What strains do Californians love? During December of last year, the month prior to the pivot to recreational sales, the nation’s favorite strain, Blue Dream, reigned in the Golden State. Consumers bought 330,587 grams of the sativa-dominant hybrid during the month, which translated into $2,808,277 in sales according to cannabis market research firm BDS Analytics. Sales of the No. 2 strain, Gorilla Glue #4, were less than half in terms of both volume and dollar sales. Rounding out the top five were Illuminati OG, Kosher Kush, and Grandaddy Purple.
Consumers still buy a lot of Blue Dream, but other strains are on the rise — particularly Kosher Kush.
Things changed with recreational sales. By March of this year, the No. 1 strain in terms of dollar sales was Jack Herer, with Kosher Kush snagging second place and Blue Dream holding third place. OG Kush and Super Silver Haze rounded out the top five, in terms of dollars sold.
The line-up remains the same when we examine volume rather than dollar sales, with one big difference: Consumers bought 147,843 grams of Blue Dream during March in dispensaries with up-to-date legal licenses (which means the pool during March was somewhat smaller than in January), placing it well ahead of the rest of the pack. The No. 2 strain when measured by volume, Kosher Kush, sold 104,473 grams.
The jockeying for position among strains in CA is intense and always evolving.
The discrepancy is explained by price. Blue Dream used to be a run-of-the-mill strain, in terms of pricing — affordable, but not the cheapest strain on the market, with plenty of other top strains selling for roughly the same amount (in December, for example, Blue Dream was $8.49 a gram, and the No. 2 strain, Gorilla Glue #4, was $7.30 a gream). But in the rec world, Blue Dream now is one of the least expensive strains, averaging $8.97 a gram during March. Jack Herer, by comparison, averaged $12.88 a gram, and Kosher Kush $12.85, during the month. The most expensive of the top strains? Durban Poison, at $15.28 a gram.
The rise of Kosher Kush in both sales dollars and volume has been an interesting California-only trend. Last March, the indica with heady perfume and flavor and a wallop of THC (some testing pushes THC content over 29 percent) was a relatively minor player, with $263,000 in sales. A year later, consumers spent $1.3 million on Kosher Kush. Its upward trajectory during 2018 has been notable. During March alone sales nearly doubled, from $709,000 in February to $1.3 million.
One of its unique qualities? It’s the only strain blessed by a rabbi. Clearly cannabis consumers, as well as growers and dispensary owners, find much about the strain that is kosher.
