Gorilla Glue and Beach Crasher: two lineages, seven producers, a common leading terpene

How do these two strains really differ?

In terms of lineage and list of producers. Gorilla Glue was created by crossing three strains, Beach Crasher from two, and the lineage chart does not connect this pair with any common ancestor. Seven producers supply them to Polish pharmacies, and none of them appear on both sides of the comparison. However, they share the same leading terpene.

The Leafly entry for Original Glue, the strain previously known as Gorilla Glue #4, lists chem's sister, sour dubb, and chocolate diesel as parents, and names Lone Watty and Joesy Whales from GG Strains as breeders. The three parental names are rare in this collection: out of sixty established lineages, fifty-three describe a cross of two strains, five a cross of three, and two a cross of four.

The name itself has a separate history and explains the confusion in the records. The glue manufacturer with this name sued the breeder in 2017, and the settlement required the breeder to abandon the name and monkey graphics, which is why in breeding materials the strain is now referred to as GG4 or Original Glue. The Polish registry retained the old name, and the lineage chart records it in two entries at once, once with a number and once without.

Beach Crasher has a shorter lineage directly from the breeder: the information card from Jungle Boys lists the cross of the wedding crasher strain with the tk bx1 line, where the bx1 abbreviation indicates the first backcross with the parent strain. None of the five names on the parent side of this pair is available on its own in Polish pharmacies, so the lineage difference cannot be verified at the counter, only in the breeder's description.

What connects them?

The leading terpene, seven names in the ingredient list, and the state of the data. For both strains, two Polish sources differ in composition; both are described once as hybrid and once as hybrid-indica, and the THC content in both cases is gathered from the declarations of several separate registry entries, not from one.

Caryophyllene leads in the profile of thirty out of eighty-five cultivars in this cluster, so the community of the leading terpene is not a rare coincidence here, but the most common arrangement in the entire collection. Besides Beach Crasher, the same name is at the forefront of the profile for twenty-eight other cultivars available in Polish pharmacies, so it does not distinguish this pair in any way.

The terpene lists overlap on seven names: bisabolol, humulene, caryophyllene, limonene, linalool, myrcene, and pinene are present in the profiles of both strains. Beach Crasher has one more name in the list, nerolidol, and that is the only difference at the level of the ingredient list.

The state of knowledge about both profiles is also common. Neither of the two sources confirms what the other provides, so we are comparing two conflicting descriptions here, not two established compositions. The lineage chart adds nothing to this list: the parent collections of both strains have no common part, and neither appears in the lineage of the other.

Why does the same leading terpene not mean the same effects?

Because the leading terpene is just one name taken from the entire list, not a composition. It only indicates that it scored the highest in one comparison. The rest of the profile, the order of the remaining names, and the very method of calculating shares diverge between the entries of this pair enough that no conclusion about consistent effects can be drawn from it.

The shares provided by Polish databases have no denominator. Nine registry entries for this pair described in the database budcare.pl give share sums from 64 to 100, while the entries for Gorilla Glue range from 64 to 98. The variation does not arise from differences between the strains, but from the method of calculation itself, which is why there is not a single number next to the ingredient name in this text.

In one of the entries, S-LAB even has two fields of the same entry diverging: the share table lists an ingredient that is not in the terpene list of the same entry. This is not a flaw of a single record, but a reflection of how much weight a number taken from such a description carries.

For the comparison of the two strains, one conclusion arises. The agreement on the name at the forefront of the profile is an agreement at the label level, not at the composition level. Two entries of the same strain, introduced by two producers, can have different lists, so a common leading terpene does not justify the statement that Gorilla Glue and Beach Crasher do the same thing.

Where does the range of THC declarations for each of these strains come from?

From several separate registry entries, not from one declaration. Each producer declares their own nominal value, and the allowable deviation only operates around it. The range given for the strain thus includes the lower end of the weakest entry and the upper end of the strongest, and there is no packaging covering this entire range available in any pharmacy.

