West Coast weed lovers, prepare to ride high into fall with some award-winning strains both vintage and new.

In stores and fields this August awaits fresh cuts of Panama Red, and Headband, plus potent new Tractor Fuel, and an intriguing Dank Strainger.

All maximum-THC, these varieties run the spectrum from pure sativa to indica. They’re ready to take on tough summer workdays, elevate a sesh, or ace the wake-and-bakes and barbecues. 

We found hyper-organic options, solar-powered value buys, and contest-ready zaza.

From where ? We hit the road again—aiming for stores, festivals, and farms. We packed bowls, combed notes, added in a dab of Leafly data, and boom! Here’s Leafly Buzz.

Data grinder

GSC

Rank: 17th place in the Western US

This foundational dessert strain stays super-relevant at 17th place among Leafly’s audience in the Western US. GSC usurped OG Kush in the 2010s to become the dominant family of popular weed. Now there’s a whole Cookie Family dynasty of strains taken for stress, anxiety, and depression. Best after work.

Strawberry Cough

Rank: 31st place

For fans of Blue Dream, the classic, strawberry-tinged sativa hybrid Strawberry Cough holds onto 31st place out west. People get uplifted, energetic, and happy with this daytime strain.

Headband

Rank: 90th place

OG Kush x Sour Diesel keeps the sativa hybrid Headband in the top 100 strains of the Pacific Coast. It’s ranked 90 this month and offers sativa-hybrid energy with a very loud, chem, fuel bite.

Panama Red

Rank: 308th place

Woah, this elemental, old-school sativa holds a scoots up to 308th place this month on Leafly, despite being over 50 years old. A Panama Red just took a Silver for most Ocimene at the California State Fair Cannabis Awards, which rocks. Panama Red smells like your parents’ barbecues in 1978 with notes of tea, plus earthiness and tropical hints.

New in the Leafly strain database

Tractor Fuel

Tractor Fuel combines Gas Pedal OG with the Original Z for even more gassy-candy goodness. You get a chem and fuel front with a sweet, tropical finish. We’ve spotted it in flower, live rosin, and live badder from Mendoja Farms in Covelo, CA., the Delta Boyz in the Sacramento, CA area, and Jetty Extracts, Oakland.

Dank Strainger

Take OG Kush a different way with Dank Strainger—a gross of OG Kush x Grape Gas. It’s grapey, gassy, loud, dark and stunning. A strong indica.

Nimbus Snacks

Durban Mints x GSC forms the dessert strain Nimbus Snacks. Nimbus Snacks took second place for most ocimene in a sungrown flower at the California State Fair Cannabis Awards in July. Propagated by Conception Nurseries.

Windu

The RS-11 craze rages on with Windu, a cross of Skywalker OG x RS-11. It’s like a more dark, dense, dank, fuel take on RS-11’s candy-gas, with a purple hue like Mace Windu’s lightsaber. Grown by the truckload at Ember Valley, CA.

Picks of the dispensaries

New on shelves

Black Bubblegum Horchata from Khemia

Look out for the new Spritzer x Horchata cross Black Bubblegum Horchata hitting Cali stores. This gorgeous, loud, indica hybrid mixes all the best contemporary dessert strains. Breeder Cannarado made the Spritzer from Runtz x (Grape Pie x MAC). The hot strain Horchata (Jet Fuel Gelato x Mochi Gelato) comes from Wyeast / Compound Genetics. 

Burning up the charts

Point Break from Bosky Genetics

Surfr Seeds’ strain Point Break, grown by Bosky Genetics keeps us stoked in August. The Central Valley, CA indoor grower crushes it, despite the 100-degree temps outside. Point Break comes from two absolute bangers: Trop Cookies and Trophy Wife. Trop Cookies powers the Super Boof wave. Trophy Wife bred by Surfr Seeds’ crosses Triangle Mints x Triangle Mints F2. Bosky just took home a San Diego Transbay Challenge win for his Cherry Pie x Z x Biscotti.

Best-sellers

Ballin out

Z from Alien Labs

One of California’s top-selling brands Alien Labs keeps their cut of “Z” straight dialed-in. It’s springy green bud with a riotous tropical taffy candy smell and taste and hybrid indica effects. 

When you touch down in Cali and you need a solid, widely available, top-shelf flavor—Alien Labs’ Z delivers.

Ballin’ on a budget

Gas Face from Volume

Sacramento, CA indoor growing masters Amplified Farms launched a budget, large-scale brand dubbed Volume. The bags are super-affordable and come in killer strains like Larry Bird, and Gas Face.

High Note

Puffco New Peak

More and more people every day enter the world of cannabis extracts, aka hash, dabs, rosin, live resin, etc. This August, there’s no better place to start at a better price than Puffco’s New Peak for just over $200. It’s an upscale, portable, electronic hash bubbler. 

The New Peak enables you to sip the most cool, flavorful, potent hash rips in the galaxy. Drop a dab in the chamber, double-click, and then sip when the device vibrates. It’s that simple and elegant. 

There’s a ton under the hood for the headie boys. (A 3D Chamber. Joystick cap. Smaller size. Faster-charging. And Puffco powers a sub-culture with its own Puffcon Sept. 28 in LA.) 

But when newbies ask, “What’s hash? How do I use it?” I just have them hit the New Peak.

So there’s a dozen flowers for your sesh. Enjoy the end of summer. We’ll see you in person at Connected Cannabis Co.’s Trop Z Drop Party—Thurs. Aug. 29 in West Hollywood from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Got buzz for Leafly? Email strains@leafly.com