Charlotte's Web strain

Charlotte's Web is both a cannabis cultivar and a brand. The Stanley Brothers of Colorado bred it for high CBD and very low THC by crossing a marijuana strain with industrial hemp, and the company of the same name uses those proprietary genetics in hemp-derived CBD products, according to Leafly and Wikipedia. Is Charlotte's Web indica or sativa? Sources disagree — Leafly lists it as a sativa, AllBud as a 50/50 hybrid and CannaConnection as indica-dominant — and for a non-intoxicating hemp plant the label means little.

What defines it is chemistry. Wikipedia reports that the company committed in 2014 to keeping THC below 0.3%, the US legal line for hemp, and CannaConnection lists 0.3% THC for the plant. Leafly's lab data shows a CBD median of about 12% with THC near 1%, and AllBud cites up to 20% CBD. Leafly and Wikipedia both stress that its products do not produce the high associated with marijuana; its early nickname, "Hippie's Disappointment", made the same point. The aroma is green and resinous: Leafly reviewers mention pine, woody and floral notes with sage, and AllBud adds sour citrus and mint. Leafly's lab data shows myrcene well in front with pinene second.

In Leafly's user data the leading effects are focused and relaxed, followed by uplifted, and AllBud describes a mellow, calming experience. Consumers most often mention physical discomfort, muscle tension, aches and low mood. Side effects are rarely reported; mild dizziness is the most common complaint in Leafly's data. It is worth separating the cultivar from the story around it: Charlotte Figi's use of a CBD-rich extract drew national attention, but reviews cited by Wikipedia from 2014 found the evidence for cannabinoids in epilepsy insufficient at that time.

Compared with ACDC and Cannatonic, which come from drug-type cannabis, Charlotte's Web is legally a hemp plant in the US when grown to spec. Compared with Harlequin, it carries far less THC. Leafly notes that its genetics are used mainly to make extracts for the company's products.

The Stanley brothers — six brothers from Colorado — developed Charlotte's Web by crossing a marijuana strain with industrial hemp; CannaConnection dates the work to 2011. An early version was nicknamed "Hippie's Disappointment" because it could not get anyone high. The cultivar was renamed after Charlotte Figi, a young girl with Dravet syndrome whose family's use of a CBD-rich extract was featured in CNN's 2013 documentary "Weed". In September 2014 the Stanleys said they would keep THC consistently below 0.3%, and the brand now sells hemp-derived CBD products.