MK Ultra

T.H. Seeds bred MK Ultra, the strain this flower is named for, by crossing OG Kush with G13, according to Leafly, which also records the names MK Ultra OG and MKU. Our MK Ultra strain guide places the seed company in Amsterdam.

From Project MKUltra to the 2003 Cannabis Cup

Leafly says the name comes from Project MKUltra, the CIA’s mind-manipulation program, and records two High Times Cannabis Cup results in the indica category: first place in 2003 and second in 2004. AllBud gives the same parents and calls G-13 the indica half of the pairing. AllBud rates MK Ultra an indica dominant hybrid, 70% indica to 30% sativa, where Leafly files it as an indica. Leafly’s genetics section lists Cannatonic and Ultra Sour as strains bred from it.

Olive-green buds with a chemical edge

One Leafly reviewer describes olive-green buds with orange and white hairs and a citrus, earthy, slightly diesel smell, and Leafly calls the flowers sticky, dense and pungent. AllBud describes leafy-looking green buds with brown and orange hues and an odour it calls strong and strange, with aroma tags of chemical, earthy, pungent and sweet. Leafly tags the flavour earthy, pungent and woody, while AllBud tags it pine, sweet and woody and writes of skunk blended with earthy notes. Myrcene, which Leafly describes as herbal, leads its terpene data, ahead of caryophyllene and limonene.

Steven De Guzman’s tip in our MK Ultra guide is to grind the sticky buds rather than pull them apart by hand, since they break up more evenly that way, and to look past the blunt, earthy, faintly chemical jar smell: reviewers find the smoke itself cleaner, with pine and wood coming through.

Fast-acting, by reviewers’ accounts

Leafly describes fast-acting euphoric effects, and relaxed, tingly and euphoric are the feelings its reviewers name most. AllBud writes of strong cerebral effects with a hypnotic, fast-acting feel, and its users tag euphoria, happy and relaxing. The strain holds 4.5 from 811 ratings on Leafly and 4.8 from 34 votes on AllBud.

Leafly puts the strain’s THC around 20% with CBD at 0%, and its potency scale ranks MK Ultra above average for THC; AllBud lists 18% THC and 1% CBD. For a first try, Health Canada points to a puff or two of something at 10% THC or under, roughly half those strain figures. As for the car, Health Canada’s lower-risk guidelines set the gap between smoking and driving at 6 hours or longer.