As of 2014... and it brought back GREAT FUKING MEMORIES !!
I even forgot about #25
What better way to celebrate HIGH TIMES’ 40th anniversary than to pay homage to the best of the cannabis plant, which provided our founder, Thomas King Forçade, and so many others with the inspiration to cultivate a movement and put forth a publication dedicated to one goal for so many years.
You’re probably wondering just how, exactly, we came up with The List? We do admit it’s not a bad gig to have, deciding
which strains are the best of all time — but still, the task did come with its challenges. Sorting through the varied histories of these strains wasn’t exactly easy as the lineage, parentage and even the birthplace of some of these strains are murky at best.
So we had to rely on a few main factors, the first being each strain’s influence and overall contribution to the cannabis gene pool — hence many of the old-school varietals on the list. Next, we had to consider the awards (specifically, Cannabis Cups) that each strain has won. And after that came popularity and market share, qualitative factors that helped shape The List greatly. Lastly, we made use of our movement’s greatest asset: Science. We looked at a host of quantitative characteristics, such as potency (both THC and CBD; see #8 for proof) as well as terpenoid profiles, which produce the flavorful aromas and tastes that we all love so much.
Hopefully, we did right by all of HIGH TIMES’ readers. But we’re also pretty confident that if you were starting out on a new planet and had to take a handful of cannabis seeds along, you’d be choosing from among these 25! So here’s to our Lady of Cause, and all of her beautiful children. Enjoy.
25. Acapulco Gold, a.k.a. Mexican Sativa
Kicking off our list of the all-time greatest strains is a true native landrace of North America. Often referred to as Acapulco Gold, but more commonly known these days as Mexican sativa, it is often used in breeding projects which have led to numerous world-class strains such as Skunk #1, multiple Haze varieties and even the fabled Blueberry line (check out #11, #10 and #2). And, when grown right, Mexican sinsemilla (meaning “without seed”) can provide one of the best stand-alone sativa highs around.
24. Girl Scout Cookies
Highest lab-tested THC at a HT Cannabis Cup: 25.14 percent (Denver, 2013)
The GSC might be the youngest strain to earn a place on The List. She first appeared just a few years ago, circa 2011, and took the cannabis world by storm. Much controversy still surrounds this strain, however, and not just because of her name. A debate persists as to her lineage: The most commonly held belief is that she’s the product of OG Kush x Cherry Pie, while others contend that it was something called “F1” (not in reference to breeding) x Durban Poison, which was then crossed to Kush. Either way, the GSC has edged out some tough competition to make her appearance here.
23. Amnesia Haze
A classic strain from the Netherlands, the Amnesia Haze was winning Cups more than a decade ago and might be considered a fixture of the Amsterdam pot scene. A sativa-dominant hybrid, her ancestry looks something like this: (Afghani x Hawaiian) x Laos x Jamaican. This combination gives the Amnesia Haze a sweet and spicy flavor with a very cerebral high.
22. Critical Mass, a.k.a. Critical+
This one sparked a bit of internal debate here at High Times as to whether she merited inclusion on The List. However, in the end she won out over some of our honorable mentions (appearing at the end of this article) — mostly due to her overwhelming popularity in Spain, which is fast becoming the new Amsterdam of Europe. Furthering her cause is her strong and flavorful high, for which a special nod to her folks, who rank at #11 and #6, is due.
21. Hindu Kush
This landrace strain is the primary reason the words “Kush” and “indica” have become synonymous. Originating in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan, this pure indica is responsible for such offspring as the Master Kush … and she also played a role in the creation of our beloved OG Kush. Originally released by the stalwart Sensi Seeds, it’s rare to see these flowers around much these days, although her family still ranks among cannabis royalty.
20. Durban Poison
Highest lab-tested THC at a HT Cannabis Cup: 22.43 percent (Denver, 2013)
Another true landrace, the Durban is the only strain on The List that hails from Africa. A pure sativa, this variety has been used in a wide range of breeding projects, as she was one of the first strains out of South Africa that exhibited none of the auto-flowering traits of ruderalis, which are sometimes found in wild landrace lines. Lately, pure forms of Durban have been turning up at Cup competitions, and she has largely impressed with her licorice flavor and very potent “up” high.
19. White Widow
The White Widow was winning Cannabis Cups in Amsterdam as far back as 1995, and her actual birth date extends to nearly a decade before that. A well-balanced hybrid reportedly made by crossing a Brazilian sativa with an unknown indica from South India, she has both an indica-dominant and a sativa-dominant phenotype. Both phenos are usually thickly coated with trichomes, giving her a very white appearance (and, her name).
18. Thai Stick
Pure Thai, a landrace sativa, is still a favorite among cannabis connoisseurs. However, Thai Stick is a legendary strain with a twist — and we mean that quite literally. It’s rumored that back in the 1960s, Thai Stick was pure Thai bud twisted around a stick — but reports vary as to how the buds were attached. Some say it was with hemp rope; others say with pot leaves and stems; while still others say it was stuck on with opium! The latter would certainly explain why so many old heads have long craved the Thai Stick since her disappearance in the 1980s.
17. Chem ’91
Obviously, we couldn’t fit all of our favorite Chem Dog phenos here, since there are more than a few. But the ’91 is the first of the family to appear on The List, because she just might be the most flavorful of them all and has been widely used in crossbreeding projects (like the Deadhead OG) to get that sweet, Diesel-y taste that makes the mouth water and the lips pucker up. More on the Chem family when the 91’s big sis makes her appearance at #5.
16. Strawberry Cough
Highest lab-tested THC at a HT Cannabis Cup: 25.28 percent (Seattle, 2013)
This sativa-dominant hybrid produces a well-balanced but very uplifting high. The progeny of the Vermont-based indica Strawberry Fields and a mixed-breed Haze, the Strawberry Cough is revered among connoisseurs of fine cannabis for both her exquisite flavor (think berry) and high THC. When she’s grown organically — or veganically, as some would have it — she tops the THC charts and claims Cups as she should.
