High Profile References in Low Key Strains

With so many strain names, it’s likely that some of the references & jokes didn’t land. The original landrace strains were all named after their place of origin, but the names became more creative as the breadth of strains grew, with pop culture references becoming more frequent as cannabis culture evolved.

Let’s review some pop culture references in strain names that you might have missed. Fair warning: you’re about to enter some nerdy territory.

Eternal Death Slayer 3

You would think that every habitual cannabis user is well versed in Grandma’s Boy references, but you’d be wrong. Those who have seen this modern classic probably remember the fake strains like Brown Bomber, Frankenstein, and that “crazy Zimbabwe weed that turns you into a deer,” but the name of the video game that the characters were working on often gets forgotten. I’m referring, of course, to Eternal Death Slayer 3.

The catalyst for JB’s success at the company (you know, the wannabe robot guy), Eternal Death Slayer was a mega hit for the engineers at Brainasium, but snags in the development of the third game in the series prompted Mr. Cheezle to bring in Samantha to oversee the project.

Containing genetics from Cluster Bomb, Juicy Fruit, and Sundae Driver, the Eternal Death Slayer 3 strain by Smokey Point Productions is a soothing hybrid strain that’s perfect for an evening of gaming.

Superfast Jellyfish

A strain name that manages to be hyper specific yet completely obscure at the same time, Superfast Jellyfish by Artizen is a reference to a 2010 song by Gorillaz off their album Plastic Beach. An especially unusual tune, “Superfast Jellyfish” is a song about excessive consumerism that’s played in the style of a bass-heavy commercial jingle. Even among die hard Gorillaz fans, this song is very polarizing, either viewed as the single best or single worst Gorillaz song.

Perhaps Artizen’s name choice is commenting on the dichotomy of having a tightly regulated commercial industry built around an illegal product that’s historically been viewed as a symbol of counterculture. Or, you know, maybe their marketing people just really like Gorillaz. Whatever the case, it’s actually a perfect strain name when you consider that the genetics of Superfast Jellyfish are Superglue x Gelonade.

Romulan

This strain has been around for decades, but hardly any smokers realize that Romulan is a Star Trek reference.

The Romulans are humanlike extraterrestrials who were originally from the planet Vulcan, and they split off from their Vulcan cousins when the leader Surak pushed the planet to embrace logic over emotion. Vulcans (like Spock) are known to be peaceful and logical, but the Romulans are more militaristic and guided by a very strict moral code. The Romulans relocated to the planet Romulus, but eventually reunited with their cousins on the planet Vulcan (which was renamed Ni’Var after the reunification) some time after Romulus was destroyed by a supernova.

What does all this have to do with the classic Romulan strain? Nothing, really… it’s just a super chill cross of White Rhino and North American Indica which was obviously named by a Trekkie.

You might also encounter Klingon, which is a phenotype of Romulan, but it MUST be pointed out that Klingon is kind of a messed up name for a Romulan pheno because the Klingons and Romulans were mortal enemies. Wow, you’re still here? I thought for sure I’d lose you with the Star Trek rant! Dope, let’s proceed then…

I’m Your Huckleberry

I’ll be honest, this was one of the few strain names where the reference was completely lost on me. “I’m your huckleberry” is a famous line from the movie Tombstone, and is also the name of the 2020 memoir by the late, great Val Kilmer.

As of this writing, I still haven’t seen Tombstone, so I looked up a clip to get some context, but that didn’t help any because it still seems like the most random line anyone has ever said in a movie. Upon further research (because I’m more of a sci-fi person than a western guy, as you may have guessed from the Romulan section), Kilmer played the role of Doc Holliday of O.K. Corral fame, and the phrase “I’m your huckleberry,” essentially means, “I’m your guy,” or “I’m the man for the job” in 1800’s speak.

As far as we can tell, the I’m Your Huckleberry strain by House of Cultivar isn’t as ubiquitous as it was in 2022. It actually seems like any info about the strain has been wiped from the internet. If I had to guess, I’d say the genetics were [Huckleberry x Wedding Cake] x Roses #74823 or something like that.

Where’s My Bike?

There are plenty of reasons why you may not have seen Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. Maybe it’s because you were too old to see a “kids movie” when it came out. Maybe you weren’t even born when it was in theaters. Maybe you had a hangup about actor Paul Reubens just because of that one incident. But the most likely reason that you haven’t seen the movie is because it just seems stupid as hell. Well, you would be correct to say that it’s a stupid movie, but you’d be very wrong if you think that means it’s not hilarious.

An absurdist comedy classic, the plot of Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure is about the title character travelling across the country (including the “basement” of the Alamo) in search of his stolen bicycle. Aside from the “Tequila” dance, the main thing that folks remember about the movie is the iconic line, “where’s my bike, Francis?” However, there may be a Mandela effect here, as I don’t think Pee-Wee ever says that exact quote. It’s similar to how Darth Vader doesn’t say, “Luke, I am your father,” despite the fact that it’s the most famous line from The Empire Strikes Back (what he actually said was, “no, I am your father”).

Fittingly, Where’s My Bike is a cross of Amnesia and Biker Kush.

