Hey there, fellow cannabis enthusiasts! We’ve all got a go-to strain, but with hundreds of options on dispensary shelves, it’s easy to wonder if something better is out there.
This list runs through the strains that have actually earned their reputation over the years, plus a handful of newer hybrids worth seeking out. We grouped them by how they tend to make you feel, so you can find something that fits the mood you’re going for instead of just guessing off a menu.
Old-school stoner or first-timer, there’s probably something on this list you haven’t tried yet.
Best Weed Strains for Feeling Euphoric
Original Glue
The strain that kicked off the whole cake trend, Wedding Cake delivers a relaxing high that hits both body and head, thanks to its Kush and Cookies lineage. Cross it with Triangle Kush and Animal Mints, and you get a tangy flavor with sweet cookie notes running underneath.
Why we love the Original Glue: Have your cake and smoke it too. This strain spawned an entire family of “cake” strains and picked up Leafly’s Strain of the Year in 2019 along the way.
GSC
GSC comes from a cross of a Durban Poison pheno (F1 Durb) and an elite OG Kush. Rapper Berner helped put it on the map, and Cookies (as most people call it now) became the foundation strain for one of the biggest cultivar families of the legalization era. Nearly anything with “Cookies” in the name, including Gelato, traces back to this plant.
Look for GSC that’s dense, dark, and glistening with trichomes, with a smell that layers grape and fuel over buttery sugar-cookie notes.
Redd loves some Girl Scout Cookies: GSC took the throne from OG Kush and started the dessert-strain era that’s still going strong with Gelato and Cake varieties. Not many strains have shaped the market this much.
Northern Lights
Northern Lights has given rise to more famous hybrids than almost any other strain around. The story goes that it originated near Seattle, but it was actually bred in Holland in the late ’80s by what’s now Sensi Seeds.
This resinous indica smells sweet and spicy at once, and it’s the kind of high that relaxes your muscles while your mind drifts into a dreamy kind of euphoria. Find it here: Northern Lights.
Why we love it: A Pacific Northwest transplant with a good story, covered in starry, crystal-tipped trichomes.
Chemdog
Nobody’s entirely sure where Chemdog (or “Chemdawg”) actually came from, but its list of successful offspring has earned it a permanent spot in cannabis history.
You’ll smell its diesel aroma before you see it. Chemdog is a parent to heavy hitters like Sour Diesel and OG Kush, and it brings a potent, cerebral, euphoric high of its own.
Why we love it: An influential, mysterious strain with a distinct diesel flavor and no shortage of potency.
Trainwreck
Breeders crossed classic sativas Mexican and Thai with the iconic indica Afghani to build Trainwreck, a sativa-dominant hybrid with a sweet lemon, spicy-pine smell. It’s a Northern California staple that hits with a rush of energy, the kind that wakes up your creativity and your mood at the same time.
Why we love it: Famous lineage, still popular decades later, and the effects still hold up.
GMO Cookies
Cross Chemdog with GSC and you get GMO Cookies: pungent, savory, stanky, strong. It trades hash for rosin. “GMO” turns some people off, so you’ll also see it sold as “Garlic Cookies.”
Why we love it: The chem-and-cookies combo unlocked a whole new lane of funk. Once dessert strains start feeling boring, this is where the salty adults go, basically pot’s version of blue cheese. If you want more of that acquired-taste territory, look for Everything Bagel (Garlic Breath x Peanut Butter Breath).
Mendo Breath
Mendo Breath is a heavy indica built for ending your day, with frosty, photogenic buds that bring on sleepy, deeply relaxing body effects alongside a good dose of euphoria.
We love it: Its sweet vanilla and caramel flavors basically taste like fall in a jar, perfect for a chilly evening.
Motorbreath
The Breath strains don’t mess around, and Motorbreath is no different. A cross of Chemdog and SFV OG, it’s gassy and earthy enough that you’ll remember the taste long after your head’s in the clouds.
Why we love it: Not for beginners. This one’s got chem and kush flavor for days.
Forbidden Fruit
Forbidden Fruit has an odd, likable high that seems to start right between your eyes and slowly spreads outward. Its Cherry Pie parent brings sweetness that balances out the sharp citrus of Tangie, landing somewhere tropical.
Why we love it: It tastes and smells incredible, and if you like tropical or citrus flavors, this mellow indica high won’t knock you flat.
Gushers
Gushers mixes powerhouse Gelato #41 with the mythical Triangle Kush for a gassy, tropical-fruit-flavored strain. The high starts energizing before it settles into something more sedating, and the buds themselves are dense, multi-colored, and glistening.
We love it: Crack the jar and the smell hits you with astringent tropical fruit before your brain even catches up.
