Marijuana and the London culture

Hello all, I'm new to this forum, so I hope you don't mind my first post being a question.

I'm from London, although I've been living in the states for about 6 years now. I only really discovered weed properly when I moved to the US - and have got very used to high quality sativa strains that I smoke regularly on the east coast. Now that I'm back in the UK for a month, I'm looking to pick up some weed, but have no idea how to negotiate the drug slang around here.

The only thing I've been able to find is skunk, which seems to be very indica heavy, and makes me feel sleepy and stupid. Is "skunk" just a generic term for weed in England? Or does it suggest quality? Will the average dealer know what strains he has, and be able to offer me different kinds of skunk?

I am a fan of hash, but browsing these forums I've heard very bad things about soapbar, and would personally have no idea how to differentiate it from quality hash.

Is there anything in London of the quality of sour diesel, god's gift, or strawberry cough? For those who aren't familiar with the names, they are very high grade sativas (or hybrids with a high sativa ratio). It's the kind of weed that gives you that head high, without making you sleepy and dosile.

I'd be up for buying either hash or weed, but as I don't know how to tell good hash from hash mixed with shoe polish and tar, I think I'd probably be safer off sticking with weed.

Sorry for the amount of questions - all the terminology here has me completely confused, and I'm not about to walk up to some dude in the street and quiz him on the origins of his strains.

 

welcome to the forums bud.
i am not very educated on these subjects, but i'll give a go.

skunk is a certain type of weed, and there are types of skunk.

the strains you have mentioned are very popular, and i would imagine would be present in london.

the average dealer does not usually keep track of strain names, although if something good roles in he will. atleast in my experience, but what the hell do i know, right?

and most people on the forums understand the differences between indica and sativa, so no need to explain.

 

i'm in london.

skunk is the same as chronic or beasters or headies or whatever american slang you're used to, just means not brickweed/thai weed/whatever. like the good shit. can be indica or sativa, tend to be more indica probably because it's easier plant to grow indoors and i doubt many people growing outdoors in british weather lol. i've had stuff stronger than stuff in amsterdam, quality is very high generally. buy off dodgy people for the best stuff. you'll probably struggle to find hash anyway.

dealers will usually only know strain names if they are close to the grower. strain names aren't really a good measure of quality anyway, quality is more influenced by how well grown the plant is.