Sirius Black

OK, so maybe a Harry Potter reference isn’t obscure, but it’s fair to say that muggles who never read the books or saw the movies probably don’t know who Sirius Black is.

For those who are uninitiated, Sirius Black is Harry’s godfather (played by Gary Oldman in the films). Nicknamed “Padfoot” when he was a teen at Hogwarts, Sirius Black is an animagus who is known for his ability to transform himself into a black dog. He’s introduced into the book series as a fugitive who’s escaped from Azkaban prison, giving way to the classic Harry Potter trope of leading readers to believe someone is evil when they were actually one of the good guys.

Rarely seen outside of Oregon, the Sirius Black strain is best known for its incredibly high levels of anthocyanins, which cause the trichomes on the buds (and rosin made from those trichomes) to have a deep purple coloration that’s unlike any other strain. The genetics likely contain Skunk and Blueberry, but any expression from the Skunk is is very subtle.

Funnily enough, the strain has been around since the late 70’s or early 80’s, so it wasn’t a Harry Potter reference until recently. “Strains didn’t really have names… not like now,” said Oregon Breeder’s Group co-founder Wade Preble, “it was all based on where it came from or the color… we were just kind of like, ‘That’s some serious black,’ and the name stuck.”

GG4

Formerly known as Gorilla Glue #4, this strain is one of a handful that attained global notoriety not just for its potency & effect, but for being involved in a trademark infringement suit.

To give a bit of historical context, the reason we see so many strain names today that flirt with trademark infringement (like Zkittles, Orange Faygo, Zheetos, Locktite, etc) is partially due to the fact that Cookies grew into a billion dollar, multinational cannabis brand in the wake of getting a cease & desist from Girl Scouts of America for naming their flagship strain “Girl Scout Cookies.” Already at the peak of its popularity, GSC (now known as Cookies) gained national attention because of the associated legal issues, and since then it’s become a trope for breeders or farms to name their federally illegal plants after registered trademarks in hopes that they too might get free publicity and grow into a billion dollar cannabis brand. What could go wrong?

Now, I’m not saying with 100% certainty that “Gorilla Glue #4” was specifically imitating the Cookies strategy, but Gorilla Glue is an existing brand of super glue, and that company did take issue with GG Strains selling weed with their brand name. Fast forward to today, and we’re all used to saying “GG4” now. And we always buy Gorilla Glue over Krazy Glue.

A modern classic, GG4 (aka “Original Glue”) is a cross of Chem’s Sister x Sour Dubb x Chocolate Diesel.

Jack Herer

A lot of smokers don’t even realize that Jack Herer was a real person, and even less know how to pronounce his last name correctly (Herer rhymes with “terror”). Not only was Jack Herer a man, he was a myth and a legend too.

These days we’re accustomed to the Farm Bill (2018), which legalized industrial hemp, but before that, it was common to hear the rallying cry of cannabis activists pushing to liberate hemp so it can be used as an environmentally-friendly source of food, fuel, textiles, and construction materials. The late activist Jack Herer deserves credit for putting these ideas into the collective consciousness, as he researched the subject for 12 years before publishing his 1985 book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes.

Backed by multiple organizations including the Texas Hemp Campaign, Sensi Seeds (Amsterdam), and Hanf Haus (Germany), the back cover of the book boldly offered $100,000 to anyone who could disprove the book’s claims. Sensi Seeds later immortalized Jack Herer by breeding the iconic strain that bears his name, a sativa-forward cross of Haze x (Northern Lights #5 x Shiva Skunk).

Item 9

Surely everyone who has even a surface knowledge of cannabis has heard of the movie Pineapple Express, but nearly 20 years have passed since the film’s release, and younger smokers may not know which came first: Pineapple Express the movie, or Pineapple Express the strain? The definitive answer is the movie. There was no strain called Pineapple Express when the film came out; Writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg said this during their press tour, and that they looked forward to seeing dealers & budtenders selling Pineapple Express weed. The first iterations of Pineapple Express on dispensary menus were arbitrary renamings of existing strains, but within a few years, multiple breeders including Barney’s Farm and G13 Labs came out with their own dedicated versions of Pineapple Express.

But there’s also a strain with a less obvious reference to the movie: Item 9. In one of the greatest opening scenes of all time, an American soldier named Private Miller (played by Bill Hader) is smoking a joint as part of a military experiment to evaluate “Item 9.” Hidden deep underground in a multi-level lab with a hydroponic garden, a commanding officer asks Miller how Item 9 makes him feel, and Miller’s hilariously unhinged response prompts his superior to pick up the phone and declare, “Item 9… ILLEGAL!”

Produced by Khush Kush, Item 9 is a hybrid cross of Mendocino Purple x Triangle Kush #4 x Stardawg Haze that will make you feel like a slice of butter melting on a big ol’ pile of flapjacks. Item 9 is the bee’s knees!

Alabama Liquid Snake

The folks who get this reference are the same people who understand why my cat is named Scrambles the Death Dealer.

