Ask a Stoner: Strains Have the Same Name but Different Genetics?

Dear Stoner: How can types of pot have the same name but different parents? Some shops have a strain with one set of genetics, and another shop will have completely different information.
Gil

Dear Gil: You’re experiencing the effects of an infant industry. There is no government regulator or trade organization that punishes commercial growers for naming a strain whatever they want, no matter what the genetics were. Frankenberry, the strain I reviewed last week, has disputed genetics that probably include some combination of Purple Urkle, Big Bud, Blueberry, Blue Island Skunk and mystery sativas – but Denver’s most popular cut is found at The Herbal Cure, which bred it from Banana Kush and a Blueberry phenotype. Frankenberry is far from the only example of this inconsistency, and I wouldn’t expect the situation to change anytime soon.

Most commercial breweries or wineries belong to a trade organization, such as the Brewers Association or National Association of American Wineries, that acts like a watchdog to ensure that members aren’t making IPAs and cabernet sauvignons and calling them stouts and zinfandels. Unlike those industries, cannabis still has a long list of issues – production practices, distribution, banking and federal legalization, for starters – to figure out before it can start policing growers or creating universal genetics standards.

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