2022 Highest THC Strains

Last Updated: January 12, 2022

High THC flower makes it easy to quickly experience the mind-altering effects of marijuana. Worldwide, people love the blissful, euphoric feelings that THC creates. The higher the potency of your flower, the more THC enters your bloodstream. Depending on the person consuming the marijuana and their tolerance level, this can lead to more intoxicating, faster-acting effects. High THC is also great for pain relief, inducing sleep, stimulating creativity, and dramatically elevating your mood.

THC is the main psychoactive cannabinoid in weed (that we know about so far) but it is the source behind the high that we experience. A strain’s THC percentage represents how much THC is present per gram, also known as potency.

What Strain has the Highest THC?

To be clear: when we say high THC, we mean that the bud in question has a THC percentage per gram of over 20%. Many can test out even higher!

Since cannabis strains are unique and contain various amounts of THC, many people want to know the strain of weed with the highest THC content. Lately, more potent high THC strains than what we have witnessed in the past appear in dispensaries. Through precise breeding and meticulous pollination, consumers now have more powerful THC options to choose from.

Curious about which strains currently lead the list? New strains, maybe some throw-backs? Here are some of the highest THC strains to grow in 2022:

ghost train strain, 2022 Highest THC Strains

Ghost Train Haze

Ghost Train Haze has won multiple awards for its high potency. In fact, this strain consecutively wins High Times Strongest Strains on Earth every year. Ghost Train Haze is a well-known Sativa dominant hybrid with levels testing up to 25-27% THC.

Ghost Train Haze is so potent that some say it produces a somewhat psychedelic experience. It sports a pine-like, sweet aroma with a whiff of spice, citrus, and lemon.

Do not be surprised if merely breaking apart a bud creates an intense scent that saturates the room. Despite the strong numbers, the smoke is very gentle, with a taste that reminds you of OG.

Riding this train will send you into a state of euphoria while lifting your energy. The hazy effects also make it mentally relaxing. It’s a great daytime smoke, but due to its potency, you might want to keep it light if you plan to do anything during the day.

Medical marijuana patients will also be happy to know Ghost Train Haze has significant therapeutic properties. It is great for reducing pain and provides relief from symptoms of PTSD and depression.

Future #1

Future #1 first coming out of 7 Points Oregon, is making some serious waves in the canna-consumer community. Why? This Gorilla Glue #4 x Starfighter F2 cross is forcing us redefine the upper limits of cannabis potency. Depending on the harvest, Future #1 can test at 30- 37% THC per gram. Before this, the accepted THC limit was considered 35%. The testing facility, MRX Labs, had to run the sample four times to verify the 37.28% sample in 2018.

This frosty hybrid isn’t just all THC, she’s got terps, too. Primarily citrusy and pine, leading to a tropical evergreen taste. And this all contributes an euphoric, uplifting stoned experience with some body tingles. Great for when you want to zone into a creative project, connect, or just giggle. Because of the high THC, it is best to gradually intake as some report that this strain takes them to another dimension.

Medically, this strain is useful for combating depression, allievating stress, and relaxing achy bodies.

Growers note the size and density of buds and trichomes. A Future #1 plant isn’t just highly potent, she brings down high yields, too. And accessible for beginners! Just make sure she has good soil and a lot of light.

Future #1 is a great development in the continually evolving relationship between humans and cannabis, a future that we want to be a part!

Bruce Banner

Bruce Banner is one of the highest THC percentage weed strain – its #3 version has up to 30% THC. Its name comes from the alter-ego of comic book superhero the Hulk, and once you try it, you’ll understand why. Besides being one of the highest THC content strain that’s easy to find, it also a nicely balanced hybrid – that isn’t too much of anything. In other words, it’s the friendly side of the Hulk.

When you’re called Bruce Banner, it is not hard to expect a potent high- but the name also describes the yield. It’s strong, but it’s also huge with yields to match. The flavor is nice as well.

It boasts a slightly citrus taste that is more earthy than sweet. The buds are thick, with an abundance of THC that hits quickly. Like the Hulk, Bruce Banner changes.

The body high hits fast, but it becomes an imaginative ecstasy after a while, a stark contrast to feeling so stoned in the beginning.

