Jack Herer (S-LAB and Tilray): sativa with myrcene and lineage revealed by the breeder

What is Jack Herer and where does this strain come from?

Jack Herer is a sativa strain, created by crossing three lines: haze, northern lights #5, and shiva skunk. The lineage is provided by the breeder, Sensi Seeds, so the strain falls into group 60 out of 85 cultivars in this listing, for which the origin can be indicated without guessing based on the commercial name.

These three parents do not weigh the same. Haze is not a single strain, but a broad family of styles, under which lines from various breeders are hidden. Northern Lights #5 and Shiva Skunk are names of specific cultivars, and only they allow searching for kinship in the lineage graph. This difference determines how many strains can be considered siblings of Jack Herer, and we will return to it at the end of the text.

In Polish pharmacies, there are still two entries with the same name component: Red No 2 (Jack Haze) and Ultra Jack, both from Canopy Growth, the latter branded as Spectrum Therapeutics. Neither of these two cases says anything about kinship with the strain described here. The commercial names of the dried flower are created in the marketing department, not in the genetic registry, so adding parents based solely on the sound of the name creates connections that no one has confirmed.

Both entries in the pharmacy carry the sativa type annotation described in the source database and they do not differ from each other. This is a rare comfort in this cluster, as for many strains, the genetic description depends on which service is opened.

Which producers supply Jack Herer to Polish pharmacies?

Two: S-LAB and Tilray. Both entries are dried Cannabis flos issued by a doctor's prescription in category Rpw, both declare the same content of active substance and the same set of terpenes, differing primarily in the aroma description in the catalog from which the data for this text comes.

The declared THC content ranges from 16.2% to 19.8%, as a tolerance of ten percent in both directions is added to the nominal value. One number from the description is therefore a shortcut: two batches of the same dried flower can fall at opposite ends of the range and both will remain compliant with the manufacturer's declaration.

Neither of the two versions was available at the time of data collection, and this is a state of short validity. The pharmacy imports dried flower in batches, each batch requires release by the manufacturer, so the strain can disappear from the price list for several months and return without any change in the raw material itself. We maintain an up-to-date list of what can be ordered in in the list of available medical marijuana strains. Osobno opisujemy, co ma w portfolio S-LAB i czym handluje Tilray.

Available without a prescription dried hemp with low THC content is a separate category of goods and does not fall under the issuance procedure described here. We are talking about two different things, even though in both cases it concerns the dried flower of hemp.

How does Jack Herer smell and taste?

The catalog descriptions of both versions agree on the minty and peppery notes, while the entry from Tilray additionally receives the descriptors spicy and fruity. These are descriptors from the commercial description, not results from sensory testing, so they rather indicate what can be expected upon opening the package, rather than anything measured.

In the profile of this strain, the source lists four terpenes: caryophyllene, myrcene, nerolidol, and pinene. We do not provide percentage shares for them, and this is not an excessive caution. The values from the table sum up to a number clearly less than one hundred, so it is unclear what total they are referring to, and comparing such shares between strains would yield comparisons without a common basis.

The terpene composition only roughly explains these impressions. Mircen kojarzy with an earthy and slightly musky note, kariofilen z pieprzem, and pine resin with pinene. However, the nose receives a mixture of several dozen volatile components, including those that no popular strain database measures. The fourth position on the list, nerolidol, we break down in a separate article.

It is worth comparing both pharmaceutical versions. The source attributes them the same set of terpenes and the same share values, yet describes their aroma in different words: one has spicy and fruity notes, while the other does not. Since the analytical data is identical, the difference lies in the commercial description, not in the raw material, and this is a good measure of how much the catalog description of the scent weighs.

How long does it take for Jack Herer to take effect and how long does the effect last?

There is no measurement made for this specific strain. The course is determined by the route through which the raw material enters the body, not by the name on the package, so the following ranges describe two methods of administration: inhalation through a vaporizer and oral, when the dried flower has been previously processed into a form to be swallowed.

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 this item, it has a quite practical dimension, as both pharmaceutical versions are unprocessed flower clusters, thus material usually intended for vaporization. The same bag used in a different way gives a completely different distribution over time, and this does not result from the properties of Jack Herer, but from where the raw material begins absorption.

What is known, and what is not known about the effects of this strain?

Nothing is known about the strain itself that comes from clinical research. Available studies concern a single component, myrcene, and were conducted on mice. What is read in pharmaceutical descriptions about stimulating effects is a report and sales material, not a result of measurement in humans.

There are three studies attributed to myrcene in this cluster's database. Rao and colleagues (Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 1990, PMID:1983154) described weaker pain responses in mice after doses of 10-40 mg/kg, with the effect being blocked by naloxone and yohimbine. Do Vale and colleagues (Phytomedicine 2002, PMID:12587690) noted reduced locomotor activity and longer sleep after pentobarbital following intraperitoneal administration, and behavior in the elevated plus maze was interpreted as a weak anxiogenic effect. Wagner and colleagues (NeuroSci 2024, PMID:39728677) administered myrcene in short puffs and obtained an anxiolytic effect in females, in males only after one puff.

