1970s Cannabis Strains — Strains from the 70s & Early Hybrids
The first intentional crosses — Haze, Skunk #1, Northern Lights. This decade created the genetic palette that breeders still use today.
1970s Cannabis Strains: What Defined This Era
The 1970s saw the first intentional cross-breeding of landrace genetics in the West. In California, the Haze brothers combined Colombian, Mexican, Thai, and South Indian sativas into the legendary Haze — a strain with a soaring, psychedelic high that remains unmatched. Skunk #1 (Afghan × Mexican × Colombian) became the first stabilized three-way hybrid, proving that cross-breeding could produce predictable, uniform offspring. Northern Lights emerged from Afghani genetics and set the standard for indoor indica growing with its compact size and resin-drenched buds. These three strains — Haze, Skunk #1, and Northern Lights — became the genetic pillars that most subsequent hybrids would be built upon.
This page profiles 9 1970s strains. Explore every 1970s cannabis strain from this era below, or jump straight to the most influential cultivars in the featured section.
Notable 1970s Strains
A selection of the most influential 1970s cannabis genetics — the strains that defined the period and shaped everything that followed.
Haze
Original Haze, Haze BrothersThe most influential sativa hybrid ever created. Haze is the genetic foundation of virtually all modern sativa-leaning hybrids. Its soaring psychedelic effects and extreme flowering time defined the sativa ideal for generations of breeders.
Skunk #1
Skunk, Skunk #1The single most important hybrid in cannabis history. Skunk #1 is the genetic backbone of modern cannabis breeding — a stabilized three-way cross that combined the best traits from three continents and became the foundation of the global seed industry.
Northern Lights
NL, Northern Lights #5The most celebrated indica hybrid of all time. Northern Lights set the standard for what an indoor indica could be: compact, fast-flowering, high-yielding, and powerfully relaxing. Its genetics are the primary indica foundation of modern hybrid breeding.
Blueberry
Blueberry Sativa, Blueberry IndicaA landmark strain bred by DJ Short that introduced berry terpenes to cannabis. Blueberry is one of the most influential and recognizable strains ever created, prized for its distinct blueberry aroma, colorful buds, and balanced effects.
Acapulco Gold
Acapulco, AGThe most famous Mexican landrace strain, immortalized in songs and folklore. Acapulco Gold was considered the pinnacle of imported Mexican cannabis in the 1960s and 70s, prized for its golden-tinged buds and premium effects.
Panama Red
Panamanian Red, PRA legendary Central American sativa known for its red-tinged buds and powerfully psychedelic effects. Alongside Acapulco Gold and Colombian Gold, it formed the trinity of premium Latin American imports of the 1960s and 70s.
Colombian Gold
Colombian, Colombian RedThe most commercially significant Colombian sativa of the 1960s-70s, known for its golden-amber buds and balanced, uplifting high. Colombian Gold was the bedrock of the US import market for over a decade.
Maui Wowie
Maui, Maui WauiA legendary Hawaiian sativa known for its tropical fruit flavors and bright, energetic effects. Maui Wowie became a cultural icon of the 1970s surf-and-cannabis lifestyle.
Durban Poison
Durban, Durban Poison SativaA pure sativa landrace from the port city of Durban, South Africa. Unlike most sativas, Durban Poison has a manageable flowering time and exceptional resin production, making it a staple of sativa breeding.
Oaxacan
Oaxaca, Oaxacan GoldA celebrated Mexican landrace from the southern state of Oaxaca. Oaxacan is known for its distinct reddish-tinged buds, spicy-sweet aroma, and a balanced, euphoric high that made it prized among Mexican imports.
The Complete 1970s Cannabis Strains Archive
Every 1970s strain in the database (9 total), sorted below. Click any card for the full genetic breakdown, lineage, terpenes, and Amsterdam availability.
Alaskan Thunder Fuck
ATF, Alaskan ThunderfuckThe legendary Alaskan sativa — the Matanuska Valley sativa hybrid that put Alaska on the cannabis map with soaring, three-way landrace power.
Blueberry
Blueberry Sativa, Blueberry IndicaA landmark strain bred by DJ Short that introduced berry terpenes to cannabis. Blueberry is one of the most influential and recognizable strains ever created, prized for its distinct blueberry aroma, colorful buds, and balanced effects.
Durban Poison
Durban, Durban Poison SativaA pure sativa landrace from the port city of Durban, South Africa. Unlike most sativas, Durban Poison has a manageable flowering time and exceptional resin production, making it a staple of sativa breeding.
Haze
Original Haze, Haze BrothersThe most influential sativa hybrid ever created. Haze is the genetic foundation of virtually all modern sativa-leaning hybrids. Its soaring psychedelic effects and extreme flowering time defined the sativa ideal for generations of breeders.
Northern Lights
NL, Northern Lights #5The most celebrated indica hybrid of all time. Northern Lights set the standard for what an indoor indica could be: compact, fast-flowering, high-yielding, and powerfully relaxing. Its genetics are the primary indica foundation of modern hybrid breeding.
Purple Haze
Purple Haze, Purple Haze HazeThe strain that defines an era. Purple Thai x Haze created one of the most culturally iconic cannabis strains in history, immortalized by Jimi Hendrix's 1967 song. A sativa-dominant hybrid with vivid purple buds and soaring, psychedelic cerebral effects.
Purple Thai
Purple Thai, Purple Thai (Thailand)A Thai-derived sativa legend and a direct parent of Blueberry — purple, exotic, and foundational to DJ Short's most famous work.
Skunk #1
Skunk, Skunk #1The single most important hybrid in cannabis history. Skunk #1 is the genetic backbone of modern cannabis breeding — a stabilized three-way cross that combined the best traits from three continents and became the foundation of the global seed industry.
Thai Stick
Original Thai Stick, Thai Sticks100% Pure Thai Sativa Landrace. The legendary 1970s Southeast Asian counter-culture icon, tied to bamboo sticks with silk thread and famous for soaring psychedelic cerebral velocity and lemongrass incense.
1970s Cannabis Strains FAQ
What were the best 70s weed strains?
The defining 1970s strains were the first intentional hybrids: Skunk #1 (Afghan x Mexican x Colombian, 1978), Original Haze (Colombian x Mexican x Thai x South Indian), and Northern Lights (Afghani lineage). Alongside legendary landraces like Acapulco Gold, Panama Red, and Colombian Gold, these created the genetic palette modern breeding still uses.
What was the first hybrid strain of weed?
Skunk #1 (1978) by Sacred Seeds is widely considered the first stabilized three-way hybrid (Afghani x Mexican x Colombian), proving cross-breeding could produce predictable, uniform offspring. The Haze Brothers' Original Haze and the Afghani-derived Northern Lights followed shortly after.