Alien OG
Rainbow Belts carries Zkittlez and Dosidos genetics, making for a newer strain that leaves you happy and relaxed. It’s a solid pick for winding down the night or hanging out with friends.
Why we love it: Descended from Zkittlez, it brings calming effects and sweet, tropical flavor to a newer generation of smokers.
Best Weed Strains for Feeling Uplifted
Dutch Treat
Dutch Treat hits fast with cerebral effects that leave you uplifted and euphoric. The dense, sticky buds smell like sweet fruit crossed with pine and eucalyptus.
We love it: Potent, with a sweet candy-and-pine flavor that’s kept it a favorite in Amsterdam and everywhere else for decades.
MAC
Short for “Miracle Alien Cookies,” MAC grows big, dense, icy colas packed with THC. Related strain MAC 1 got its name after breeder Capulator nearly lost his entire batch of Starfighter seeds in the wash, and the one plant that survived earned the nickname “Miracle.”
What’s to love? MAC has a complicated cookie smell, kind of like mixing every soda flavor at the gas station fountain at once. It’s spreading fast, and so is its offspring.
Mimosa
Mimosa started as a small California project before turning into a global award winner. It combines bright, fizzy citrus flavor with sativa-dominant effects. Clementine brings the yields, while Purple Punch brings the visual appeal.
Why we love it: It grows well anywhere in the country and it’s basically made for lazy Sunday wake-and-bakes.
Cheese
Think of a fresh tray of Blueberry Muffins: sweet, smooth, creamy. Any descendant of the legendary Blueberry line tends to relax you, make you happy, and generally erase whatever you were stressed about.
Why we love it: It looks and smells like dessert. Why not start your morning with it?
Stardawg
With that much Chemdog in its genetics, Stardawg can’t help but bring a heavy diesel funk with pine and lemon underneath. It’s a happy, stress-relieving strain, and staring at its trichome-covered buds feels a little like stargazing.
Why we love it: The diesel bite is real, so keep some snacks nearby.
Kush Mints
Take the strong ’90s strain Bubba Kush and cross it with the excitable Animal Mints, and you get bestseller Kush Mints. The icy, dark nugs smell like mint and cookies, and they do especially well when grown hydroponically.
Why we love it: The cookies smell is so loud it turns minty, and the relaxation that comes with it is hard to beat.
Orange Creamsicle
Cross classics Lemon Skunk and Sour Diesel and you land on Lemon Tree, which made a big splash in the 2010s. This green, spongy, pungent bud has an unmistakable modern lemon flavor that’s now baked into offspring like Gelonade and Melonade.
We love it: Lemon Tree feels like a warm beach day, the kind where you don’t mind getting sand everywhere.
Grape Pie
Grape Pie mixes classic Cherry Pie with a Sour Diesel-leaning Grape Stomper. It looks like an old-school purple strain, and it’s a solid pick for a happy night on the couch with a bag of chips.
Why we love it: That sugary-sour taste paired with the happy high is genuinely one of a kind.
Mango
OG Kush sits at the genetic root of most West Coast cannabis hybrids, yet nobody actually knows for sure where it came from.
Popular myth says Chemdog and Hindu Kush are its parents, but we can’t say for sure. Another version claims cultivator Josh D. grew it from a bagseed out of Florida.
There are plenty of OG Kush phenotypes floating around, including Tahoe OG, SFV OG, and Alpha OG. People reach for OG Kush when they want stress to disappear under a wave of heavy euphoria.
Why we love it: It’s the parent strain behind a huge chunk of the West Coast hybrids people smoke today.
Ice Cream Cake
OG Kush ran the 1990s. Do-Si-Dos is doing the same thing for the 2020s. Bred from several high-THC OG Kush descendants, Dosi carries that classic OG relaxation and has become one of the top strains out West, spawning newer strains like Slurricane along the way.
Why we love it: It’s as intense and icy as a black diamond ski run. Don’t plan on operating heavy machinery afterward, or doing much of anything really.
Slurricane
This potent hybrid grabs your attention with lumpy buds and colorful foliage in olive green, orange, and deep purple. Apple Fritter’s smell is extremely pungent, and the flavor lives up to the name.
Why we love it: Between the potency and the effects, this one’s better suited to experienced smokers who need real help winding down for the night.
Peanut Butter Breath
LA Kush Cake is a smooth, easy-to-smoke hybrid that leans heavily indica. It can take a little while to kick in, but once it does, your body relaxes and unwinds.
We love it: LA Kush Cake has a bit of a reputation for putting people in the mood. Combined with the physical relaxation, it’s a good one to keep around for date night.
Mazar x Blueberry OG
Some strains start out under a great name and end up renamed after a copyright dispute, and Mazar x Blueberry OG is one of them. This potent hybrid smells spicy and herbal with a hit of jet fuel underneath.
