What Does OG Mean in Weed? The OG Kush Origin Stories

There's no single agreed-upon meaning for OG in weed. The most popular theories say it stands for Original Gangster, Ocean Grown or Original Grower, and all of them trace back to the origin story of the OG Kush strain.

You've probably heard of, or smoked, OG Kush, but do you know what “OG” actually means? Like so much in the cannabis world, there always seem to be plenty of colorful stories about where strain names come from and how modern cannabis varieties got their start.

Here's the best-known version. In the 1990s, Matt “Bubba” Berger, a grower from Florida, created a strain he called Bubba. He also came across a strain from Seattle called Kryptonite, nicknamed “Krippy.” Apparently one of Bubba's buddies started calling Krippy “Kushberries,” which got shortened to “Kush.” Funny enough, this friend had no idea that cannabis grown in the Hindu Kush mountains was the source genetics that would lead to OG Kush.

As the legend goes, Bubba moved to Southern California, met a grower named Josh D, and together with a mutual friend, Chris, they moved into an apartment in Hollywood and started growing. Bubba went back to Florida for a bit, gathered his clones of Bubba, Kush and a third strain, KY, and brought them back to Hollywood. The three growers created an extraordinary new West Coast strain known as “OG Kush.”

But there are more theories. OG Kush is commonly described as a cross between Hindu Kush and Chemdawg. Folks from Northern California believe OG Kush comes from Hindu Kush seeds from Afghanistan that were smuggled into the US. Those seeds were grown in the famously cannabis-friendly climate of the Emerald Triangle, the region crossed by the off-road route known as the Emerald Triangle Grand Traverse, which strings together three trails: the Lost Coast, a remote, undeveloped stretch of the California coast; the Mendocino Backcountry Discovery Trail (BDT); and the Six Rivers BDT.

Southern Californians believe OG Kush is a hybrid of Chemdawg, Lemon Thai and a Pakistani Hindu Kush landrace, developed and grown by indoor growers in the San Fernando Valley. Another version says OG Kush is a cross between a Northern California strain and a Dutch Hindu Kush, bred in Florida.

The different meanings of “OG”

Original Gangster

Since the strain is an LA favorite, one theory says it stands for “Original Gangster,” a nod to the hip-hop scene that blew up in Southern California in the 1990s.

Original Gangsta

DNA Genetics, an Amsterdam-based cannabis seed company, takes credit for bringing OG Kush to market. According to DNA Genetics, OG stands for “Original Gangsta,” a term coined by the crew around the hip-hop group Cypress Hill. The story goes that back in the 1990s, they discovered OG Kush at a Grateful Dead show.

Ocean Grown

Another theory says OG means “Ocean Grown.” Kush Dawg, a grower living in Northern California, created the original San Fernando Valley strain. He was at a local bar when another customer offered him what he called “amazing weed.” Kush Dawg took him up on it, and as soon as he opened the bag, he could tell from the smell that it was his own strain. While they smoked, the stranger described it as “Mountain Grown,” while Kush Dawg called it “Ocean Grown,” since it was grown indoors on the California coast.

Original Grower

According to the Netflix docuseries Murder Mountain, which looks at cannabis growing in the mountains of Northern California going back to the 1970s, growers flew to Afghanistan to grab seeds and bring them back to the US. One of the growers claims “OG” stands for “Original Grower.”

Wherever it came from, OG Kush is one of the most sought-after indica-dominant strains on the market today. It's high in THC (around 23%) and loaded with terpenes, and it's known for its euphoric, sedating effects.

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