276 CANNABIS the board, you’ll find consistently tender textures, vibrant flavors and cannabis that complements the candy instead of overpow- ering it. That’s a rare combination — and one worth seeking out. i i i BEST CANNABIS BEVERAGE HIGH TIDE THE FLOWER SHOP 3155 E. MCDOWELL ROAD, #2 480-500-5054 AND OTHER VALLEY LOCATIONS THEFLOWERSHOPUSA.COM Made in Arizona for local dispensary chain The Flower Shop, High Tide low-dose selt- zers come in refreshing flavors like prickly pear lime and raspberry lemon. High Tide’s crisp, cold summer chillers are great foils for the Arizona heat when you’re sitting pool- side or seeking a post-hike buzz. Each 12-ounce can contains 10 mg of nano-emul- sified THC, which can produce effects in 15 to 30 minutes — noticeably faster than many traditional edibles. They’re an easy introduc- tion for people curious about cannabis beverages and a refreshing alternative for seasoned cannabis consumers looking to sip instead of smoke. In this state’s triple-digit summers, an ice-cold cannabis seltzer is hard to beat. i i i BEST CANNABIS BAKED GOODS AMY AND AL’S EDIBLES 9420 W. BELL ROAD, SUN CITY 623-980-0558 AAEDIBLES.COM Sun City-based Amy and Al’s makes baked goods that remind you cannabis edibles didn’t start as gummies. Their gooey, rich, chewy brownies are reason enough to seek them out, but they’re just the beginning. Chocolate chip, peanut butter and snicker- doodle cookies, along with German choco- late and cheesecake truffles, round out a lineup that tastes like it just came out of your hippie grandma’s kitchen. The textures are consistently spot-on, the flavors are buttery and homemade and every batch delivers from the first bite to the last. In a market swarming with gummies, Amy and Al’s proudly keeps classic baked edibles alive. BEST CANNABIS HARD CANDY PUCKS PUCKSAZ.COM Pillow-cut “acid-drop” candies may sound old-fashioned, but Prescott Valley’s Pucks gives the classic confection a contemporary twist. Pucks makes each hard candy from scratch, resulting in jewel-like treats that dazzle with flavors like blue pomegranate, tangerine mandarin and heirloom straw- berry. They’re bright, fruity and surpris- ingly sophisticated, minus any of the medicinal taste that can plague some cannabis edibles. Pucks also offers lines of gummies and taffies, but do not let their candy-shop appearance lull you: These wares are as potent as a mule’s kick. Equal parts artisan confection and cannabis edible, Pucks proves hard candy deserves a place alongside the gummies dominating dispensary shelves. i i i BEST CANNABIS CHOCOLATE GRÖN EATGRON.COM/CHOCOLATE Oregon-based Grön makes its Arizona products locally, including chocolate bars available in potencies up to 1,000 mg. Handcrafted with Fair Trade-certified cacao and finished with Jacobsen sea salt, the bars taste like premium chocolate first, cannabis second. Smooth and remarkably free of any “weedy” aftertaste, they’re avail- able in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, peanut butter pretzel and dark chocolate with vanilla bean. Thoughtfully formulated ratios of THC, CBD and CBN lead to balanced, steady effects, while full-size and mini bars make it easy to choose your dose. This is cannabis chocolate that doesn’t compromise on flavor, and at about $20 for a full-sized bar, it compares favorably with high-end chocolates of the non-mind- expanding variety. BEST EDIBLE FOR A POOL DAY BAKED BROS. HAPPY SYRUP BAKEDBROS.COM/THC-SYRUPS/HAPPY Forget the sad, melted popsicle at the pool — Baked Bros. Happy Syrup is the adult refreshment Arizona summer deserves. The Maui Wowie Mango Madness delivers a slap of tropical fruit flavor without tasting like a chemistry experiment, thanks to real fruit ingredients that boost the natural sweetness. Add a splash to seltzer or carbonated water, toss in some ice, and you’ve got a crisp, fizzy beverage that feels at home beside the pool. Available in 100 mg THC bottles for recre- ational consumers and 300 mg THC bottles for medical patients, this CBD-enhanced syrup lets you customize your cannabis experience one pour at a time. i i i BEST EDIBLE FOR FIRST FRIDAY COPPERSTATE FARMS ROSIN GUMMIES LIVEWITHSOL.COM/BRANDS/ COPPERSTATE-FARMS Snowflake-based Copperstate Farms crafts live hash rosin gummies that make a great companion for a night of gallery hopping and soaking up First Friday’s creative energy. Made with solventless live hash rosin, these gummies are available in crowd-pleasing flavors like blue raspberry, watermelon and pineapple mango. The full-spectrum extract appeals to cannabis enthusiasts looking for a more refined edible experience, while the gummy format makes them easy to take along for an evening of ambling. You don’t want to be shooting across the cosmos while your feet are planted on Roosevelt Row, but rather even more deeply present, even while slightly altered. So consider these your First Friday wingman — an addition to a night filled with people-watching, expansive conversation and abundant visual inspiration. BEST CANNABIS MOM GROUP CANNA MOMS CAN CANNAMOMSCAN.ORG Mom needs to unwind. Pour her a mimosa at brunch, and nobody bats an eye. Puff and pass her a blunt and suddenly people have opinions — especially at family functions. But it’s 2026, for Pete’s sake. Canna Moms Can is helping Arizona mothers chip away at that stigma while finding other moms who partake. On Meta, you’ll notice the women’s PG-rated phrases like “conscious wellness” and “garden moms,” partly because algorithms don’t always play nice with cannabis. IRL, there’s less tiptoeing around Mother Nature’s favorite psychoac- tive plant. The moms-only group gets together for yoga, brunches, smoke-and- paint seshes and tours of cultivation facili- ties and dispensaries. They educate one another on cannabis, different ways to consume it and motherhood, all without getting side-eyed. Moms still figuring out products can learn from those who’ve been around since the nickel-bag era. Everybody gets some “cannaraderie” and a break from the kids. No judgment here — unless you forget to pass to the mom on the left. i i i BEST CANNABIS CULTIVATORS & BREEDERS VORTEX PREMIUM CANNABIS VORTEXPREMIUM.COM Growing boutique cannabis in Arizona ain’t easy. Even harder is consistently curating and producing high-THC cultivars. At Vortex’s 18,000-square-foot facility, it starts with genetics. The four-person crew hunts through strains and selects standout pheno- types before a plant ever reaches the flow- ering room. Autumn Hall oversees the veg room, where dozens of baby plants and clones begin their journey. From there, Tavares “V12” Jurineack, a former Miami Dolphins player, calls the plays, balancing