Why we love it: It’s good for pain relief, and plenty of smokers say it leaves them feeling tingly.
Master Kush
Master Kush is a popular indica built from two landrace strains out of different parts of the Hindu Kush region. It was bred in the Netherlands and carries a subtle, earthy hash smell with a bit of citrus underneath. Expect full-body relaxation without your senses going fuzzy.
Why we love it: A heavy Kush with real body effects and none of the hazy head fog, plus a solid genetic pedigree.
Afghani
Afghani takes its name from its region of origin and is likely one of the oldest strains still around, sitting in the family tree of countless modern varieties. Heavy resin production makes it a favorite for hash-making.
Why we love it: A landrace strain with genuinely sedative effects and no shortage of resin.
Animal Cookies
Zkittlez is an award-winning indica with chunky, light-green colas and a sweet, fruity, tropical flavor. Oddly enough for an indica, it leaves you feeling focused, alert, and happy while your body relaxes underneath it all.
Why we love it: Zkittlez turned into a modern classic fast, thanks to those tropical flavors, and it makes a genuinely great dab too.
Best Weed Strains for Sleep
Granddaddy Purple
Granddaddy Purple (GDP) inherits a complex grape-and-berry smell from its Purple Urkle parent, while Big Bud passes along the dense bud structure.
GDP flowers bloom in deep purple shades, dusted with white trichomes like a light snowfall. The effects are felt mostly in the body, and growers love it for the massive yields.
Why we love it: A king among indicas. Berry flavor, genuinely calming effects, and it’s great for falling asleep after a long day. The purple foliage doesn’t hurt either.
Purple Punch
This strain lives up to its name. It hits hard and puts you down for the count, which tracks given White Rhino’s lineage with White Widow.
Why we love it: Save this one for the end of the night, once you’re already cozy and sleep isn’t far off.
Bubba Kush
Bubba Kush is known for one thing above all: putting you to sleep. It has sweet hash flavors with hints of chocolate and coffee underneath.
Its exact origins are murky, but the stocky stature and bulky buds hint at Afghani roots. Supposedly it showed up in the mid-’90s when an OG Kush pollinated an unknown indica in New Orleans. Nobody could pin down the genetics, so they just called it “Bubba,” and it’s stuck around ever since.
Why we love it: A wildly popular, tranquilizing Kush that’s homegrown in the USA.
Purple Kush
Hailing from Oakland, Purple Kush has spread across the whole West Coast on the strength of its long-lasting euphoria and its knack for putting you to sleep.
Why we love it: Sleepy and euphoric at the same time, which makes for good rest and better dreams.
LA Confidential
Purple Urkle likely came from a phenotype of Mendocino Purps, with a flavor that blends skunk, berry, and grape. It hits fast and settles into a deeply relaxing, sleep-inducing, full-body high.
Why we love it: Complex flavor from a beautiful purple flower, with full-body relaxation to match.
Blackberry Kush
Hindu Kush is a landrace indica named for the mountain range between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The harsh climate there taught the plant to grow a thick layer of trichomes for protection, which happens to make it excellent for hash.
Why we love it: A subtly sweet, earthy, sandalwood aroma with hints of berry, and a calm that settles in deep.
Pink Kush
True to its name, Pink Kush often shows pink hairs against bright green buds, though not always. This indica-dominant hybrid delivers a powerful body high with sweet vanilla and candy aromas.
Why we love it: This sugary strain melts stress away better than most massages, and OG Kush fans in particular tend to love it.
Papaya Punch
Blueberry’s history goes all the way back to DJ Short in the 1970s, and just about any strain with “blue” in the name traces back to it somehow. This happy indica delivers exactly what the name promises: blueberry taste and smell, plus a long-lasting, euphoric, relaxing high.
Why we love it: It’s the strain that brought real blueberry flavor to cannabis. Look for the West Coast version, DJ Short Blueberry, if you want one of the most aromatic strains around.
Best Weed Strains for Feeling Energetic
Sour Diesel
Sour Diesel, aka Sour D, is a legendary sativa named for its pungent, diesel-like smell. It first showed up in the early ’90s and still delivers a fast, energizing, dreamy, cerebral high, ideal for getting outside and actually getting things done.
Why we love it: Still one of the most popular sativas around. It smells exactly like its name suggests and tends to boost focus and productivity.
Pineapple Express
Pineapple Express combines the strengths of its parent strains, smelling like a mix of pineapple, mango, pine, and cedar. This sativa hybrid delivers a long-lasting energetic buzz, good for productive afternoons or creative tangents.
Why we love it: There’s a reason this strain became a household name. The taste is tropical, the buzz is mellow enough to leave you giggling, and it works just as well during the day as it does at night.
Maui Wowie
Maui Wowie is a classic sativa with tropical flavor that’ll make you feel like you’re on the shores of Hawaii. High-energy euphoria, stress relief, and pineapple flavor have carried this one around the world.
