VAPE REVIEW: Legion of Bloom Monarch and Terapen vape cartridges

If time travel were accessible, the first thing I would do is travel to the mid-1990s and tell myself to stop spending all my money on CDs, especially with Napster, iTunes and Spotify right around the corner.

Unless you have the foresight, though, that's how it works: Something new becomes available, then ubiquitous, then indispensable. Suddenly most things that came before are rendered obsolete, and then the cycle starts anew. For example, teenage me could never have envisioned that the future of weed would lie in concentrated oil turned to vapor through a ballpoint pen-sized device.

But here we are, and while some aging stoners might think the future ain't what it used to be, perhaps this future is better, especially with the quality of vape cartridges improving seemingly every day. Northern California-based Legion of Bloom's excellent Monarch cartridge certainly approaches a high-water mark in terms of terpene-enhanced flavors and a clean aftertaste.

Legion of Bloom uses only high-quality cannabis and solvent-free extraction methods, and they also support sustainable cultivation. Their cannabis oil is triple-refined for maximum cleanliness, while the addition of naturally derived terpenes enhances flavors and aromas and boosts the potency of the other compounds in play.

In addition to the Monarch, Legion of Bloom also offers a line of symptom-targeting cartridges for their Terrapen vaporizer. We sampled the RE:lax cartridge, which is recommended for sleep, and balances CBD and THC in a 1:1 ratio. It offers the same clean taste as the Monarch with more drowse-inducing effects.

<div class="star-rating"> Content: 500 mg </div> <div class="star-rating"> Price: $22.50 (Monarch cartridge); $30 (Terrapen RE:lax cartridge) </div> <div class="star-rating"> Uses: Insomnia; chronic pain; stress and anxiety </div> <div class="star-rating"> Pros: Clean, terpene-enhanced flavor profile and targeted effects </div> <div class="star-rating"> Cons: Too much wasteful paper and plastic packaging for such a small product </div>