You may know him as Sparks Department Captain Miller in Reno 911!, Dave in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Crazy Ira in Parks and Recreation, or from his multiple appearances in blockbuster TV shows such as Frasier, Curb Your Enthusiasm and How I Met Your Mother. It is undeniable that wherever Matt Besser goes, comedy is bound to follow.
Alongside Matt Walsh, Ian Roberts, and Amy Poehler, he founded Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB), an improvisational theatre and training company that paves the way for a multitude of aspiring young comedians (disclosure: I’ve trained at UCB) to hone their crafts in improv, sketch, and comedy.
In his recent stand-up special, Matt Besser: Pot Humor, you’ll see him take on yet another challenging endeavor: keeping audience members at the Northwest Cannabis Club in Portland, who just so happen to be stoned out of their minds, entertained for an hour. He manages to do so by hilariously reminiscing about the lengths that he and his college friends had to go through in order to get weed back in the day — including driving all the way from Amherst College to Albany in the middle of the night all because “some guy their friend knew” was selling weed. He also reminisced with me about some amazing Phish performances, before anyone knew who Phish was, that he got to experience while he was first starting to smoke weed in college.
While he doesn’t usually light up before a performance, Besser sat down to chat with Weedmaps about some of his favorite brands to consume off-stage.
Cannabiotix L’Orange
“I think I’m an orange guy,” said Besser. “I really enjoy Cannabiotix as a label because their stuff always seems so fresh. I used to ask what is the best, but now I ask what is the newest or freshest off the truck. Their stuff is always so sticky.”
L’Orange is a sativa-dominant flower with 24 – 28% THC, with aftereffects being described as energizing, joyful, and creative. This flower is a cross between the award-winning hybrid Orange Crush and uplifting Lemon Burst and the buds possess extremely sticky resinous trichomes that cling to your fingertips when broken down.
Ember Valley Orange Peels
“I used to say this was my favorite strain, but I haven’t seen it in a while,” he shared. “That’s the problem is that you can’t get too attached to one product because it might be sold out the next time you go into the dispensary. As soon as you find something you like, it might be gone for the next three months, so I try not to get too attached to any one brand in particular.”
Orange Peels is a hybrid cross between Clementine and Purple Punch with 22.36% THC and a strong citrusy, orange aroma.
Green Habitat Rozé
“I shouldn’t mention any of these because they will get sold out quickly,” joked Besser. Ironically enough, the Rozé from Green Habitat is currently sold out on multiple sites.
“I’ve always gravitated towards sativa. More power to whoever prefers to get indica, but I’m not a guy who just likes to knock myself out with weed.”
Green Habitat’s Rozé is described as having strawberry aromas and flavors, and packs around 25% THC.
3C Clockwork Elves Sativa
“The moon rocks are not something to smoke casually, but I did it as an experiment for my podcast, improv4humans,” Besser said. “This version of moon rocks had all the kief and resin layered onto some bud. While I don’t usually partake, it really impressed me.”
The Clockwork Elves’ sativa variety is an extremely potent combination of sativa flower and sativa-derived kief. Each nug is rolled in kief, giving it a tan to brown color. Try it if you enjoy sativas and being extremely high.
Tikun Olam’s Alaska
“I’m also a big container fan … If I like the container, I’ll re-use it for all of my weed products. I’m a really big fan of the Tikun containers and I utilize them a lot.”
With uplifting effects, the Alaska strain has been reported by consumers to relieve an array of medical symptoms including inflammation, pain, and nausea.
Charlotte’s Web CBD Ointment
Leaning more into the cannabidiol realm, Besser noted, “When I discovered that CBD actually works — and actually worked on my back pain — I couldn’t believe it. It seemed too good to be true.”
He said he particularly likes the Charlotte’s Web arthritis aches and pain relief ointment for his back, and that CBD is the one product he has probably used “in the most medicinal way.”
Featured image: Comedy Dynamics / Pot Humor special. Graphic by David Lozada/Weedmaps