Why we love it: A beloved, tropical-tasting sativa with real Hawaiian roots.
Durban Poison
A classic Mexican sativa, Acapulco Gold grows in dense, round nuggets with orange hairs and a smell like burnt toffee. It’s known for a motivating, stimulating buzz.
Why we love it: Acapulco Gold has a reputation as one of the greats, so much so that Cheech and Chong wrote a whole song about it.
Green Crack
The name says it all: Green Crack delivers an invigorating mental buzz that carries you through the day. Tangy, fruity, with hints of mango, Green Crack is a go-to daytime strain.
Why we love it: Sweet, earthy, and about as racy as sativas get. This is a good crash course in what cerebral effects actually feel like.
Super Lemon Haze
Super Lemon Haze is an update on its parent, Super Silver Haze, with a zesty, tart lemon flavor and an energetic, lively, cerebral high that’s earned it modern-classic status.
Why we love it: A classic sativa with a citrus kick that’s colorful, terpy, and just plain fun.
Super Silver Haze
Bred in the late ’90s by crossing Skunk, Northern Lights, and Haze, Super Silver Haze is a sticky sativa with a long-lasting, energetic head high.
Why we love it: A multi-award-winning sativa out of Holland that fuels creativity and keeps your mood locked in a good place. Find it here: Silver Haze.
Tropicana Cookies
This flavorful sativa, Tropicana Cookies, crosses sweet cookies with orange for a focused, energetic high. The buds turn a deep purple with orange hairs, and cracking the bag open smells fantastic.
Why we love it: Smells like a glass of orange juice, and it gives you a little energy without tipping into a buzzy, jittery feeling.
White Fire OG
White Fire OG, also called WiFi OG, is a sativa-dominant hybrid with an energizing, uplifting high. Parent Fire OG gives it the sour, earthy diesel smell, while The White covers the dense buds in resin.
Why we love it: A super potent OG variety that shines when dabbed. Loud aroma, intense euphoria, and it doesn’t hold back.
Lamb’s Bread
Lamb’s Bread, also known as “Lamb’s Breath,” is a bright green, sticky sativa known for a big burst of energy and a thoughtful, introspective headspace. It hails from Jamaica, and legend has it Bob Marley smoked it often.
Why we love it: A native Jamaican strain with a peaceful, thoughtful high, rumored to be one of Bob Marley’s favorites.
Island Sweet Skunk
Island Sweet Skunk, sometimes called Sweet Island Skunk, comes out of British Columbia and delivers energizing sativa effects. Federation Seed Company in Canada originally bred it from Skunk 1, and the plant grows tall, straight, and high-yielding. Some phenotypes carry a higher CBD content than others.
Why we love it: An energizing Canadian strain with a tangy, citrus-and-tropical smell.
Best Weed Strains for Feeling Creative
Gelato
Gelato, also known as “Larry Bird,” was Leafly’s strain of the year back in 2018. This Bay Area native tends to bloom in dark purple with fiery orange hairs, all coated in a white layer of resin. It’s a euphoric, relaxed, creative high, and a strong one, so pace yourself.
Why we love it: A great dessert strain, sweet and floral with hints of fruit that build into serious euphoria.
Blue Dream
Jack Herer is nearly as famous as its namesake, the outspoken cannabis activist and author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes. This strain blends the cerebral lift of a sativa with the heavy resin of an indica, wrapped in a spicy, piney smell that’s picked up plenty of awards over the years.
Why we love it: A Dutch staple with an uplifting, piney euphoria that’s stayed popular with beginners and veterans alike.
Bruce Banner
Tangie is another standout from DNA Genetics in Amsterdam that caught on fast. It has a bright tangerine smell, and the sticky buds bring on effects that are euphoric but still relaxed.
Why we love it: A high-energy sativa with a sweet citrus flavor that doesn’t really have a rival.
Strawberry Banana
Also known as “Strawnana,” Strawberry Banana combines the calming Banana Kush with a strawberry phenotype of Bubble Gum. Expect chill, relaxed body effects paired with a mind that’s still active.
Why we love it: A happy strain that’s perfect for a rainy day spent on some kind of project.
Headband
The offspring of two powerhouse strains, Headband smokes smooth and creamy with lemon and diesel underneath. It got its name from the long-lasting effects, good for pain relief and relaxation, that supposedly wrap a band around your head.
Why we love it: A pairing of OG Kush and Sour Diesel, and that rich, dank smoke goes straight to your head.
Haze
Skunk 1 (or Skunk #1) has been shaping cannabis worldwide since the late 1970s, recognizable by its sour skunkiness and subtle earthy notes.
Why we love it: A cornerstone strain behind countless hybrids. The skunky smell and heavy effects still hold up as a classic.
