Strains & products

Strains like Strain of the Year 2023

Published on December 12, 2023 · Last updated December 15, 2023
original art celebrating Permanent Marker as the Leafly Strain of the Year 2023. text is on left of frame, then a large image of purple and image bud with a circle drawn around it and lines coming out of the circle connected to other buds, plus a red blue and yellow graffiti-like design on the right side of the image
Out of Permanent Marker? We've got you covered.

Have you heard the good news? Leafly’s 2023 Strain of the Year is Permanent Marker—a Seed Junky passion project that distills all the best qualities of its parent strains, (Biscotti x Sherb Bx) x Jealousy, in one plant experience. Permanent Market comes from a pedigree of cup winners and Leafly faves, so it’s no wonder growers keep in their gardens and dispensaries coast to coast keep it stocked on shelves. 

We never gatekeep, so if you can’t find Permanent Marker in the coming weeks at your local spot (we apologize in advance!), we rounded up a suitable roster of accessible and delectable alternatives.

A photo of Seed Junky Genetics bred and grown Purple Octane.

Purple Octane

(Biscotti x Sherb Bx1) x Jealousy F2

  • Relaxed • Euphoric •Sleepy
  • Grape •WoodyNutty
  • THC 25% •CBD 0%

Like the Future song goes, Purple Octane and Permanent Marker are real sisters. Seed Junky made a slight tweak by crossing (Biscotti x Sherb BX1) with a different Jealousy pheno, Jealousy F2, which makes her pretty in purple with a stronger grape and gas profile. Purple Octane is like when you find out your favorite celebrity has a non-famous twin—you can enjoy all the same euphoric effects and tantalizing terps without worrying about long dispensary lines or fake cuts. 

Seed Junky Genetics Jealousy (Courtesy Cookies)

Jealousy

Sherbert Bx1 x Gelato 41

  • Relaxed • Giggly • Talkative
  • Pepper • Plum • Earthy
  • THC 20% •CBD 0%

Like mother, like daughter, right? Permanent Marker owes half of its exceptional looks and pungent profile to 2022 Strain of the Year Jealousy, a Sherbert Bx1 x Gelato 41 concoction also bred by the Seed Junky team. Jealousy appeases the terp hunters and connoisseurs while entrancing newer consumers with its palate of gas, cream, and candy, plus pinches of pine, earth, and pepper. Muscle tension? Mental stress? Begone! And the best part—you can buy Jealousy on over 1,000 dispensary menus across the country.

Hawaiian Snowcone by Moon Valley Cannabis. Hybrid. (David Downs/Leafly)

Hawaiian Snowcone

(Zkittlez x Lemon Cherry Gelato) x Hawaiian Plushers

  • Happy
  • THC 21% •CBD 0%

If you prefer something a little less creamy and gassy, perhaps with a few more servings of fruit, Hawaiian Snowcone seals the deal. Tiki Madman and Big Al’s Exotics evoke a smokable paradise with their collaboration cross of (Zkittlez x Lemon Cherry Gelato) x Hawaiian Plushers. Hawaiian Snowcone have genetic  overlap with Permanent Marker, so both offer a mix of euphoria and physical relaxation. Think of it as RS-11, a SOTY runner-up, on steroids!

A photograph of a large green cannabis bud, growing on the branch in a grow room the bud is Candy Fumez (Courtesy of Bloom Seed Co)

Candy Fumez

Zkittlez x Sherbanger

  • Relaxed • Hungry •Happy
  • Dizzy •Dry Mouthiest
  • THC 22% •CBD 0%

Bloom Seed Co and their recent creations made the shortlist of breeders who could’ve created the latest Leafly Strain of the Year. Their Grape Cream Cake made waves this year, but we’ve also kept an eye on Candy Fumez, a Zkittlez x Sherbanger cross that nabbed ‘Best of the Rest’ at the LA Transbay Challenge V Finals earlier this year for its pungent “fumez” of sweet earthiness. It also dumps for hash for those who prefer to put it in their Puffco.  

Sunset Runtz

Runtz x Sherbet

  • Creative • Euphoric •Giggly
  • Peach • Citrus • Diesel
  • THC 23% •CBD 0%

All winners to the front! Runtz, our 2020 SOTY, is everywhere—in competition lineups, in hip hop songs, and on shelves. And now, as a parent of a new slew of strains. Sunset Runtz, Runtz x Sherb, captures that sweet, sour, and gassed up profile that manifests upon first puff if you can’t find Permanent Marker.

Magic Marker is RS11 x Permanent Marker. (David Downs/Leafly)

Magic Marker

Permanent Marker x RS11

  • Diesel • Sweet • Herbal
  • THC 21% •CBD 0%

You can never have enough markers, no matter how old you are. Magic Marker takes our 2023 SOTY winner and crosses it with runner-up RS11, for a colorful, bud redolent with spicy, sweet, gas, and even floral notes.

Adios MF. Hybrid indica. (David Downs/Leafly)

Adios MF

Purple Octane pheno, (Biscotti x Sherb Bx1) x Jealousy F2

  • Hungry • Euphoric •Relaxed
  • THC 26% •CBD 0%

It’s as if the Seed Junky team knew that their new line would be in high demand, so they planned ahead. Adios MF is a phenotype of Purple Octane, with the same (Biscotti x Sherb Bx) x Jealousy F2 lineage. But this version skews a little more skunky and mint-forward.

Gunnpowwder

Purple Octane pheno, (Biscotti x Sherb Bx1) x Jealousy F2

  • Creative • Euphoric •Focused
  • THC 26% •CBD 0%

As DJ Khaled says, “another one!” Gunnpowwder is another triplet born from Seed Junky’s (Biscotti x Sherb Bx) x Jealousy F2 cross. Gunnpowwder was selected by Berner to add to the Cookies brand Minntz, so you can find it alongside their extensive strain catalog. You can expect the same bag appeal with a pungent, turpentine twist.

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Amelia Williams
Amelia Williams
New York-based freelance cannabis journalist Amelia Williams is a graduate of San Francisco State University's journalism program, and a former budtender. Williams has contributed to the San Francisco Chronicle's GreenState, MG Magazine, Culture Magazine, and Cannabis Now, Kirkus Reviews, and The Bold Italic.
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