The Official Cannabis Independent strain guides
Northern Lights Shop

Lab data

Northern Lights potency: THC and CBD from 406 lab tests, terpenes from only 15

In 406 state lab tests, Northern Lights flower had a median total THC of 20.03%, with the middle half of results between 17.28% and 22.05%.1 CBD is negligible, and terpene data is thin: β-caryophyllene leads, from only 15 tests with individual terpene values.1

20.03%median total THC
17.28%–22.05%middle half
13.99%–24.96%middle 80%
9.1%of tests at 25% THC or more
406tests · 24 labs

THC distribution

Total THC across 406 tests

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 2–3% THC: 1 tests 3–4% THC: 4 tests 4–5% THC: 0 tests 5–6% THC: 1 tests 6–7% THC: 0 tests 7–8% THC: 1 tests 8–9% THC: 4 tests 9–10% THC: 6 tests 10–11% THC: 3 tests 11–12% THC: 5 tests 12–13% THC: 5 tests 13–14% THC: 11 tests 14–15% THC: 15 tests 15–16% THC: 17 tests 16–17% THC: 22 tests 17–18% THC: 34 tests 18–19% THC: 42 tests 19–20% THC: 30 tests 20–21% THC: 51 tests 21–22% THC: 50 tests 22–23% THC: 34 tests 23–24% THC: 11 tests 24–25% THC: 22 tests 25–26% THC: 12 tests 26–27% THC: 14 tests 27–28% THC: 5 tests 28–29% THC: 4 tests 29–30% THC: 1 tests 30–31% THC: 0 tests 31–32% THC: 1 tests 32–33% THC: 0 tests 33–34% THC: 0 tests 34–35% THC: 0 tests 35–36% THC: 0 tests 4%8%12%16%20%24%28%32%36% median 20.03% Total THC, % by weight
One-point THC bands; shaded: middle half of results. 406 flower tests, 2014-12-19 to 2024-07-03.1

THC by year

Median total THC by year of testing

14% 18% 22% 26% 2018: 17.84% (94 tests) 17.8 2018 n=94 2019: 19.94% (53 tests) 19.9 2019 n=53 2020: 16.26% (22 tests) 16.3 2020 n=22 2021: 21.60% (121 tests) 21.6 2021 n=121 2022: 19.03% (56 tests) 19.0 2022 n=56 2023: 26.04% (38 tests) 26.0 2023 n=38
Median total THC per year of testing; years with fewer than 20 tests are left out (2014: 2, 2015: 2, 2016: 3, 2017: 3, 2024: 12).1

THC by state

StateTestsMedian THC
Maryland30720.67%
Michigan3918.44%
Washington2817.50%
Massachusetts1214.56%
Connecticut1119.69%

States with at least 10 tests. Labs, testing rules and sampling differ by state, so compare states with care.1

Terpene profile

Northern Lights terpenes, median % by weight

β-Caryophyllene β-Caryophyllene: 0.49% (n=15) 0.49% n=15 Limonene Limonene: 0.31% (n=15) 0.31% n=15 β-Myrcene β-Myrcene: 0.24% (n=15) 0.24% n=15 α-Humulene α-Humulene: 0.16% (n=15) 0.16% n=15 Linalool Linalool: 0.10% (n=15) 0.10% n=15 β-Pinene β-Pinene: 0.07% (n=15) 0.07% n=15 α-Pinene α-Pinene: 0.05% (n=15) 0.05% n=15
Median share of each terpene by weight, from 15 tests that report individual terpenes. Median total terpenes: 1.33% (306 tests). Small sample: treat this profile as indicative.1