Chocolope
Built as a tribute to the Chocolate strains of the 1980s, Chocolope is a hefty sativa with earthy, sweet coffee flavor and a dreamy, cerebral high.
Why we love it: Relaxed, cuddly, and hard not to smile through. It also makes a genuinely good concentrate.
Vanilla Frosting
True to its name, Vanilla Frosting is covered in a thick layer of trichomes that genuinely looks like frosting. With Gelato in its background, this cake strain tastes creamy and smooth with hints of vanilla.
Why we love it: It builds on Gelato’s legacy with a sweet flavor and potency that’ll have you floating somewhere else entirely.
Biscotti
One of Gelato’s many descendants, Biscotti stands out with a cerebral high and a sweet cookie flavor backed by diesel. It’s a newer strain, with attractive, potent buds tinged in purple.
Why we love it: Known as a creeper, so it sneaks up on you, good for relaxing or getting lost in an art project.
Best Weed Strains for Feeling Social
Runtz
With GDP and Durban in its lineage, Cherry Pie smells like sweet-and-sour cherry pie and grows dense buds with orange hairs and a touch of purple. The high shows up within minutes and sticks around for hours.
Why we love it: Sweet, long-lasting, and pretty much a guaranteed good joint.
AK-47
A little contradictory by name, AK-47 leaves you relaxed and mellow while somehow keeping you sociable. The smell is sour and earthy with a touch of sweet floral underneath.
We love it: Rich flavor and a genuinely good mood boost.
Candyland
Fruity Pebbles (aka FPOG or Fruity Pebbles OG) is a sweet-tasting hybrid that mixes solid genetics into a tropical berry flavor that really does taste like the cereal. The euphoric effects keep you happy even when you’re stressed.
Why we love it: A mellow, uplifting hybrid with an aroma so close to fruity breakfast cereal you have to smell it yourself to believe it.
Lava Cake
Loaded with limonene, Banana Kush offers a nice balance of mellow energy and euphoria. It comes on slowly, so pace yourself so you don’t overshoot and end up overwhelmed.
Why we love it: Crack open the jar and you get hit with sweet, fruity, tropical smells, exactly what you’d want from a banana strain. Great flavor, and the euphoric relaxation that follows is worth sticking around for.
Triangle Kush
Named after three major weed-growing regions in Florida, Triangle Kush is thought to descend from an OG Kush found in the Sunshine State. It tends to make people relaxed, creative, and chatty all at once.
Why we love it: Biting and gassy with soft vanilla notes underneath. Growers love it, and the THC levels can knock out just about anyone.
Gelonade
A citrusy, vanilla treat, Gelonade’s tingly, uplifting high is made for laughing with friends and feeling like a social butterfly.
Why we love it: That mellow head high suits anyone who loves heavy couch-lock strains but wants to keep a bit of energy this time.
ACDC
One of the few CBD-dominant strains on this list, ACDC carries a CBD-to-THC ratio around 20:1 with almost no psychoactive effects. It’s a solid pick for pain relief and easy conversation.
Why we love it: For a chill day and chill conversations, this high-CBD strain won’t cloud your mind.
Watermelon Zkittlez
High in CBD, Pennywise brings mental clarity, useful whether you’re trying to relax or actually get something done. It’s one of the more popular CBD strains around, with notes of coffee and pepper under a hint of lemon.
Why we love it: Don’t let the name (a nod to Stephen King’s It) fool you. This one’s all calming CBD.
SFV OG
Short for “San Fernando Valley OG,” SFV OG is a sativa-dominant hybrid with a piney, lemony smell. It’s good for staying focused and works especially well in a flower-friendly vaporizer.
We love it: Pungent, piney flavor with relaxing body effects, a memorable OG cross.
Zookies
Zookies is as delicious as it is potent, with a flavor of sweet, nutty cookies and a hint of diesel underneath. Good for a strong head high that gets you moving.
Why we love it: That cookies-and-diesel combo is unique, and this one’s better suited to fun hobbies than actual busywork.
Papaya
Once Gelato blew up, variants started following, including Mochi and Guava. Guava leans more tropical and sweet than its parent, and it gets especially terpy when grown outdoors.
Why we love it: Gelato packs in cannabis genetics from around the world, and Guava recombines them into a surprising, epic tropical flavor.
Bubble Gum
Expect a bright lemon flavor with light floral notes in this one, sometimes called “The Original Lemonade.” It’s potent, so new smokers should take it slow.
Why we love it: Great for a classic wake-and-bake, Lemonade could easily replace your morning coffee, minus the crash.
Harlequin
Harlequin is another one of the few CBD strains here, usually running a CBD-to-THC ratio around 5:2. It brings earthy musk and sweet mango, but what really draws people in is how it relaxes and relieves without any real sedation or intoxication.