Shortened from “totally awesome sweet Alabama liquid snake,” the strain known as Alabama Liquid Snake is a reference to a fictitious mind control drug from the show Metalocalypse. In an episode where Pickles performs a reunion show with his former band, Snakes N’ Barrels, the Tribunal sends in one of their agents to dose him with totally awesome sweet Alabama liquid snake in an attempt to turn him against Dethklok. Unfortunately for the Tribunal, Pickles is immune due to his lifetime of drug & alcohol abuse (he even took government weed as a child for his “kiddie glaucoma”), and the drug causes his bandmates to have terrifying hallucinations before their memories are completely erased.

It’s very likely that Alabama Liquid Snake is not a real strain, but rather some other strain that was arbitrarily renamed.

MKULTRA

What if I told you that the premise of totally awesome sweet Alabama liquid snake was loosely inspired by true events? Back in the 1950’s, the newly-formed Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) conducted an ambitious, highly unethical 20-year experiment to research mind control, brainwashing, and interrogation techniques. While there were many, many facets to what was dubbed Project MKULTRA, the most famous experiments involved dosing unsuspecting US citizens, soldiers, and fellow CIA agents with LSD to see how they respond in different situations. While mind control was the main goal, the CIA was also researching LSD’s potential as a truth serum.

The only reason we know about Project MKULTRA is because Sen. Frank Church revealed it in 1975 while his committee was investigating intelligence abuses. Though CIA Director Richard Helms ordered that all the files were to be destroyed in 1973, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in 1975 uncovered 20,000 documents related to the project.

If you’re not too familiar with MKULTRA, it’s a subject that’s definitely worth doing a deep dive on: read Acid Dreams by Project CBD founder Martin Lee, and watch Wormwood on Netflix. Oh damn, I forgot this is a blog about weed. Uhhh MKULTRA is a pungent and deeply sedative indica hybrid that was bred by crossing G-13 and OG Kush. Cannabis!

Agent Orange

Since we’re already on the subject of history, the next strain on our list is a painful reference to the Vietnam War. In 1959, the Communist Party of Vietnam declared a “people’s war” on South Vietnam, and a couple of years later the president of South Vietnam requested US aid to defoliate the lush jungle that the Viet Cong was taking cover in. Eager to keep communism at bay, the United States military sprayed 21 million gallons of an herbicide called Agent Orange (which also contained an extremely toxic impurity called dioxin) over 4.5 million acres of land in Vietnam for the next 9 years.

Agent Orange had readily been used as an herbicide for decades up to this point. The US argued that it’s not a chemical or biological weapon, and therefore its use in Vietnam was not a violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol because Agent Orange was being used to destroy vegetation so enemies could not hide in the jungles as easily. They claimed it was not specifically meant to target human beings.

Thing is, Agent Orange did have devastating effects on US troops, Vietnamese civilians, and enemy combatants alike. People who were exposed to Agent Orange developed all kinds of cancers, lymphoma, heart disease, hypothyroidism, Parkinson’s Disease, and more.
The Vietnamese government estimates that 4 million of its citizens were exposed, and 3 million of them developed illnesses as a direct result. Future generations were impacted too, as children in these areas were born with birth defects including extra fingers & toes, cleft palates, spina bifida, and developmental disabilities.

So why the hell would anyone name a strain Agent Orange? Aside from some breeder having a dark sense of humor, the context to bear in mind is that this strain name came about when weed was [more of] an illicit street drug, and during this time it was common to brand strains with edgy or dangerous sounding names like Durban Poison, Chernobyl, and AK-47. Given the bud’s coloration and its citrusy flavor profile, it’s easy to understand how the name stuck to this cross of Orange Velvet x Jack the Ripper.

Mintberry Crunch

A member of Cartman’s Avengers-esque group of superheroes, Mintberry Crunch is the alter ego of his classmate, Bradley Biggle. As the 3-episode arch goes on, fans of the show are put into the position of having to guess which characters are playing which superheroes. It was pretty obvious which ones were Cartman, Tolkien, and Timmy, but others like like Mysterion, Human Kite, and Mosquito were more challenging to figure out, and Mintberry Crunch was essentially a troll on South Park fans because Bradley Biggle was never a character on the show before these episodes.

While the other heroes’ powers were straightforward, Mintberry Crunch’s “power of mint and berries, yet with a satisfying, tasty crunch” left his friends scratching their heads. Anyway, Bradley eventually receives a hologram from his alien father who tells him that Bradley was sent to Earth to stop evil forces, and that he got his actual powers (not pretend powers like the others) when his home planet collided with the world of intense mint flavor. Then he returns to his home planet, and we never see him again outside of a couple of South Park video games that followed.

Like Pineapple Express, there are different versions of the Mintberry Crunch strain available: the Fennec Genetics version is Breath Mints x Garlic Breath 2.0, the Lantzville Craft Cannabis Genetics version is (Triangle Mints #3 x God’s Pink) x (Timewarp x A3). This is not the only strain with a South Park reference, as Fire Bros used to grow Manbearpig OG and Member Berries. The original name for Kosher Kush may have also been a reference to a South Park episode, but I’ll let you research that one for yourself.