How Northern Lights compares

Lab-tested THC across 16 well-known strains

16% 20% 24% Wedding Cake Wedding Cake: median 23.01%, middle half 20.24%–25.70%, 3,085 tests 23.0% n=3,085 Blueberry Blueberry: median 21.91%, middle half 18.40%–25.23%, 411 tests 21.9% n=411 Sour Diesel Sour Diesel: median 21.68%, middle half 19.00%–25.30%, 1,071 tests 21.7% n=1,071 Gelato Gelato: median 21.49%, middle half 18.90%–24.63%, 1,845 tests 21.5% n=1,845 OG Kush OG Kush: median 20.87%, middle half 18.06%–23.36%, 379 tests 20.9% n=379 Super Lemon Haze Super Lemon Haze: median 20.84%, middle half 18.41%–23.48%, 1,543 tests 20.8% n=1,543 Northern Lights Northern Lights: median 20.03%, middle half 17.28%–22.05%, 406 tests 20.0% n=406 Strawberry Cough Strawberry Cough: median 20.00%, middle half 15.88%–23.00%, 231 tests 20.0% n=231 Blue Dream Blue Dream: median 19.96%, middle half 17.62%–22.37%, 2,118 tests 20.0% n=2,118 Pineapple Express Pineapple Express: median 19.80%, middle half 17.54%–21.75%, 461 tests 19.8% n=461 Girl Scout Cookies Girl Scout Cookies: median 19.72%, middle half 17.80%–21.92%, 567 tests 19.7% n=567 Jack Herer Jack Herer: median 19.59%, middle half 17.13%–22.00%, 910 tests 19.6% n=910 Green Crack Green Crack: median 19.52%, middle half 16.79%–21.73%, 1,236 tests 19.5% n=1,236 Durban Poison Durban Poison: median 19.45%, middle half 17.33%–21.99%, 528 tests 19.4% n=528 Trainwreck Trainwreck: median 18.65%, middle half 16.67%–21.42%, 248 tests 18.6% n=248 Granddaddy Purple Granddaddy Purple: median 17.87%, middle half 15.00%–21.55%, 512 tests 17.9% n=512 Median total THC (dot) and middle half of tests (bar)
Every strain processed with the same matching rules from the same dataset.1

How published THC figures compare

Strain databases publish a single figure or a range: Leafly lists 18%, Weedmaps 16–19%, AllBud 16–21% and SeedFinder around 15–18%.2,3,4,5 Seed sellers claim similar numbers: up to 18% for Royal Queen Seeds' Northern Light (up to 14% for its autoflower), 18% for ILGM and 18–20% for Crop King.6,7,8,9 In state lab results the median was 20.03% and 90% of tests came in below 24.96%, so most published figures sit at or below the typical lab result rather than above it.1

Download the data

The 406 matched tests behind this page, one row per test: state, test date, lab, product name, product type, total THC, total CBD and terpenes.

Download CSV Read the methodology

License: CC BY 4.0. Credit: “Source: Cannlytics, cannabis_results (CC BY 4.0), analysis by Official Cannabis.” The data were filtered and aggregated from the original.

Limits of this data

  • Coverage is uneven: Maryland supplied 307 of the 406 tests, followed by Michigan (39), Washington (28) and Massachusetts (12). Oregon and Rhode Island results carry no product names and could not be matched.1
  • Some labs report higher THC than others, so we publish medians and middle ranges rather than maxima. One Maryland lab accounts for 43.3% of the tests that name a lab (24 labs in total).1
  • Terpene medians come from only 15 tests with individual terpene values, from Connecticut (11), Massachusetts (3) and California (1). Maryland labs report only a total-terpene figure (median 1.33% across all 306 tests with a total), and the tests from Michigan, Washington, Hawaii and Colorado include none.1
  • We matched names strictly: crosses and near-miss names (for example "Stardawg x Northern Lights") are excluded and counted, and duplicate certificates are removed.1

Sources

  1. Cannlytics (CC BY 4.0), cannabis_results: public state lab results (filtered and aggregated by Official Cannabis). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  2. Leafly, Northern Lights strain information. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  3. Weedmaps, Northern Lights strain page. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  4. AllBud, Northern Lights marijuana strain information and reviews. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  5. SeedFinder, Northern Lights (Sensi Seeds). Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  6. Royal Queen Seeds, Northern Light feminized seeds. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  7. Royal Queen Seeds, Northern Light Auto seeds. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  8. ILGM, Northern Lights feminized seeds. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
  9. Crop King Seeds, Northern Lights feminized marijuana seeds. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.