Why we love it: A genuinely great CBD-rich strain for staying focused and managing pain without getting high.
Black Jack
Black Domina tempers Jack Herer’s energizing effects in Black Jack. Light green nugs from Jack meet a heavy trichome coat from Domina, making this an old-school strain that hasn’t gone anywhere.
Why we love it: Still relevant, still delivers focus and a clear-headed mood lift, with a full-bodied sweetness that works most days and afternoons.
Ghost Train Haze
Ghost Train Haze descends from the legendary Neville’s Haze, an old-school Dutch strain. Crossed with a Kush and covered in trichomes, it’s a potent one for concentration and creativity alike.
Why we love it: Rich in rare terpinolene, with a blend of sour, citrus, and floral flavors backed by potent euphoria.
Zoap
Look for crosses of Sunset Sherbert and OZ Kush (Zkittlez x OG Kush) this year, an unforgettable combo with hybrid effects that work day or night. Try world-class Zoap from Deo Farms, or check out the “RS” line from Wizard Trees, specifically RS#11 and RS#54. The key parent here is Dying Breed Seeds’ OZ Kush, so it’s also worth revisiting OGZ and its aliases, OGZ and ZOG. Oakland breeder-grower Deo Farms only works in small batches, which is why authentic Zoap can go for $80 to $85 an eighth once it hits the global exotics market, in places like Bangkok and Barcelona. Meanwhile commercial farmers in the US are growing tons of the RS line and OZK for dispensary shelves. Share a bowl of Zoap with someone who appreciates it, whether that’s a squeaky-clean bubbler or a big cannon-style rip.
Jealousy and friends
Jealousy keeps climbing in 2023, spinning off new hybrids and offspring as it goes. Seed Junky Genetics crossed and selected Sherb bx1 with breeder Jigga’s authentic Gelato #41, resetting the template for Gelatos this decade. We’re all benefiting from the upgrade in look, smell, taste, and effect. Reviewers describe it as giggly, talkative, and relaxed, a good pick for a night out with friends. Also worth trying: Banana Cream Jealousy, London Jelly, The Glove, Purple Octane, and Pacman.
Goofiez
The hype around Goofiez is just getting started, a new Compound Genetics cross of Jokerz and Apples and Bananas. Leafly already named Jokerz (Runtz x Jet Fuel Gelato) a Buzz strain to watch in 2022 and a runner-up for Strain of the Year. Now Jokerz has married into the Cookies strain Apples and Bananas. Goofiez grows big, beautiful nugs with a thick, tropical taffy smell and taste, like a handful of Hi-Chews. The Blue Power genes from Apples and Bananas keep both the THC numbers and the effects running high.
Grapefruit Zlushiez
Keep an eye out for Raw Genetics’ Zlushiez line (Zkittlez x Strawberry Fritter). The newest and juiciest entry is Grapefruit Zlushiez (Grapefruit Runtz x Zlushiez). Our test jar from California’s Ember Valley tasted like the sweet strawberry, citrus, and berry of a red-and-blue slushie, just with a heavier, syrupy body and a solid hybrid effect that leans afternoon-to-evening. Try Grapefruit Zlushiez before a movie or a gaming session. Also worth a look: Unicorn Poop.
Carbon Fiber
Oreoz had a great year on the strength of its icy look and cookies-and-cream smell and taste, though not every grower managed to pull that sweet, chocolate-cookie smell out of it. Plenty of batches ended up smelling more like cardboard. This year, Cannarado’s Carbon Fiber (which also has a Cookies and Cream parent) actually smells and hits as good as it looks. California cloners Phinest sell trays of Carbon Fiber cuttings that keep the momentum going. It’s one of the better gassy, dank GSC-type strains out this year, good for the couch at the end of the day, and reviewers describe feeling talkative, aroused, and soaring.
Gary Payton and family
Gary Payton (The Y x Snowman) won people over with its cookie-family smell and a powerful indica-hybrid high that wraps around you. Multi-state brand Cookies is pushing Gary Payton hard this year, and it’s shaping up to be a lasting staple. Meanwhile the Gary Payton family keeps expanding, with hit crosses like Blackberry Gary, and we’re working through everything coming off The Y line, including Cereal A La Mode. Smoke some Gary Payton with a playoff game on and plenty of snacks nearby, it tends to leave people giggly, chatty, and chill. High-tolerance smokers can burn one and shoot hoops like San Francisco breeder Kenny Dumetz, founder of Powerzzzup Genetics.
