Island Sweet Skunk

In 2011, Island Sweet Skunk took 3rd place in the sativa category at the High Times Medical Cannabis Cup in Denver, entered by Grassroots Wellness. A strain overview lists a 6th place in the same category for the Karma Cup 2015. The plant comes from Vancouver Island, where, according to Federation Seed Company, it was grown for many years as a stabilized cross of sativa and skunk before the company released it as seed.

Genetics and Origin:

The starting point is Sweet Skunk from Spice of Life Seeds. Its breeder Steve bred it from Sweet Pink Grapefruit; the father was initially thought to be Big Skunk, and Steve later suspected a male NL x Haze as the pollen donor. Federation Seed Company lists Sweet Skunk and White Widow as the parents of Island Sweet Skunk, but adds the qualifier “probably” to this attribution. Other strain descriptions give Sweet Pink Grapefruit and Skunk #1 as the parent pair, and another gives only Skunk #1 and an unknown sativa. The lineage is therefore not confirmed.

Other names are Island Skunk, Sweet Island Skunk and ISS. Federation Seed Company crossed the strain with Romulan to make Remus, and it also appears as a parent of Golden Goat.

Versions from Different Breeders:

Federation Seed Company offered Island Sweet Skunk only as regular seeds and states 8 to 9 weeks of flowering and a height of up to 9 feet (around 2.7 m) outdoors. Next Generation Seed Company offers regular and feminized seeds, states about 63 days of flowering and names indoor, outdoor and greenhouse as growing locations. Outdoors, this version is said to ripen in mid to late October south of the 40th parallel; the breeder mainly emphasizes its strong smell.

Sweet Island Skunk comes from B.C. Bud Depot, a line that traces back to Island Sweet Skunk. The breeder puts the sativa share at 70 %, states 8 weeks of flowering indoors and harvest in late September outdoors, and lists only regular seeds. This version is listed as the winner of the Treating Yourself Medical Marijuana Cup 2012.

Cultivation:

After the onset of flowering, the plant stretches considerably according to Federation Seed Company, by up to 24 inches (around 61 cm) indoors and up to 60 inches (around 152 cm) outdoors. The flowers stay loose at first, gain mass from week 5 and become markedly denser in the last 2 weeks. According to the breeder, large plants need to be tied up in week 7 or 8 because the main shoots become heavy. Other strain descriptions give a flowering time of 7 to 9 weeks.

A documented indoor grow with seeds from Next Generation Seed Company needed around 90 days of flowering, clearly longer than the breeder states. The plant reached about 4 feet (around 1.2 m), formed long, strong side branches and yielded about 6 ounces (around 170 g), weighed after one week in the jar. In the report it is considered suitable for beginners and undemanding in feeding, but sensitive to over- and underfeeding; no mold appeared, it was well suited to SCROG, and supports were needed during flowering. The flowers there turned out hard and compact, whereas a consumer report describes airy, easily crumbling flowers.

Aroma and Flavor:

Strain descriptions put skunk, tropical fruit and grapefruit in the foreground, with citrus, pine, earth and herbs behind them. User reports mention sweet fruit with a skunky finish, lime, grapefruit peel or a spicy note; one consumer found the taste hay-like. Strain descriptions name myrcene and terpinolene as the dominant terpenes, and one also lists pinene.

Effects:

The consensus in user reports is an activating, uplifted effect with a clear head; creativity, concentration, euphoria and talkativeness are also mentioned. Some consumers found the strain rather relaxing to sleepy, others found it weak or described an abrupt fading. One report rates indoor material clearly better than outdoor material. The breeder texts from Federation Seed Company and B.C. Bud Depot differ and describe a heavy, indica-like effect.

Side effects mentioned are dry mouth, dry eyes and nervousness, occasionally paranoia and an urge to cough, in one case severe headaches.

THC and CBD Content:

Strain descriptions give 18 to 20 % THC. Measured values appear in a 2020 recall notice from the Canadian health authority Health Canada, triggered by THC figures on the label that were too low: for 2 batches of this strain it states actual total THC contents of 15.6 and 18.0 % with 0 mg/g CBD. Such values vary by batch, cultivation and phenotype.