Prizm

Maven was created for one purpose: to breed rare and exotic Cannabis. This Southern California brand can trace its roots back to a single seed of Pre-98 Bubba Kush grown in the closet of co-founder David Bosworth. Maven has grown to encompass four partners, a retail store and a respected reputation in the industry, thanks to an impressive in-house breeding program. 

Released as the inaugural strain from their 2024 collection, Prizm was selected as the winner from 31 competing phenotypes. This cultivar builds upon the already inspiring work Maven’s done with Opal by breeding it with one of the most popular strains of the last few years, Permanent Marker. Opal (Blue Agape x Carbon Candy) is a special strain Maven created in collaboration with world-renowned graffiti artist Saber, which was selected for phenotypes that the artist found helped with his rare form of epilepsy. Since then, they’ve gone on to breed it with Black Diamond X in a drop that helped victims of the recent Southern California wildfires. So you can see that this cross highlights a very special strain from the Maven stable.

Prizm is one of those plants with buds that come out like little footballs made of Romanesco broccoli. Mottled with purple, the transitioning shades expose a beaded coat of trichomes that drapes over every inch. High in limonene, myrcene and beta-caryophyllene, Prizm won first place in the indica category at last year’s Best of California competition. 

The smell from the jar is light with a chem edge, but once these nugs are crushed, that chem and gas edge comes out with a little of that soapy quality you’ve come to expect from Permanent Marker crosses. Grinding them up releases a sweet, citrusy smell that is much softer and fruitier than what you get from handling the buds. 

The dry inhale is gassy with a twist of lemon at the end, but once the joint gets started, it puts the foot on the gas until the tank runs dry. Working through the joint, the robust smoke takes on an earthier taste with some herbal top notes. In a bong rip or pipe, that robust second step comes out earlier and grabs you by the lungs. The sharp fuel notes are much more reminiscent of Opal’s flavor, but the quick onset and more relaxing effects I experienced from this strain reminded me of Permanent Marker. 

After smoking Prizm, it’s easy to see why this was one of the strains that received overwhelming support when it was first previewed through Maven’s R&D strain line, singled out for its distinct flavor and calming effects. 

mavenmvn.com | @mavengeneticsofficial