Pink Certz
Pink Certz (Grape Gas crossed to The Menthol) is showing up in hundreds more stores this year. The Certz brand team in New York is pushing Pink Certz out East after it dominated California cannabis competitions in 2022. Compound Genetics’ core creator Chris Lynch has since moved on to a new project, Cipher Genetics, but his earlier Compound creations, Pink Certz included, should keep building momentum for years. The Menthol line delivers a sweet, herby, cool mint smell and flavor without any actual menthol, just terpenes doing what terpenes do (we still don’t fully understand all of them). Our reviewers came away from Pink Certz focused and energetic, but still relaxed, good for blasting through busywork. Also worth checking out: Khalifa Mints and Gush Mints.
OG #18
No annual list is complete without an OG Kush. America still loves its gassy strains, and OG Kush’s lemon-pine-fuel smell never really goes out of style. It’s been around for about a decade, but a variant called OG#18 has been adding stores and sales every month for at least a year now. Somebody clearly hit the jackpot on OG Kush genetics and started a new wave that’s giving people exactly what they’re after. OGs don’t always grow easily, but their terpenes survive drying and storage well enough to deliver that citrusy, piney gasoline smell every time. Cypress Hill’s B-Real says he smokes it for breakfast. The rest of us pair it with happy hour, appetizers, dessert, or the bedroom. Also worth trying: Legend OG.
Cap Junky
Who wants gas, the kind that tears into your nostrils and doesn’t apologize for it? MAC1 creator Capulator and Jealousy creator Seed Junky Genetics teamed up their most influential strains for Cap Junky, a cross of Alien Cookies and Animal Mints. The seeds sold out fast, and now LA Made is growing it around LA and up the West Coast. Few strains match its blanket of trichomes, pungency, and heart-pounding effects at this THC and terpene level. Pull up a couch and a wall to stare at, because Cap Junky sends you on an inward trip. One in four early reviewers said they used it to help manage bipolar disorder.
Super Boof
Citrusy, friendly Tangie has plenty of fans, and just as many people wishing it hit harder. This year, watch for Super Boof, a Tangie, GSC, and Black Cherry Punch project built on the so-called Mountain Trop (“Mtn. Trop”) selection of Tropicanna Cookies. It’s Tangie with added cream and funk, plus indica-hybrid body effects from the GSC side. Super Boof is massive and good-looking like Black Cherry Punch, with a name that’s honestly fun to say out loud. California breeder Blockhead went from total anonymity to having his work in hundreds of stores nationwide. Tangies stay versatile: work, yoga, a hike, chores, whatever you’ve got going. Put on some Tame Impala and a bowl of Super Boof, and see how you feel after. Also worth trying: Trop Cherry, Terple.
First Class Funk
The savory, stanky GMO Cookies line has become a genuine American mainstay. First Class Funk deserves a shoutout as a rising star in the GMO family. The Funk debuted several years back and has been grower- and smoker-tested ever since, earning a spot on over 1,500 store menus nationwide. Compound Genetics added Jet Fuel Gelato’s gas and grower-friendliness to GMO, resulting in a Cup-winning crowd-pleaser. First Class Funk reviews score high for euphoria and party vibes. Also worth trying: GMO Rootbeer and Gaschata.
Pineapple Fruz
The top of the sativa sales charts still plays like classic rock radio, decades-old names like Super Lemon Haze and Pineapple Express. Not many new sativas break through to share the stage with the Gelatos and Zs. One that holds up against modern standards for size, bling, terps, and power is Pineapple Fruz from Seed Junky Genetics in LA. They grow it flawlessly at their Northridge, CA “Farmacopeia” facility, racking up trophies with their closely held cross of Animal Mints bx1 x Zbx1. Seed Junky flowers now sell in Michigan and beyond, so hopefully the Fruz makes its way further out too. It hits a little strong for breakfast, but a puff before the gym cuts through boredom, and it’s great at parties.
White Truffle
Original Glue, aka GG4, still has a legion of fans nationwide wanting more from that line, even though breeder Lone Watty passed away in 2020. The most active Glue offspring right now is the so-called White Truffle cut of Gorilla Butter (GG4 x Peanut Butter Breath), out of Michigan’s Fresh Coast Seed Co, and it’s spreading nationally. Can weed actually smell like an earthy, nutty, sweet, dank white truffle? It can. A whole Truffle line has sprouted up since, including Black Truffle, along with some disputes over who gets to use the Truffle name. Reviewers describe feeling tingly, aroused, and relaxed on White Truffle, good for whatever hobby you’re into. Try it yourself and see how it hits where you are.
Super Sour Diesel
Shoutout to New York and the East Coast as more stores open and Maryland launched adult-use sales on July 1. Now you can get real “AJ’s Sour Diesel” from the original “Asshole Joe,” if that’s something you’re after. We wanted a bit of gas to balance out all the hazes in this section, and Super Sour Diesel keeps delivering. Both the traditional and licensed markets are running heavy crops of it this season, with Amplified Farms out here in California leading the pack. Sour D gives New Yorkers that high-energy buzz with zero chill attached. Its pungent diesel-and-skunk smell basically defined the word “gas” for a generation of smokers. Reviewers say it most often helps with stress, depression, and anxiety, leaving them with an energetic “it’ll sort itself out” kind of feeling.
