I was on the /ILTrees Reddit a couple of days ago, checking in. Someone posted a question that asked the community, “What strains did you used to like that you wish they brought back?” The poster mentioned Gary Payton OG by 93 Boyz, among other strains.
I waited too long to try the Gary Payton but I did buy one bag of it, which I sat on for a while. About a year ago, I started working my way through it. The aforementioned Reddit post along with a newfound appreciation for what I’ll call “basic cookies” strains has me revisiting my notes. I didn’t write much about smoking the Gary Payton but it was clear it got me baked, which a good cookies strain should do. The cross is Y Griega x Snowman. Snowman is a GSC phenotype. The Seedfinder page (click here if interested) includes the history of how the strain came about. And, yes, it is named after NBA Hall of Fame point guard Gary Payton.
This is what I wrote about a year ago, one night after smoking a joint of the Gary Payton. January 8, 2025:
The Gary Payton is strong. I have been drinking. Feel glassy. Pepped. High. The joint burned well but it wasn’t especially tasty. I’ve got that pressure feeling behind my eyes. If someone looked at me, they’d know I was high. That’s how I feel, anyway.
Then I followed up the next day, 1.9.25:
The Gary Payton was strong. By the time 8 o’clock rolled around we had watched a couple episodes of a murder mystery show and I was couch-locked. I coulda stayed in that chair for hours. But it wasn’t just the Gary Payton. For three days I had been doing snow and ice removal here and at the house we are trying to sell. I ran four miles at the gym and then drove over to Illinois to see my Dad in the nursing home. I was tired and sore. I still am sore waking up today.
I slept well. I remember some of the dream. I was in a hotel room that was set up outside, along a sidewalk. Passersby were waking me up, heckling me. What a terrible hotel room; choice of room. I was getting ready to go about switching rooms…
I woke up first at 11:15 last night. Felt fine. Peed, had some water, went back to sleep until 4:15. Some tossing and turning along the way, less than usual. It is cold out there this morning. Eight degrees, something like that.
That /ILTrees post really had me thinking about how strains come and go. It seemed like there were multiple renditions of Gary Payton out there on menus in 2024. The bag I bought I got from Beyond/Hello in Sauget, IL, in May 2024. Now, twenty-something months later, I can’t remember seeing Gary Payton on menus in Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, or Arizona. What happened to it? Is it gone, gone forever? You don’t know what you got until it’s gone. Is anything more true?
And if Gary Payton isn’t coming back, then what current strains get me closest to smoking a similar strain again? Basic cookies strains. There are GSC phenotypes like Vibe’s Key Lime Pie, which I’ve never had but which I’m now targeting. Anything with cookies in the name. I’m using the search box on dispensary menus and entering “cookies” to see what comes up. Super Boof, for example. I’ve been searching for that “baked” high lately. Nothing too racy, nothing too “smart” or creative. Not even euphoric. Just “ahhhh”, sitting there at peace, just sitting.
Weeds of Grass 