Top 5 Cannabis Strain Origin Stories

To most people blueberry and cheese may sound like delicious cake flavors. Similarly the very military sounding GG#4 and AK-47 sounds like assault rifles or something that’s used to blow stuff up.

But those who partake in marijuana will immediately recognize them as cannabis strains. Some of them might even be one of your favorites. 

But have you ever wondered how these popular strains got their colorful names? We did. So we scoured the vast ocean which is the internet and managed to dig up some interesting history and facts on these five cannabis strains: AK-47, Amnesia, Blueberry, Cheese, and GG#4

Although a bit of a disclaimer beforehand. Some of these origins may not be entirely accurate or verified due to the secretive nature of the cannabis industry. So although we try to point out our sources as much as we can there are certain limits in terms of factual evidence. Certain accounts may just be based on rumors and hearsay so do approach what you are about to read with a grain of salt and levity. 

1. AK-47

This award-winning strain was developed by Simon of Serious Seeds, a seed bank based in Holland. According to their website, the legendary strain was created in 1992 and considered ‘a stroke of luck’ after testing thousands of experimental plants from different lineages.

While he has kept the details of his discovery vague he has mentioned that the strain contains Colombian, Mexican, Thai & Afghan genetics. Regular buyers have noticed that there have been slight changes in the phenotypes of their AK-47 plants over the years. It is rumored that Simon continues to manipulate its genetics and has been successfully creating parent plants of the same genotype but with different expressions. 

The AK-47 is described as having a ‘mentally and physically soothing effect’ and is nicknamed ‘one hit wonder’ because it only takes one puff to feel its intense effect. 

2. Amnesia

The original Amnesia was grown by Super Strain, another established seed bank in the Netherlands. It was planted in 1996 with a hybrid of a Nevil’s Haze and an Afghan and due to a particularly good summer, grew to a meter tall. 

The growers noticed the plants produced buds that were so thick they couldn’t be crumbled and there was so much resin from handling the buds to ‘easily fill another joint’. Amnesia combines the best flavors of Sativa and the aromas of Indica and fetches a hefty 2,000 euros for 2 or 3 seeds. 

Not bad for something the creators described as ‘25 year old regular seeds’. 

3. Blueberry

This strain has its origins dating back to the 1970s. Created by the legendary DJ Short, also known as the Willy Wonka of Pot. DJ Short inherited his cultivating skills from his herbalist great-grandmother and developed the Blueberry strain the old fashioned way: by sampling hundreds of strains from all over the world. 

After years of experimentation he narrowed it down to the Highland Thai (Juicy Fruit) and Purple Thai, which produced the ideal female side of the strain. Several years later he met a group of California growers who introduced him to the Afghani indica strain, which at the time was a fairly new breed.

The result from that marriage led to the birth of the Blueberry plant which was a lot shorter but could grow faster and produced yields with the same bud density. The original Blueberry was 80% indica and 20% sativa but DJ Short continued to tweak and improve on his creation and blessed us with other variations like Dutch Passion, Blueberry Automatic and Blueberry Bliss Autoflowering. 

And in case you were wondering, yes it does smell like blueberries. 

4. Cheese

The Cheese strains are unsurprisingly named after their telltale pungent and sour aroma. It was created by the mysterious Sam the Skunkman (aka David Watson) and based-off Skunk, another strain known for its potent aroma. 

The story is pretty straightforward, growers in the Netherlands were complaining about the telltale smell of their Skunk crops (also originally created by Sam) ruining their grow. In response Sam decided to breed out the intense aroma and replaced it with something sweeter. 

After a few years the new strain (now dubbed Sensi Seeds Skunk #1) found its way to South East England where its high yield and unique aroma impressed local growers and it was quickly cloned and passed on. 

But it was only in 1995 did the strain start to blow up when a small community outside of London called Exodus got a hold of a Cheese clone. It quickly made its rounds through the burgeoning rave scene and started to build a reputation. Cheese remains one of the most popular strains in the UK till today. 

5. GG#4

The story of the Original Glue strain is one that can be described as a happy accident. 

A concoction of the late Josey Wales (AKA Jackie Don Peabody), co-founder of GG Strains. It was first discovered in 1992 when one of his plants turned hermaphrodite and pollinated another. Deeming it a failure, Wales threw out the seeds but luckily his friend and co-founder of GG Strains saved some and germinated them at home. 

The lovely result of that was 4 plants, each with characteristics of both Chem Sister and Sour Dubb. One of them was deemed the best and crossed with Chocolate Diesel. The rest, as they say, is history. 

The GG#4 strain went on to win multiple Cannabis Cup Awards from 2014 till 2016. In 2017 they got into a legal scuffle when the GG#4 Company, the makers of actual Gorilla Glue sued them for trademark infringement, dilution, unfair competition, and cybersquatting. 

Both parties reached a settlement and as a result the seed producers had to drop the ‘gorilla’ from all their products and shut down their website. The full details of the settlement can be found here.