaded cerebral effects. And if you pair it with an actual Champagne mimosa, well, you do you, boo. It is a holiday, after all. Expect an aggressively citrus profile with undertones of wet wood and earth, and an orange juice exhale.

BUY: The Dispensary on 52nd, 4452 SE 52nd Ave., 503-420-8000, thedispensaryon52nd.com.

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