Strawberry Cough
Big ups to Vermont and the Northeast for keeping the Y2K-era haze Strawberry Cough alive well into the legal era. It rates high for energy, with a light, sweet strawberry flavor over a grassy haze base. People tend to get energetic, uplifted, and talkative on it, good for pre-gaming or the party itself. Kyle Kushman popularized the strain and still grows and works the line today. We saw great Strawberry Cough out of Humboldt County this spring, and its clear effects still cut through the boredom of yet another dessert strain.
Trop Cherry
Smokers from Maine to Michigan to Medford, Oregon will vouch for Trop Cherry, a surging Strain of Summer now sitting in 456 US stores, up from zero last year. Breeder Relentless Genetics mixed Trop Cookies with Cherry Cookies and picked the biggest, most purple, sparkliest, loudest phenotype. The nugs are huge, dramatically purple, and smell of citrus, tropical fruit, and tea. Effects land somewhere hybrid-sativa, good for hikes, yoga, biking, or hanging out with friends. Reviewers describe it as euphoric, uplifted, and creative. Trop Cherry keeps racking up wins too: Snoop Dogg released a batch on Death Row Cannabis in February, and it took home an Oregon Leaf Bowl trophy in May for Best Exotic Fruit.
Red Velvet
Backed by the Cookies brand, Red Velvet is climbing fast in searches, menus, and orders, making it a solid bet as a trending Strain of Summer. Oakland breeders Grandiflora crossed a Lemon Cherry Gelato with a Pina Acai to build this dessert hybrid. Some batches of Red Velvet we’ve tried smelled like straight-up cinnamon red hots. Reviewers describe feeling aroused, tingly, and uplifted, which is likely fueling its rise. You can find Red Velvet on shelves from LA to New Mexico to New Jersey and beyond. Pack a pipe bowl of it on the beach with someone you like.
Lemon Cherry Gelato
Step aside Runtz: Lemon Cherry Gelato’s time to shine has arrived. This Gelato varietal has climbed to the top of the East Coast charts this summer and looks set to hold that spot through Maryland’s legalization rollout and beyond. Popularized by Backpack Boyz, “LCG” has real street presence and solid genetics behind it. Gelato helped set the standard for bag appeal, and this version keeps its resilient creamy-berry-gas smell with versatile hybrid effects. Newcomers, welcome aboard. If you’re not sold, try Malibu instead (below).
Berry Cream Puff
Summer feels like the right time for a trip up to Canada, an order of weed off Uber Eats (partnered with Leafly), and not much else. Puresun Farms’ Berry Cream Puff is taking over shelves there this year. It’s a dessert strain built from a cross of Cake Crasher (Wedding Cake x Wedding Crasher) with an unlisted strain. Early reviews are trickling in, and it’s no surprise some people are reporting arousal, given how high the grandparent Wedding Cake scores on that front. Expect flavors of berries, diesel, and butter. Try the Berry Cream yourself and leave a review.
Malibu
Paddle into the lineup of exotic cannabis with Malibu, Seed Junky Genetics’ tamer rename for its cross of Zkittlez x Animal Cookies Bx2, also known as Giraffe Pussy #1. Malibu took home silver at the LA Zalympix 2023 exotic weed contest on June 17. The Z brings tropical Hi-Chew notes and loudness, while the Animal Cookies Bx2 side adds gas fumes and potency. Malibu is big, strong, and genuinely good-looking. Roll a fat nug, lay a rosin worm down for a hash hole, put on some Queens of the Stone Age, and enjoy the sun. Seed Junky has expanded beyond California into Michigan and New Mexico too.
That Badu Strain
We’ll close out Strains of Summer 2023 with That Badu, singer Erykah Badu’s namesake strain on the Cookies line. Berner and Badu are pushing That Badu hard this summer in Cookies stores, timed with Erykah’s Unfollow Me Tour. It’s a mix of Lemonnade’s Limoncello and Compound Genetics’ Jet Fuel Gelato, adding a lemon note to that fuel-forward dessert profile. Fair warning: this one leans toward baby-making territory. It’s euphoric, relaxing, and therapeutic, and Badu told Leafly she made it “with women in mind.”
Exploring weed strains is one of the more fun rabbit holes in cannabis. From old-school classics to newer, potent hybrids, the strains on this list have shaped what people actually reach for.
Whether you’ve been at this for decades or you’re just getting started, there’s always something new worth trying. Grab a few from this list, see what actually works for you, and build your own short list of favorites.
Happy toking!
