Durban Poison

Durban, a port city in South Africa, is where Leafly places the roots of Durban Poison, a strain it calls a pure sativa. This flower is labelled with THC of 19 to 25% and is sold in weights of 28 g, 14 g, 7 g, 3.5 g and 1 g.

From South Africa to the US in the 1970s

AllBud describes Durban Poison as an inbred descendant of a sativa grown in South Africa, and credits Ed Rosenthal, an American activist, with finding the original strain and bringing it to the US in the 1970s. Leafly’s genetics section names African as the parent and lists Platinum Cookies and Key Lime Pie as its first two children. Leafly adds that the strain has become popular worldwide for its sweet smell and energetic, uplifting feel. Our Durban Poison guide goes further into that history.

Chunky buds, big resin glands and an easy grow

Leafly and AllBud both describe round, chunky buds, Leafly with trichomes over almost the whole plant and AllBud with a heavy coating of them. Each source points to the oversized resin glands as a reason the strain suits concentrate making. One Leafly reviewer noticed orange trichomes all over the nugs. Leafly also rates the plant easy to grow, with a high yield and tall plants, especially in soil, and 7 to 9 weeks of flowering.

Sweet, earthy and piney, with a hint of anise

AllBud describes a mainly earthy, sweet smell and taste with a gentle pine edge, and tags citrus, herbal, pine and sweet as flavours. Leafly’s flavour tags are pine, earthy and sage, and one of its reviewers found pungent pine with subtle honeysuckle. Steven De Guzman’s tip in our guide singles out an anise or licorice note, and he suggests keeping black licorice or some fennel seeds nearby to draw it out.

Terpinolene at the top of the terpene chart

Leafly’s terpene data puts terpinolene, which it describes as fruity, ahead of myrcene and ocimene. Our terpinolene guide covers that piney, floral terpene in more detail.

THC figures and reported effects

Leafly records THC of about 19% for Durban Poison, with CBG at about 1%, and its potency gauge rates the strain higher in THC than average. AllBud gives 24% THC, with CBD and CBN at 1% each, and counts it among the more powerful strains. Focused, energetic and uplifted lead the effects Leafly reviewers report, and Leafly’s effect gauge reads mostly energizing. AllBud users tag creative, euphoria, focus and happy, and AllBud describes a strong, happy head high suited to creativity and daytime activity.

Even the 19% at the bottom of this flower’s label comes close to double the 10% THC level that Health Canada uses in its lower-risk advice. That advice begins with 1 or 2 puffs, then a pause, since effects may not peak for up to 30 minutes.