OG Kush: A Phenotype by Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet

The website Leafly says OG Kush is a hybrid of Chemdawg and Hindu Kush, but it also states “we can’t be sure because OG Kush first came from bag seed in the early ’90s.” DNA Genetics, who sells OG Kush seeds, says that it is a “bag seed from a Grateful Dead show.” If this is true, then there is no actual Kush genetics anywhere in OG Kush, or maybe there could be, but nobody knows because Chemdawg also has unknown genetics and is attributed to being discovered at Grateful Dead show in 1991 (hence Chemdawg 91).

The seedbank Dinafem tells a similar story, also involving a cutting ofChemdawg when explaining how the “OG” got into OG Kush. Many competing theories exist as to what “OG” stands for, the most common two are “original gangsta” and ocean grown. Dinafem attributes the “original gangsta” meaning to the rap group Cypress Hill, but says that the ocean grown theory is more widely accepted by professional growers and more likely to be true. According to Dinafem, the ocean grown comes from a California grower named John who gave a cutting of Chemdawg to an LA-based grower named Putz, who crossed in a Lemon Thai/Pakistani Kush hybrid, and created OG Kush. The OG comes from someone telling Putz that his buds tasted mountain grown, his reply was “this Kush is ocean grown” and the rest is history.

Taste and Terpenes

The signature scent and flavor has been described as “an earthy pine and sour lemon scent with woody undertones,” also as a “deep pine smellwhich captivates the nostrils and might lead to you getting high just smelling it.” These descriptions lead one to assume that the strain would have elevated levels of limonene and pinene, it is also likely that it will have high amounts of myrcene since it is the most commonly found terpene in cannabis.

Strain fingerprinting done by Steep Hill Labs confirms that myrcene and limonene are the two primary terpenes in OG Kush, followed by β-caryophyllene and then pinene. Both limonene and pinene are known to produce uplifting and euphoric effects and are likely a major reason for the sativa-like effects that some users report feeling from OG Kush. Myrcene can have a sedating effect that cannabis researchers think could be a major component in the couchlock feeling some users report from indica strains. The Reverend Dr. Kymron DeCesare, of Steep Hill Labs, has noted that “OG Kush is considered by most to be a strong couchlock flower at about 1.25 percent myrcene.”

Is it an Indica or a Sativa?

Again, this depends on who you talk to, and it may have a lot to do with the fact that there are over a dozen strains commonly sold on dispensary shelves which are actually just different phenotypes of OG Kush. Technically, different strains would have distinct genotypes, their own genetics which make them unique.

If the genotype is the same, but there is a different physical expression, such as a taller plant or a plant that becomes purple, that is a different phenotype. The environment in which plants grow has a huge role in what their phenotype will be, for example, a phosphorous deficiency can stunt a plant’s growth making it appear more like an indica rather than taller like a sativa. Sometimes different phenotypes can also result in more than just physical differences, such as two Kush strains having radically different terpene/cannabinoid profiles.

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