In humans, myrcene alone has not been shown to alleviate insomnia at doses typical for inhalation of dried flower. The direction of the effect in rodents depends on the route of administration and sex: intraperitoneal injection in 2002 described a slightly anxiogenic effect, while inhalation in 2024 showed an anxiolytic effect in females. These two results do not negate each other; they simply show that the conclusion depends on conditions that no popular strain database provides.

A separate issue is what the description of the composition stands on. The terpene profile of this strain is provided by one source, budcare.pl, and there is nothing to compare it with. For most cultivars described by two Polish databases, the sets of terpenes differ, sometimes significantly; here, discrepancies are not visible at all, but this is due to the lack of a second description, not the agreement of two independent measurements.

What side effects have been reported for this strain?

None that could be specifically attributed to it. Public compilations do not go down to the level of cultivar names, and patient reports mix the effects of the dose with the effects of the time of day and route of administration, so from the description of one pharmaceutical item, it is impossible to derive its own safety profile.

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.

With this strain, there is one more layer. The same two words on the label denote two separate medicinal products, one produced by S-LAB, the other by Tilray, each with its own batches and documentation. If reports from both companies were counted under a common trade name, it would create a number that cannot be related to any of these products individually.

How to vaporize Jack Herer?

There are no settings specific to the strain, and the boiling temperatures of the components from its profile vary widely: pinene boils at around 156 degrees, myrcene at 167, caryophyllene only above 250, and nerolidol even higher, around 275 degrees measured at atmospheric pressure.

These numbers describe pure substances in a laboratory flask, not resin on the flower. The vaporizer setting also is not the temperature of the dried flower in the chamber, as the material heats unevenly and always with a delay compared to the heater. Additionally, popular terpene temperature tables can contradict each other by several dozen degrees, which has its explanation in the measurement method.

The practical consequence for the profile driven by myrcene is that at low settings, the most volatile components evaporate from the dried flower first, while caryophyllene and nerolidol remain in the material almost until the end of the session. What evaporates at which moment, we break down into parts in a separate article. The method of administration and portion size is determined by the attending physician, as the dried flower remains a prescription raw material.

The discrepancy between the tables has a specific source. For caryophyllene, one of the registers notes a boiling point of 130 degrees, but at a reduced pressure of 14 mmHg, while another lists over 250 degrees at normal pressure. Both numbers are correct and refer to the same substance; transcribed into the table without annotations about the measurement conditions, they start to look like a contradiction.

Which strains are related to Jack Herer?

One of those that made it to Polish pharmacies: Northern Berry from S-LAB. The common ancestor of both is northern lights #5, the second parent is Jack Herer, and one of the two parents of Northern Berry, so the relationship is based on the named cultivar rather than the similarity of the names.

The other two parents do not lead to anything more in this comparison. Haze is a family of style and, by definition, does not generate siblings, as under this name there are lines of different origins. Shiva Skunk does not appear in the pedigree of any other cultivar available today in Polish pharmacies, at least in the sources from which the pedigree graph of this cluster was constructed.

Siblings do not imply similarity. Northern Berry leads a different terpene, caryophyllene instead of myrcene, has a higher declared range of active substance content, and its genetics are described differently by two sources: once as a hybrid, once as a hybrid with an indica dominance. Jack Herer describes one source and consistently remains a sativa. We break down the profile of that strain in a separate article, along with what both positions have in common besides one ancestor and one producer.

Another difference concerns not the plants, but the descriptions. For Northern Berry, the databases list ten terpenes, for Jack Herer four, and such a disproportion primarily indicates how thoroughly someone described a given entry. A shorter list does not mean a poorer composition, only a narrower range of what someone decided to include.

Frequently asked questions about the Jack Herer strain

Is Jack Herer available in Polish pharmacies?

The strain has been registered in Poland in two pharmacy versions, from S-LAB and from Tilray, but the availability of both fluctuates from week to week, and at the last check, neither was in circulation. We maintain the current status in a comparison of available strains.

What is the pedigree of Jack Herer?

The pedigree is provided by the breeder, Sensi Seeds: haze, northern lights #5, and shiva skunk. This is one of those strains where the origin does not need to be guessed from the name.

What terpene leads in the profile of this strain?

Myrcene. Besides it, the source lists caryophyllene, nerolidol, and pinene. We do not provide percentage shares because the source does not disclose what total they refer to.

What is the THC content in this strain?

The declaration of both pharmacy versions, after accounting for the manufacturer's tolerance, gives a range of 16.2-19.8%. A single number from the commercial description is a shortcut, as two batches of the same dried flower can fall at opposite ends of this range.

Does Jack Herer have an energizing effect?

Yes, this strain is described as such in pharmacy catalogs and patient reports. No clinical study has been conducted to verify this for this cultivar, so it is a commercial description rather than a measurement result.

Which strains are siblings of this strain?

In Polish pharmacies, one: Northern Berry. Both strains have northern lights #5 among their parents. The other two parents of Jack Herer do not lead to any other cultivar from this comparison.

At what temperature should this strain be vaporized?

There are no specific settings for the strain. The boiling temperatures of the terpenes in its profile range from about 156 to over 270 degrees, and the number on the vaporizer display is not the temperature of the dried flower in the chamber.

Informational text, without the character of therapeutic advice. Dried flower is a pharmaceutical raw material dispensed by prescription in the Rpw category. Editorial: ubocha.