Can I learn to like Indica? Whenever I go to a dispensary, I’m sure to let the budtender know that I cannot stand couchlock. The budtender assured me that Peyote Critical was “kinda weird” and “not like other Indicas”. He said it gives a nice body high without toasting your brain. Leafly, however, tells another story. It claims that Peyote Critical is a high-THC heavy hitter strain, and you had better reserve it for a night in. As we know, substances tend to affect neurodivergent people differently, so it’s always a roll of the dice. Let’s look at the strain:

Consumption Method: Dry Herb Vape (Arizer Solo 2)
Type: Indica
Genetics: Critical Kush x Peyote Purple
Terpenes: Pinene, Myrcene, Caryophyllene
Scent: Earthy, pine, coffee, gas?
Taste:  Herby, tastes the way weed smells, with a little gas?, pine
Feelings: Heavy, tingly, giggly
Negative Effects: dry mouth, dry eye, constantly feeling like I need to pee

How Was the High?

Since I wasn’t sure of the effects of this strain, I picked a night when I got home a little late – a little before 10PM. I had work bright and early the next morning, so I needed a way to get to sleep fast. I was pretty energetic still, so I fired up the vape with some Peyote Critical.

The first thing that set in was the heavy feeling that ran from the crown of my head down to my toes. The dry mouth came soon after, with some light tingles around my cheeks and under my eyes. My eyes also felt quite dry.

The nighttime ritual in my household involves my husband and I getting ready for bed, and then watching Tik Tok videos together in bed until we’re too tired to read captions. And yes, I am on queer non-binary leftist shitpost Tik Tok – no dance videos here. I was very giggly and responded to dumb jokes more strongly than usual. I also at one point didn’t feel my legs. I was so relaxed my body didn’t feel like it existed. Not sure if that makes sense, but my interoception turned OFF, except the feeling that I needed to pee. That stayed forever and actually kept me up a bit. It felt like a cooling sensation in my torso that gradually flowed downward into my legs.

Eventually when sleep did take me just after 11, I slept pretty soundly. I was able to wake up for work the next morning and I honestly felt fine. Did it punch my lights out immediately? No. Was it annoying having to get up to pee every few minutes only to find out I didn’t actually have to go? Yeah. Did I get some quality sleep that I didn’t think I was going to get? Also yes.

TL;DR – Did it Help Manage My Neurodivergence?

Overstimulation: Yes, 100%. My body completely relaxed after previously being pretty keyed up. I wasn’t anxious, but I had just come from a dinner in a noisy place and was a little over that.
Understimulation: Yes, in the sense that I didn’t feel like I needed extra sensory input. It was fun to just laugh at Tik Toks, I didn’t really have a chance to get bored.
Executive Function: N/A – Not the point here. I don’t think this is a functional strain.
Focusing: N/A – Not judging it based on this. It did remove the possibility of multi-tasking but I wouldn’t say I was focused.
Sleep: Yes – It didn’t immediately knock me out, but I have pretty bad insomnia so this was an improvement. I also slept through the night which is rare. Only downside is not being able to fall asleep very quickly because you feel like you have to pee the whole time.