The strong body high is very relaxing, making it great for those needing pain relief. Bruce Banner is often a go-to for help with anxiety, ADHD, Bipolar disorders, and stress.

Users suffering from migraines and arthritis will find comfort from using this strain. Bruce Banner is one of the easiest to grow options on this list and produces the highest yield.

Critical Kush

Critical Kush is one of the strongest marijuana strains with the highest THC content. It is a powerful Indica strain that takes over your body, providing complete relaxation and significantly calming effects.

This strain is the child of Barney’s Farm, an Amsterdam-based grower that’s responsible for amazing strains such as Liberty Haze and LSD. Critical Kush is a mix of the infamous OG Kush and Critical Mass. It received consistently high reviews, with THC levels ranging from 16% – 29%. (note: this wide range is why good growing practices are so important!)

Critical Kush plants will bless you with thick buds, which is not surprising considering they are 100% Indica. Good quality Critical Kush flowers have an earthy, kushy scent with hints of citrus, which you will notice is more potent when ground up. When smoking it, the taste is similar to a spicy pine.

Newbies should take note – this strain produces intense smoke that can harsh sinuses and eyes. If you prefer discretion when you smoke, this strain is not the one. Save Critical Kush for when you are doing something, well, less critical.

Trainwreck

Trainwreck is a Sativa-dominant hybrid with a profoundly blissful mental high. This strain stands out from other hybrids because of its strong indica impact despite its sativa dominance. The result is a warm pain-alleviating effect complimented by a subtly spicy flavor.

Again, Trainwreck is 90% Sativa, but the effects will not feel like it. It looks like an incredibly bushy Sativa, though, and can easily be grown outdoors and indoors.

Depending on the cultivator, Trainwreck tests out at 18- 20% THC. While this may not be as high as others on this list, she has historically been considered a high THC strain and it’s important to acknowledge your roots.

Trainwreck also has high amounts of the terpene Terpinolene which is a serious tranquilizer. If you like the couchlock experience of an Indica and enjoy Sativas’ mentally stimulating effects, Trainwreck is the perfect mix. However, some people may get dizzy, feel anxious or experience paranoia from this potent strain.

Trainwreck is popular (and has been for a long time!) for medical purposes such as stress, chronic pain, ADHD, muscle tightness, and PTSD relief. Because Trainwreck is so potent, it may only take a few puffs to reach full-body euphoria, experience a cerebral high, and enjoy that good old stuck in the couch feeling.

How to Grow these Strains at Home

Buying high THC weed from your local dispensary is good; however, there is a much easier way to enjoy your favorite strains, whether it’s the highest THC strain you can get your hands on, or a low-THC, high CBD strain, or just your favorite strain from high school– and that is to grow it yourself.

Growing your own marijuana is also cheaper. And it is the only way to know what exactly is in your buds. No pesticides, not additives that you don’t know about. Plus you get to connect with your ancestors and develop a relationship with a very cool plant.

Why go to a dispensary and buy a few buds when you can get the whole plant? It is more affordable to get a complete grow kit and you have everything you need for a lot longer.

How do home growers ensure the highest THC content?

Let’s remember that the cannabinoids, like THC, are found primarily in the trichomes. Or, in other words, “The frostier the flower, the more potent the cannabis.”

Trichomes are the tiny crystals that you see coating the buds of a flowering cannabis plant. It is the grower’s job to set the plant up to produce as many trichomes as possible. This means sticky, resiny, super sparkly buds.

To get this at home, first, start with good genetics like we’ve covered above. Having a plant that produces high THC buds first comes down to genetics. It is the most important factor to consider when wanting to grow high THC buds. The genetics of a plant sets the upper limit of cannabinoids that your plant could potentially produce under ideal conditions. Let’s not forget that us humans have selectively bred cannabis for certain traits– “how stoned can this get me?” being one of the many reasons!

But, genetics only goes so far. To get that potent homegrown marijuana, you will need to enlist best growing practices to keep your good genes as healthy plants.

