Description

Strain Highlights
This pure sativa originates from the South African port city of Durban. It has gained notoriety worldwide for its sweet smell and energetic, uplifting effects. Durban Poison is the perfect strain to help you stay productive through a busy day, when exploring the outdoors, or to lend a spark of creativity. Growers and concentrate enthusiasts will both enjoy the over-sized resin glands which make this strain a quality choice for concentrate extraction. The buds are round and chunky, and leave a thick coating of trichomes on almost all areas of the plant.

Strain Information
Sativa THC: 24%, CBD: 1%, CBN: 1%
Expect a major blow to the head from this super-potent strain. A pure sativa, Durban Poison is the beloved inbred descendant of a sativa strain grown in South Africa. Ed Rosenthal, an American cannabis activist, discovered the original strain and brought in back to the United States in the 1970s. It has long been a favorite of stoners and medical marijuana patients here. Durban Poison has THC levels that can reach 24%, making it one of the world’s more powerful strains. This strain hits with a strong, happy head high that’s great for creativity and daytime errands. Paranoia is a possible side effect, along with dry mouth. Durban Poison is an effective treatment for depression and anxiety, as well as chronic pain, and it can also be helpful with nausea. This strain is ideal for making concentrates, as the bud is covered in over-sized trichomes. The dominant smell and taste of Durban Poison is earthy and sweet, with a subtle pine aroma. The buds are round and chunky, with a dense coating of trichomes. This strain is bet for active periods, chores, and other daylight activities.

Description
A landrace Sativa variety from South Africa, Durban Poison is known for its spicy/sweet anise-like smell and taste and it’s clear-headed cerebral effect. Though it’s a (normally) pure Sativa, most versions finish fairly quickly and don’t stretch like crazy. Many claim the real South African Durban Poison is very racy and finishes as long as 120 days, but that’s not the case for the versions available in seed form (Afropips and African Seeds seems to be the longest to finish).
Lineage
Landrace South African variety, at times crossed with Skunk for stability
Story
Sam the Skunkman, speaking on the version he is responsible for:
Story
South African Durban Poison was first introduced by me. I got maybe 100 seeds from South Africa and grew them in California in the late 70’s. Most were hermaphrodite, small calyxs, as well as not so great buds. But I saw the potential for an early Sativa so I worked with it for a few years to clean it up. I finally eliminated most of all the bad traits, and introduced it in the early 80’s. When I took it to Amsterdam it was an immediate hit, one of the few Sativa strains that can be grown outdoors in Holland most years if the weather is OK at harvest time. Every seed merchant in Holland bought some and made copies as well as Hybrids; all of the Durban Poison genetics being passed around were originally from my work until Afro-Seeds popped up a few years ago. My Durban Poison is Sativa, pure IBL Landrace created from seed lines, maintained with clones, Male and Female. There is no change in the genepool now as any seeds are produced from selected clones 20 years old. The plants had a strong licorice/anise smell and taste, as well as being quite early in maturation. The strength was med-strong, vigor strong, yield quite good, very consistant. To be honest I considered it a daytime smoke.
Aroma
Durban is known for possessing a very distinct blend of sweet and spicy smells — fennel/anise, orange, lemon, and a creamy sweetness are the most common descriptors.
Flavor
Very sweet and intoxicatingly complex, Durban Poison presents the Sativa-lover with a palate of flavors ranging from sweet lemon candy to spicy anise, making it a favorite of many dispensary patients as well as connoisseurs.
Qualities
Durban is a fabulous daytime strain, with a clear, functional effects package that stimulates creativity, sociability, and overall mood. It’s very energetic and is seen as one of the more pure-feeling Sativa varieties widely available on the market. The true South African Durbans are known for being extremely racy and borderline psychedelic, but the toned-down Dutch versions that circulate the United States and Europe lose some of that edge, perhaps for the benefit of the average consumer. The primary medicinal benefits are energy, appetite stimulation, migraine relief, and anti-nausea properties.
Grow Medium
Durban was known and loved in Holland because it was one of the few Sativas that could finish outdoors — the short-flowering versions are suitable for Northern climates. Grows very tall outdoors, but most varieties are totally manageable indoors, especially with training such as SCROG.

Overview
With a menacing name that hints at its powerful psychoactivity, Durban Poison is a pure South African sativa landrace. It is a bold and sticky variety that’s well adapted to a variety of growing conditions. Durban Poison boasts a THC content of between 15% and 25%.

Cannabis has been cultivated on the African continent since at least the 14th century; by the era of Dutch colonization, it had spread south and the Khoikhoi, San, and Bantu groups indigenous to South Africa had an established cultivation and cultural acceptance of the drug, which they called dagga.

In the late 1970s, American breeder Ed Rosenthal selectively bred several plants from a bag of South African seeds that he brought back to the U.S. Rosenthal then passed some prime specimens on to fellow breeder Mel Frank, who fine-tuned the genetics to optimize resin content and flowering time. Frank’s efforts resulted in “A” and “B” lines of the original seed stock; the B line was given to Amsterdam breeder Sam the Skunkman, who further reduced the strain’s flowering time.

Buds of Durban Poison are medium to large in size. Although they have a dense, compact structure typical of indica varieties, their long and tapered shape is more characteristic of sativas. The forest green leaves are offset by bright orange pistils, meant to catch pollen from male fertilizing plants. A coating of milky-white trichomes gives the cured flowers a light sheen and an incredibly sticky texture. Durban Poison has a classically dank smell punctuated by hints of sweet licorice. The flowers are pungent and skunky when broken open or burnt and give off a thick, lung-expanding smoke. The licorice aroma is evident on the exhale, along with the taste of sweet, almost cloying pine sap.

Durban Poison has a clear, focused high that hits users right away. The amplification of sights and sounds may be initially disorienting but in the right setting can slide into an active, buzzy head high. Almost entirely cerebral with no hints of debilitating heaviness or couchlock, this strain can be especially helpful for creative endeavors — it’s a great way to contemplate the nuances of an intense movie or a piece of music. Durban Poison can also be a strong social lubricant, helping smokers to feel chatty and more at ease. Any medical benefits are more mental than physical — this strain can confer a sense of mindfulness to help those perpetually distracted by depression, anxiety, and PTSD. It can also help those with attention deficit disorders maintain a deep, intense focus. Because it’s so potent and cerebral, Durban Poison can also have some undesirable side effects. It may put users into overdrive, making them feel on edge or jittery. It can also lead to a kind of rapid-association “mindrace,” making smokers feel paranoid or out of control. Definitely more suited to daytime than sleepy nighttime use, Durban Poison is a quintessential wake and bake strain. Its high typically lasts between 2 and 3 hours.

Because of its hardy and time-tested genetics, Durban Poison is a good grow for newcomers to cultivation. It can reach 12 feet in height, and as such, can be successfully grown outdoors in warm, semi-humid climates with consistent daily temperatures between 72 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Indoor growers will want to tame Durban Poison’s height by bending and pruning the spindly branches early on in the vegetative stage. Thanks to its time-tested cultivation and internationally-engineered genetics, this strain flowers remarkably quickly for a sativa, reaching maturity in 8 to 9 weeks when grown indoors and by late September when grown outdoors. Plants also reward growers with a higher than average yield.

Named after South Africa’s second largest city, Durban Poison offers a chance to enjoy one of Africa’s contributions to the panoply of potent global landrace strains. It has a sweet, hashy smell and a high resin content that makes it particularly valuable in the production of THC concentrates like shatter and wax. Often likened to espresso, Durban Poison gives users a mobile and active high that’s as enjoyable at a party as it is at alone, accomplishing creative or mundane tasks.