The Hotbox with Dustin Hoxworth isn’t your polished PR interview. It’s me getting stoned and asking people the questions they probably aren’t ready for. These aren’t cold reads or copy-paste Q&As; I sit with my guests, usually multiple times, and I’ve likely met them in person, which gives me a window to learn who they really are before I ever send the questions. By the time the words hit the page, it’s smoke-thick honesty, not surface-level bullshit. These are cannabis conversations that showcase the voices, stories, and truths that won’t show up in the boardroom.
The Hotbox with Jake Kuczeruk
This week in the Hotbox, we get to talk with Jake Kuczeruk, a cannabis lifer who’s putting in major work at ILGM (I Love Growing Marijuana) while also flexing his connoisseurship as a Budist. Whether he’s helping homegrowers level up through ILGM’s Grow Club or putting strains through the grinder with a critic’s eye, Jake is living proof that passion for the plant runs deeper than hype cycles or trends.
At his core, Jake Kuczeruk is a connector between people, plants, and culture. His main gig is with ILGM, one of the most established names in cannabis seeds and education. There, he’s heavily involved in driving the Grow Club, a fast-growing initiative that empowers home cultivators with hands-on knowledge, resources, and community.
But Jake’s reputation also comes from his role as a cannabis reviewer and connoisseur with Budist, where he’s known for detailed, thoughtful reviews that go beyond the surface to honor both product and craft. By combining professional-level critique with community-driven work at ILGM, Jake bridges two sides of cannabis culture: the consumer’s palate and the grower’s grind.
The Hotbox: 5 Questions with Jake Kuczeruk
At ILGM, you’re helping build out the Grow Club. What makes this project so important right now for home cultivators and the broader cannabis community?
I feel like a lot of what I loved most about the early days of “legal” cannabis was how collective, experimental, and fun it could be. So much of the country still hasn’t been able to experience that – and since home grow is borderless, it’s the perfect vehicle to start building bonds.
We’re events that are a hybrid social sesh and educational home grow workshop that feel inclusive instead of gatekeep-y.
The pandemic left us feeling disconnected from others, and I still don’t think we’ve fully recovered. Grow Club can help with destigmatization, heal with a new therapeutic hobby, and to make new friendships. After we bring this to major cities, we’ll be rolling out a digital platform to give home growers a network of others to hold them accountable, share tips and tricks, or just get blazed together.
I mean, when was the last time you attended a cannabis event that even had dirt? I want to help restore the kind of things that attracted me here in the first place – and it was the people as much as the plant.
As a Budist reviewer, you’ve sampled and scored some standout strains and products. What do you look for when deciding if something’s top-shelf or just hype?
Honestly, I’m a big effects guy, it’s why I like to add those Album Pairings with my reviews. The balance of uplifting euphoria with a deep sense of relaxation, my anxieties melting away, just does it for me. Duration of the high is also massively important, which is why we saw some infused blunts and hash holes perform so well at the last State Fair.
This may be sacrilege to admit – but I’m willing to overlook a lot of flaws if a single roll leaves me ripped and euphoric for a full 2-3 hours, especially if it’s offered at a great price point. Value per dollar is the most overlooked aspect of reviewing, hands-down. You can find Golden Bear winning rosin-infused prerolls for under $15 from The Pairist, for example.
You’ve been in cannabis long enough to see waves of change in the industry with medical, hemp, adult-use, etc. From your perspective, what’s still missing in how we treat the plant?
The lack of consumer education around what makes for a quality product is the poison pill.
We know sativa vs. indica is, generally, a farce. THC percentage matters a hell of a lot less than the entourage effect and how different cannabinoids/terps mesh with your endocannabinoid system. The appetite for old-school cultivars, lower in THC but able to produce effects that will take the Pepsi Challenge with anything else on the market, remains limited. Consumers aren’t asking about terroir or appellations, we’re still night-and-day different from wine connoisseurship – and aren’t getting anywhere near the same degree of respect. The masses still treat this like booze, where ABV is everything. The hemp side has even further left to go, as any sense of “craft” has been set aside as they fight to stay compliant.
I’m optimistic that as more “experiential” opportunities open up, we will have our own versions of wine clubs, tasting rooms, and flights at restaurants. Age statements should matter… who wouldn’t want to smoke a seed that’s been sitting on ice since your birth year? This shift will help honor our breeders.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from the growers you work with, and the biggest surprise from the products you’ve reviewed?
The “biggest” lesson is an obvious one – that it’s all about trial and error. The only way you’re going to learn is by getting your hands dirty and making mistakes along the way. Stop thinking you need some elaborate setup and a deep understanding of soil PH levels (you’ll get there). Just throw a seed into a Solo cup. Put it in your windowsill. Occasionally water it with the little hose coming off your sink. It’s going to grow – and as it does, you’re inevitably going to take pride in your work and feel motivated to learn more.
Biggest surprise from the products I’ve reviewed? THC-V. The “diet weed” articles are kind of bogus but products that are high in THC-V should be on everyone’s radar, due to how they can majorly impact the uniqueness of the high. Autumn Brands and Emerald Spirit Botanicals are where I’d start, if you’re a newbie.
If you could spark up with your younger self just starting out in cannabis, what would you smoke, and what wisdom would you pass along?
I’d smoke a Silver Haze, as that was the first cultivar to send me into outer space. I was discovering layers in music that I had no idea were even there – which left a strong impression on me, to say the least.
The advice I’d give to myself would be to save all of my old seeds! I’d kill to have some of those back, the Orange Crush, Florida Juicy Fruit, Black Durban….I have a type.
Also, warn Steve Irwin about stingrays.
From the grow rooms of ILGM to the review boards of Budist, Jake Kuczeruk keeps cannabis honest. His journey is proof that the plant thrives when passion meets knowledge, and that the best voices in cannabis are the ones still lit with curiosity and love for the culture.
