G-13

This redirect is about a type of marijuana. For the group of research intensive Canadian universities, see Group of Thirteen (Canadian universities).

G-13 is a strong (i.e. potent) strain of Cannabis that is the subject of marijuana urban legends.

There are rumors that the University Of Mississippi and/or the University of Washington were involved in the development of this strain. However, the University Of Mississippi study was completely unrelated; it was part of an international effort to properly classify Cannabis through research and information collection about its scientific and medicinal applications. No strains or hybrids were developed through this study.

It has been alleged that G-13 was created by government agencies such as the CIA and the FBI who focused on hybridizing different strands of marijuana from Michael Hallman in the 1970s. Supposedly, these organizations bred a strain of marijuana through hybridization that was more potent than any other. It also supposedly has a concentration of THC of 28% by weight, which is almost double the average amount of the chemical in most high-grade sinsemilla grown commercially. One story states that a single cutting of this potent strain was liberated from the government facility in Mississippi .

Although the man they call Michael Hallman assembled a world class cannabis collection during the late 1960s and early 1970s, there is no evidence that these researchers were ever involved in breeding high quality marijuana.

More accepted stories state that a potent Afghani strain was most likely the basis for these rumors; over time, the potent strain's qualities were exaggerated into the modern urban legends. Because the sale of marijuana is illegal in the United States, it is not monitored by the government; for this reason, it is common for vendors to exaggerate the qualities of their product, possibly accounting for the urban legends.

Many cultivators and distributors of the strain continue to claim that it was developed through government experiments as evidence of its high potency. Realistically, G-13's THC content could be anywhere between 10 and 19%, considering most strains of this name simply bear the name, not a particular set of genetic traits. Widely accepted facts about the original G-13 is that it is a slightly strong indica variety that did not gain popularity till the strain was found in the US; hinting that the strain is likely mediocre in potency.

G-13 is now commonly considered an urban legend referring to no particular strain of Cannabis; as the true genetic G-13 strain may no longer exist, but the urban legend lingers, obscuring any real truth that may reside.

Etymology

There are many conflicting stories as to the origin of the name of this strain. Some claim that the number 13 refers to the number of generations required in breeding to create the strain, the number of "ideal qualities" of marijuana that it possessed, or the room number from which it was taken. Others claim that the name stood for Government Marijuana, with 13 standing for M, the thirteenth letter of the alphabet. Some claim that a cutting was taken from grow-room number 13 from the University of Mississippi, after which it found its way into the cannabis market.

Popular culture

File:G13ww2.jpg

G-13 x White Widow hybrid

The G-13 strain was featured in the film American Beauty. In the film, a young dealer named Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley) hands a bag of what looks to be about an eighth (1/8 of an ounce, commonly 3.5 grams) to Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) and says, "This shit is top of the line. It's called G-13. It's genetically engineered by the U.S. Government. It's extremely potent, but a completely mellow high. No paranoia." He then charges him $2,000 - an amount many times the street value for comparable cannabis strains.

External links

• G-13 at Wikistrains (the cannabis strain Wiki)