Cannatonic strain

The Cannatonic strain is one of the cultivars that started the modern CBD boom. Resin Seeds, the Spanish breeder behind it, says tests of its new plants around Spannabis 2008 revealed unusually high CBD, and the strain went on to parent ACDC. Is Cannatonic indica or sativa? It is a balanced hybrid, listed as 50/50 by Resin Seeds, AllBud and CannaConnection.

The important detail is that Cannatonic is not one chemotype. Resin Seeds says roughly half of its seeds produce plants near 1:1 CBD to THC, about a quarter are high-CBD and low-THC, and the rest lean toward THC. Leafly's lab-data medians are about 9% CBD and 4% THC, and AllBud lists 7–8% THC with up to 14% CBD. So Cannatonic flower is usually mildly intoxicating, and the exact experience depends on which phenotype you have. Aroma-wise, Leafly reviewers describe woody, earthy and pine notes, Leafly mentions a sweet citrus flavor, and AllBud adds sour lemon and herbs. Leafly's lab data shows myrcene leading, followed by pinene and beta-caryophyllene.

Leafly describes the high as relatively short-lived, mellow, uplifting and relaxing, and its user data leads with relaxed and focused; AllBud's reviewers call it calming. Consumers most often mention physical complaints — soreness, muscle tension, aches and cramps. Side effects are reported rarely in Leafly's data, with nothing scoring above average. CannaConnection notes that its 1:1 type, at around 4% of each cannabinoid, is the most sought after.

Compared with ACDC, Cannatonic usually carries more THC; compared with Harlequin, its ratio is less predictable from seed. Its lineage is also disputed: databases list MK Ultra × G13 Haze, while Resin Seeds' own page gives Reina Madre × NYCD. Growers get a medium-sized plant that finishes in nine to ten weeks, and Resin Seeds recommends keeping lights higher above the canopy than usual.

Resin Seeds of Spain introduced Cannatonic around 2008. The breeder says lab results from its new varieties at Spannabis that year showed strikingly high CBD, and it now calls Cannatonic the strain that started the CBD movement. The seed line produces several chemotypes, and high-CBD cuts selected from it include ACDC. Cannatonic placed third in the Sativa Cup at the 2008 High Times Cannabis Cup, and a Cannatonic entered by Elemental Seeds won the CBD award in 2013. Its parentage is listed differently by different sources.