For Gorilla Glue, the THC content falls within the range of 18.0-26.4%, composed of four different values declared by four producers. This range is unique in the collection: among sixty-nine cultivars for which it could be established, it does not repeat even once, and its spread is the largest in the entire comparison, nearly twice as wide as the median of the others.

Beach Crasher stands on the opposite side of the same measure. The THC content range given for it is 16.2-24.2% and is the most common range in the collection: it shares it with fourteen other cultivars, arises from two nominal values, and is four-tenths of a point narrower than that of Gorilla Glue.

The conclusion from this is more cautious than the number on the label suggests. The range describes the producers' declarations, not the content in a specific package, and says nothing about how the strain performs. The first section of this comparison does not place lineage and producer before the percentage without reason: if the only difference in the pair were the declared strength, this pair would have no reason to exist.

Who supplies each of these strains to Polish pharmacies?

Seven producers, none of whom supply both. Gorilla Glue is supplied to pharmacies by four entities, Beach Crasher by three, and both lists are mutually exclusive. The number of registry entries is the same, four for each strain, so the difference lies in who introduces them, not in their number.

Behind this list lies a difference in scale. Four entities supplying Gorilla Glue together offer eleven cultivars from this cluster, while three entities supplying Beach Crasher have forty. These two sets also have no common part: not a single cultivar in the entire cluster is introduced simultaneously by a manufacturer from the first and the second list.

Availability changes faster than the strain description. Among the nine entries of this pair described in the database budcare.pl, some are marked as unavailable, and one, on the Gorilla Glue side, is marked as withdrawn. What is currently on the pharmacy shelf is verified in the comparison of currently available strains, not in the cultivar description.

Separate pages for both strains outline these versions in order. The profile Gorilla Glue collects four entries from four manufacturers, the profile Beach Crasher has four entries from three.

How long does it take for each strain to start working?

This is determined by the route of administration, not the choice between these two strains. Neither has its own pharmacokinetic study, so it is only fair to provide the ranges described for inhaled and oral intake of dried flower in general. The following paragraph is common for the entire cluster.

The route of administration determines the course more than the variety itself. After vaporization, the substance passes from the lungs to the blood almost immediately, so the first sensations appear after a few minutes, the intensity increases for another ten to thirty minutes, and the whole effect lasts for two to four hours. After ingestion, the raw material first passes through the intestine and liver, so the first sensations are awaited from half an hour to two hours, and the episode can last six, sometimes eight hours. Hence the most common mistake with oral administration: anyone who thinks nothing is happening after thirty minutes and takes another dose will receive both doses at once. The above ranges describe the route of administration, not this variety; pharmacokinetic studies for a single cultivar have not been published.

For the comparison of the two strains, this has one consequence. The difference in sensation after Gorilla Glue and Beach Crasher, if someone describes it, cannot be derived from the course over time, as this course is the same for both. The method of administration is determined by the attending physician, not the strain description or the comparison of two names.

What is known, and what is not known about the effects of both strains?

Nothing that would exclusively concern one of them. The evidence is the same for both sides, as both are led by the same name in the profile, and both studies concern the same caryophyllene administered to animals, not dried flower or cultivar. The rest of the descriptions circulating online are patient reports or manufacturer material.

The first of the two studies: Gertsch J, Leonti M, Raduner S, Racz I, Chen JZ, Xie XQ, Altmann KH, Karsak M, Zimmer A, 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), PMID:18574142. Study model: mouse (in vivo) and test tube (receptor binding, human cells). (E)-caryophyllene selectively bound to the CB2 receptor (Ki = 155 nM) and inhibited carrageenan-induced paw swelling in wild-type mice, but not in CB2 receptor-deficient mice (Cnr2-/-), indicating a CB2-dependent mechanism; the study did not include any anxiety tests.

