Recently I’ve been on a bit of a personal mission.
If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you already know I’ve never been great at telling people what they want to hear. I’d rather tell people what I actually think, whether they agree with me or not.
That’s exactly where Is It Gas or Is It Trash? came from.
I got tired of seeing every cannabis product online get the same review. Everything was “fire.” Everything was “top shelf.” Every grower supposedly had the best flower in Maine. After a while it all started sounding less like reviews and more like advertisements.
Meanwhile, patients and consumers are spending real money.
If someone is spending their hard-earned cash on a product, they deserve more than a sales pitch. They deserve an honest opinion. That’s why I started asking a simple question:
Is it gas, or is it trash?
The show was never designed to tear people down. It’s not about creating drama, settling scores, or attacking businesses. It’s about honest feedback and having real conversations about quality.
Sometimes a product lives up to the hype.
Sometimes it doesn’t.
And that’s okay.
One of the things I love most about Maine cannabis is the incredible talent we have here. Some growers and producers are putting out absolutely phenomenal products and they deserve recognition for that. At the same time, when something misses the mark, patients and consumers deserve to know that too.
I genuinely believe honest reviews help everyone. They encourage growers to keep improving, retailers to be more selective, and consumers to become more educated about what they’re buying.
Do people always agree with my opinions?
Absolutely not.
And honestly, they shouldn’t.
Cannabis is subjective. Everyone has different preferences. What I enjoy might not be what someone else enjoys. The point isn’t that my opinion is the only opinion that matters. The point is that it’s a genuine one.
Frankly, the test itself is pretty simple. There’s no complicated scoring system designed to trick anyone. No secret formula. I try the product, evaluate the experience, and tell people exactly what I think.
In a world full of paid promotions, sponsored content, and influencers who seem to love everything they’re handed, I think there’s still value in keeping things real.
After 24 episodes of Is It Gas or Is It Trash?, that’s still the goal. I try products, share my honest thoughts, and let the audience decide whether they agree.
Sometimes it’s gas.
Sometimes it’s trash.
But either way, you’re getting the truth as I see it.
One thing I’ve noticed throughout this process is the significant difference between Maine’s medical and adult-use markets.
The medical market is still largely made up of smaller operators, caregivers, and independent cultivators. The adult-use market operates under a completely different set of regulations and business pressures. Whether people like hearing it or not, there has been a noticeable correlation between market structure and product quality.
In my experience, adult-use products have been remarkably consistent—but not necessarily in a good way. Too often I’m seeing flower that’s old, dry, over-handled, or simply lacking the freshness and character that consumers expect from premium cannabis.
The medical market is a completely different story.
The quality spectrum is much wider. Some medical operators are producing some of the best flower I’ve personally ever seen. At the same time, some of the lowest-scoring products I’ve reviewed have also come from the medical side.
If I had to simplify it into a 1-10 scale, Maine’s adult-use market often feels like it’s operating somewhere in the 1-4 range. The medical market, on the other hand, spans the entire spectrum from 1 to 10.
The downside is that consumers have to sort through more variability.
The upside is that some of the best cannabis in Maine is still being grown by small operators who are focused on quality rather than volume.
And that’s exactly why honest reviews matter.
Derek Shirley was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the age of 19, he received a felony for 4 ounces of cannabis. After, he became a “cannabis nomad” living in Ohio, Arizona, and Maine, which he now calls home, and lives with his wife Sequoia and son Haze.
Being a cannabis nomad had its advantages, like relying on all markets for his medical cannabis needs which gives him a unique perspective of the cannabis markets. Currently, he is an influential pro-cannabis activist in the state of Maine who helps local people and small businesses navigate their local and state governments without picking a political party specializing in protecting and preserving the small medical cannabis farmers of Maine. For fun, Derek enjoys screen printing and making cannabis memes under the pseudonym @gettinghighwithcats on IG
