Why Colorado Tokers Love Ghost OG

I've been trying to think of a satisfactory comparison for OG Kush, and the best I can come up with is Gatorade. It’s available everywhere, virtually everyone likes it, and it has tons of flavors. Are the classic OG, San Fan Fernando Valley OG and Tahoe OG the same strains? No, yet they're all phenotypes of OG Kush, carrying similar but distinct characteristics that have created one of the most popular genetics webs in cannabis.

I always viewed Ghost OG as just another flavor in the popular OG line. If it were a Gatorade, Ghost OG would be something like melon: respected and well-liked, but not in our top five.

Some accounts of the strain's past list Chemdawg or Afghani as possible parents, but most breeders I've talked to believe it to be a phenotype of the original OG. While most OG cuts are inevitably sedating, Ghost OG carries a more balanced high that might even lean sativa for me. I've smoked the strain in the morning and throughout the day with little lethargy, and its ability to melt minor pains and anxiety helps keep me going. Ghost OG’s amiable medical effects, potent THC content and bright citrus flavor have made it popular among medical patients on the West Coast, especially in Portland.

Ghost OG is alive and well in Denver, too, with Alternative Medicine on Capitol Hill, Bonfire Cannabis Company, Buddy Boy, the Clinic, Doc's Apothecary, Good Meds, Green Tree Medicinals, Kind Meds, Kind Love, L'Eagle, Oasis Cannabis Superstores and Silver Stem Fine Cannabis offering it; some wholesale growers breed it as well. My favorites come from the Clinic, Kind Love (which also sells clones of the strain) and Veritas, a wholesale grower. While relatively pricey, all three have the strongest mix of potency and flavor, bringing a potent yet balanced high that's best after 3 p.m. — unless you want to eat 4,000 calories of munchies every day.

Looks: Brighter and looser than those of a traditional OG, Ghost OG's buds can be oval-shaped or fox-tailed. Expect a lime-green color and thick orange pistils contrasted against dark-green leaves, with small, milky trichomes blanketing the calyxes.

Smell: Ghost OG is a little more floral and heavier on the citrus than most OG cuts, but those strong whiffs of soil and pine kick in at the end, giving it a dank aroma. Think OG Kush with an orange slice.

Flavor: Expect a sweet, citrus flavor and floral (almost grassy) flavor up front, with grainy, earthy notes and a back end filled with stiff pine.

Effects: Ghost OG won't rip you apart immediately, instead initially giving a body high with strong accompanying focus. Euphoric effects on the mind peak about twenty or thirty minutes later, just about the time that body high turns into an epic case of the munchies, whether you last ate five minutes or five hours ago. Medical benefits include treating anxiety, pain, inflammation, headaches, glaucoma, eating disorders and exhaustion.

Home grower's take: “One of my favorite kinds of OG, after Tahoe, Alien and a few others. It's just an easier high to deal with, and it helps my anxious stomach when I need it. I wish it yielded more — it'll do fine if you're only growing for yourself — because it is a joy on the mind, body and nose. Handles new growers pretty well and doesn't get finicky. I'm not sure if you can get it in seeds, though — I'm pretty sure it’s clone-only, which sucks if you're in an illegal state.”

Commercial grower's take: “Not as popular as its baby — Ghost Train Haze — right now, but what kind of consumer wouldn't like this strain? It scores a ten in flavor and ten in effects. You might find some Ghost OGs with Chem Dawg in it — I've heard of seeds carrying that or Cheese genetics to pair with OG Kush — but ours and most around town are an OG pheno.”

Is there a strain you'd like to see profiled? Email [email protected].