The second: Klauke AL, Racz I, Pradier B, Markert A, Zimmer AM, Gertsch J, Zimmer A, 2014, European Neuropsychopharmacology, PMID:24210682. Study model: rodent (mouse). Oral caryophyllene reduced the late inflammatory phase of pain in the formalin test in a CB2 receptor-dependent manner, with no effect on the early phase; in a neuropathic pain model, it alleviated thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia without developing tolerance with chronic administration.

The boundary of both results is described by one sentence, which sounds the same for both Gorilla Glue and Beach Crasher, as the evidence base is common for them. Neither of the two studies tested caryophyllene on humans or in inhaled form from dried flower; both works concern oral or systemic administration in mice in pain and inflammation models, not sleep or mood.

Outside of studies, what is provided by databases describing Polish registration positions: both strains are attributed with relaxing effects, and some entries of Gorilla Glue also with balanced effects. These are labels from commercial descriptions, not measurement results, and there is no study involving patients behind them. Separating these two orders is more important in comparisons than with a single strain, as the comparison tempts one to transfer conclusions from one side to the other.

What side effects have been reported for each of these two strains?

None that could be attributed to either of them individually. Reports in Poland go to the medicinal product with a batch number, not to the strain name, so there is no separate number for either Gorilla Glue or Beach Crasher. The following description concerns dried flower as a group of raw materials.

Reports of adverse effects are collected for medicinal products with a batch number, not for the strain name, so the following pertains to hemp dried flower as a group of raw materials. The most frequently reported symptoms are dry mouth, red eyes, and increased heart rate. Dizziness upon rapid standing, daytime drowsiness, and temporary worsening of short-term memory are less frequently described, as well as anxiety that increases with dosage. A separate issue is medications taken concurrently, especially sedatives and those affecting coagulation: their assessment requires knowledge of the entire list of preparations, not just the description of the plant. We do not provide the frequency of these symptoms numerically, as public compilations for hemp dried flower in Poland do not separate them by individual products.

The difference in the number of reports would not be evidence of a difference in safety, even if someone were to track such a number for both names. Beach Crasher is introduced by three manufacturers with large portfolios, while Gorilla Glue is introduced by four with smaller ones, so patient exposure is different on both sides and unknown in terms of size.

Frequently asked questions about this pair of strains

Are Gorilla Glue and Beach Crasher related?

No. The pedigree chart maintained for this cluster does not indicate any common ancestor for both strains, and neither stands in the pedigree of the other. Gorilla Glue is, however, a parent of three other cultivars available in Polish pharmacies, while Beach Crasher is not a parent of any.

Does having a common leading terpene mean that both strains act the same?

No. The leading terpene is just one name from the list, not the entire composition, and it leads in the profile of thirty out of eighty-five cultivars in this cluster. Aside from that, the lists of both strains are separated by one name, and individual registry entries of the same strain are separated by even more.

Why do we present THC content as a range rather than a single number?

Because the range is gathered here from declarations of several separate registry entries, each of which has its own nominal value and allowable deviation. For Gorilla Glue, there are four such declarations, and for Beach Crasher, two. A single number would suggest a measurement of content in a specific package, which is not present in this data.

Which of the two terpene profiles is better documented?

None. For both strains, two Polish sources differ in composition: for Gorilla Glue, two names appear in only one of them, while for Beach Crasher, three. This means we are comparing two disputed descriptions, not two established profiles.

Does either of these strains have its own clinical study?

No. Both studies referenced in this comparison concern caryophyllene administered to animals, not dried flower from a specific cultivar, and not patients. No study involving humans has been published for either Gorilla Glue or Beach Crasher.

Is the dried flower sold in stores without a prescription the same product?

No. The store dried flower category includes hemp dried flower sold without a prescription, with THC content below the legal threshold, meaning it is on a different shelf than both strains described above, which are pharmaceutical raw materials dispensed by a doctor's prescription.

Hemp dried flower is a pharmaceutical raw material dispensed by a doctor's prescription in the Rpw category. The material is for informational purposes only and does not replace the advice of a doctor or pharmacist. Editorial text: ubocha.