A politician’s answer to this question would be “Yes and no” or “It depends what you mean by ‘cannabis’”. However, we are not politicians, so we’ll try to make things a little clearer.

Not all cannabis is the same, but it is all derived from one of three species of the plant – cannabis sativa, cannabis indica and cannabis ruderalis. These three strains are subspecies of the genus cannabis sativa, which is native to the Indian sub-continent and Central Asia.

Now, here’s where it gets a little more complicated. Most of the cannabis that is smoked comes from hybrid plants created from both cannabis sativa and cannabis indica. The main reason for the hybridisation of the plant is because the principal effect of smoking cannabis sativa is euphoria, while that of cannabis indica is relaxing. You can get pure indica, which is often taken as an evening or nighttime smoke, while the uplifting and energising properties of sativa are more conducive to daytime consumption.

Today’s hybrid cannabis plants are not simply a combination of these two plants. They can be several strains removed and most of them have brilliant names. We’ve often thought about those people who work for companies where names are so critical, such as car manufacturers. Imagine spending day after day trying to come up with a new name for what is, essentially, just another car. You’re a bit restricted in what you can use, though many of today’s manufacturers seem to now look beyond the lexicon of real words, or simply give up trying. Let’s face it, the Dacia Sandero doesn’t have the most alluring of names, and at least Mercedes Benz were sensible enough to throw in the towel years ago and now stick to SL or SLK with a few numbers before it.

You want a decent job naming something, then if such a place existed, a cannabis factory would be the perfect place. Here are five examples of probably cannabis-induced creative genius:

  • Cheese Quake – Now that’s about as ‘off the wall’ as you can get for the name of a cannabis plant. In the early days of Google there used to be a thing called a Googlewack, ‘invented by the comedian, Dave Gorman. A Googlewhack was achieved when you typed two separate and totally unconnected words, such as cheese and quake, into Google, and you got one single solitary result. Today, Cheese Quake gets 74,000 results! If you have a couple of hours of your life you don’t want back, and we certainly wouldn’t be allowed to suggest you have a smoke of something beforehand or during, do watch his Googlewhack Adventure.
  • Purple Trainwreck – a hybrid created from Trainwreck and Mendocino Purps and is closely associated with outdoor California growing.
  • Blue Dream – this is probably the most common strain found in the United States, though grows well in the Mediterranean. Its popularity comes from the abundance of dense buds it produces.
  • Critical Kush – a hybrid created from Critical Mass and OG Kush and susceptible to problems with mold, so has to be grown in a temperature- and moisture-controlled environment.
  • White Widow – probably the most famous of all Amsterdam hybrid cannabis plants and dates back to the 1990s. Has always remained popular owing to its large yields and resilience to pests and mould.

Of course, these are just a few names, and we’re pretty confident you’ll have a few more you can think of. Why not post them on our Facebook page and see how many recognise the names or have special memories of any of them.