Afghani

Named, as Leafly tells it, for the region where the earliest cannabis is believed to have grown, Afghani is offered here as indica flower in 14 g and 28 g.

An old variety of the Hindu Kush

Our Afghani guide calls it a landrace, an old local variety of the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and Pakistan, not something put together by a single breeder. Growers there, according to our guide, used its compact and heavily resinous plants for hashish. AllBud places it in the Hindu Kush range, close to where people first domesticated cannabis thousands of years ago, and rates it a near-pure indica at a 5:95 sativa to indica ratio.

Resin that carries down the family line

Leafly says breeders worldwide prize Afghani for heavy resin production that passes on genetically, and its genetics panel lists Northern Lights and Amnesia Haze among the strains descended from it. AllBud calls it a source of countless popular hybrids. Steven De Guzman’s tip in our guide adds Afghan Kush, Afghanica and Blackberry Kush, which Leafly also lists as offspring, and points to those relatives as natural follow-ups for anyone who likes Afghani’s earthy, woody, pine profile.

Terpinolene at the top of the terpene data

Leafly’s certified lab data puts terpinolene, a terpene it describes as fruity, first, followed by myrcene and pinene, and Leafly’s flavour tags are earthy, woody and pine. AllBud describes a pungent, earthy smell and taste with a sweet flavour, tagging herbal, pine, spicy and sweet. Reviewers get more specific: on Leafly, one likens the taste to chai tea and another to brie, and AllBud reviewers mention fuel, grape, skunk and pepper.

Relaxed, euphoric and best known out west

Leafly’s reviewers mostly describe feeling relaxed and hungry, and the site sums Afghani up as a potent indica bringing deep relaxation and euphoria. AllBud describes a deeply relaxed high with intense euphoria and a brightened mood, and says the strain is best known on the West Coast, in Colorado and in British Columbia.

Leafly’s strain page gives THC near 18% and flags it as higher than average, while AllBud gives 16% to 20%. Our guide adds that different seed lines carry the Afghani name, so THC can change from one batch to the next. Products of 10% THC or less are the yardstick in Health Canada’s advice on smoking, which begins at 1 or 2 puffs.