Tailgating With Cannabis: 10 Strain and Product Must-Haves for Football Season

Updated: 1/29/19

Finally, it’s almost time for one of the biggest games of the year. With it comes tailgating. And with tailgating comes cannabis, or ought to. If you’re not incorporating the herb into your football fan routine, you’re doing it wrong.Get Ready for the GameSeriously, does anyone actually want to be pounding Bud Lights at 10 in the morning? The answer (usually) is a resounding no—particularly when you can wake and bake instead. From infused barbecue and dipping sauces to a full-on football dab rig, add the following to your tailgating arsenal to have the best football season ever.

Cannabis-Infused Popcorn

Sweet and savory options abound: lucky Cardinals fans with medical cards can get Sublime Caramel Popcorn or Karmel Korn from Arizona-based Cornucopia, while Chargers, Rams, Raiders, and 49ers fans can snack on California-based Potcorn’s 10mg THC Sea Salt Popcorn. Pro tip: If you want to avoid accidentally overconsuming delectable infused snacks like these, mix a sensible portion of THC-infused stuff with a non-infused counterpart, like Smartfood—and always be sure to label the bowl and set it well apart from non-infused snacks.

Team-Themed Strains

Seahawks fans can no longer call Marshawn Lynch their own, but they can still think fondly back to the days the city was shaken by the Beast Quake, with strains like the hybrid Beastmode OG or indica-leaning Beastmode 2.0. Raiders fans can hunt these down too, now that Lynch has signed a two-year contract with the team, as can football fans in Las Vegas as they watch and look forward to the Raiders’ move to their city in 2020. Fans of college football have strains to choose from, too—UW and WSU, for instance, both have strains associated with them. And regardless of the strain you’re hunting down, check dispensaries in the area for potential deals for fans—for example, 21+ Ducks fans and alums can score discounts at Phresh Start on the outskirts of Eugene.

Infused Barbecue Sauce

There’s a cannabis-infused barbecue recipe for everyone. Making chicken thighs or pulled pork? Barbecue chef Ryan Swartling has graced us all with original recipes he developed for Lemon Haze Barbecue Pulled Pork and Gochujang Hatch Pepper Sativa Barbecue Chicken. Love chicken wings? Make these ones, infused with Blue Dream. Simply want an easy sauce available for burgers, ribs, and more? Check out ready-made options like Ganja Juice’s 100mg THC BBQ Sauce.

THC Dipping Sauces

No time to infuse the wings themselves? Dip them in a potent, savory sauce like the Ranch or Blue Cheese dressings from California-based GanjaEats (which also offers BBQ Sauce, Jalapeño Slices, and other tailgating necessaries).

Terpene Ales and Hemp Brews

While there’s no need to chug Bud Light, it doesn’t feel like a tailgate without a few brews. If you’re in California, keep an eye out for famously 420-friendly Lagunitas’ new SuperCritical Ale, brewed with cannabis terpenes in partnership with AbsoluteXtracts. It’s only available on tap in California for now (fill a growler if you’re in that state), but you can find other cannabis-minded beers in bottles, like this Two Flowers IPA, a CBD- and hemp-infused concoction from Oregon’s Coalition Brewing.

“Weed” Growler

For toting the aforementioned brews. We like the tongue-in-cheek, cannabis-themed ones sold by Weed Ales.

Mathematix Game Day Football Dab Rig

This eight-inch rig is small enough to be portable, themed for any team, and won’t break the bank (in case someone knocks it over after a few too many Lagunitas). Shop them here.

Disposable Vape Pens

A few of our favorites in legal states: Evolab’s Chroma Colors from Colorado (available in peach, pineapple, and blueberry, and brightly colored—sort of in Broncos colors—so you won’t lose them easily); Washington’s IONIC; Washington and Oregon’s sleek silver Quill; and California’s effects-based dosist pens (go for the Bliss version).

Glass With Team Spirit

You can find pipes, bongs, dab rigs, and pretty much any other themed accessories you could desire sprinkled throughout local dispensaries, sold by online head shops, or available from individual sellers on Etsy.