Cultivation factors that contribute to high THC:

Strain and geneticsHealthy plantsLightProper harvest timeCuring

Maintaining healthy marijuana plants does not need to be hard. Grow kits make it super easy! Once you have a grow kit for cannabis, you just need to provide a lot of light and keep your plant lightly watered. And avoid all the common growing mistakes: over/under watering, heat stress, root rot, irregular light, and nutrient excess/deficiencies.

If you choose not to get a grow kit, you will also need a well draining grow medium and nutrients. Nutrients for cannabis can be found in specialty blended super soils or you can find a liquid or powdered nutrient line that works for you, your budget and values.

Once you have the medium that you are going to grow your dank weed in, you need some sort of lighting. Cannabis loves light! The more light the better! If your light is inconsistent or weak, your plant will still grow, but she will turn out spindly and lack robust buds. Remember, light is how your plant is getting all the energy she needs to build those flowers and cover them in delicious resin.

Really, you can never give your plant too much light. Outdoor plants need 8+ hours of direct sunlight to reach peak potential (like when grown in the summer) and indoor plants need strong, bright, grow lights that are full spectrum and need 16 to 20 hours during their vegetative growth. (Autoflowers ideally get 20 hours of light their entire lives.)

We cover this more in depth in this related article: How Much Weed Does One Plant Produce?

Knowing when to harvest is key to getting the most potent buds possible from your homegrown marijuana plants. Each cannabis plant has a two to three week span in the late flowering stage where her buds have the highest percentage of THC. (A weed plant can and will live for a long time past her peak THC window.)

How do you know when your cannabis plant is in her peak THC window? The buds give clear clues as to when to harvest your homegrown weed:

Trichomes, the tiny sticky crystals, are cloudy/milky looking like white plastic in color and have rounded, mushroom-shaped heads. (Underdeveloped trichomes are clear and glass-like with flat heads.)
Stigmas, the hair-like pollen catchers darken up, changing to brown, red, or orange instead of white and curl inwards.

This is also when you may find your plant to be the most pungent or smelly. But the most reliable method of knowing when to harvest your weed is to check the trichomes. This is only really possible with some sort of magnifying lens. Stigma color is less reliable because an unpollinated cannabis plant (what we want) can continue to put off more stigmas way past her prime in a last-ditch attempt to get seeded.

Harvesting your weed to early not only sacrifices your potency and yield, the buds that you consume may leave you feeling anxious, racy, or give you a headache.

Harvesting your weed past her peak THC is still possible. The plant just continues to mature and her cannabinoids develop. With the continued time and exposure to air and light, THCa degrades into CBN (Cannabinol) which is less potent than THC but is know for promoting sedative effects. Making it great for those that want help sleeping but don’t want to get stoned.

Then once you harvest your weed, properly drying and curing is essential to get the most potent final product possible. Curing won’t necessarily increase the THC percentage of your product, but it will ensure that you get the best experience from your homegrown marijuana. Curing breaks down chlorophyll which reduces the chance for molds, eliminates harshness and allows the unique terpene profile to come through in both smell and taste.

Curing is done by jarring up your dried and trimmed buds, and burping (opening) the jars daily for one to three weeks. This process results in tastier, stonier weed! Yes, this may take a little more time but why waste all your hard work at the end?

High THC vs Terpenes

High THC isn’t the only factor contributing to your experience when consuming cannabis in whatever form you choose. Terpenes and other less studied cannabinoids also contribute to the experience. This goes beyond a sativa or an indica, it is the unique biochemical makeup of a specific strain, harvest run, or individual plant sometimes.

Stacking cannabinoids, like CBD, CBN, and CBG, can interact with THC and cause cascade effects. This means that your experience gets elevated and enhanced.

Terpenes are naturally occurring chemical compounds (technically hydrocarbons) that are aromatic meaning that we experience them as smells and tastes. These chemicals are found in both plants and animals– including cannabis. Terpenes are why different marijuana strains taste and smell differently. And they are a big (yet, still being discovered) factor contributing to the particular high that one strain may produce over another. We may find one day that we are more interested in the highest terpene production possible than the highest THC possible. But more than likely, these chemicals, terpenes and cannabinoids, created by the cannabis plant actually work together to make us feel good.

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