Catalogue entry · lab-tested · every claim cited
Pineapple Express is a hybrid that most sources list as Trainwreck × Hawaiian and call sativa-dominant; G13 Labs, which claims to have originated it in the mid-2000s, sells an indica-dominant Big Bud × Hawaiian Skunk version.1,2,3,4,5 Its name is shared with the 2008 film, and co-writer Seth Rogen says no strain of that name existed when the film was made.6,7,8 It tests at a median total THC of 19.80% across 461 state lab tests of Pineapple Express flower, with the middle half of results between 17.54% and 21.75%; CBD is negligible: 1 of 265 tests that reported CBD reached 1%.9
Pineapple Express is usually listed as a sativa-dominant Trainwreck × Hawaiian; G13 Labs sells a Big Bud × Hawaiian Skunk. Parents, seed versions, offspring.
Plate IIPineapple Express flower tests at 19.80% median THC (17.54%–21.75%) across 461 state lab results, with β-caryophyllene as the top terpene and almost no CBD.
Plate IIILeafly’s top effects for Pineapple Express are happy, giggly and energetic; AllBud adds focus and creativity. Downsides: dry mouth, feeling anxious, dry eyes.
Plate IVPineapple Express flowers in 7–9 weeks per Leafly; seed versions list 50–55 days to 8–10 weeks. Yields, heights and difficulty from seven listings, compared.
Plate VPineapple Express flower was listed by 139 stores near Los Angeles on Weedmaps on Oct 4, 2026. Store counts and eighth prices for 27 US markets.
Plate VIWhich came first, the strain or the 2008 film? G13 Labs’ claim, Seth Rogen’s account, the weather system behind the name, and its climb up the sales charts.
A hybrid most often described as Trainwreck × Hawaiian: Leafly, Barney’s Farm and Crop King list that cross, and G13 Labs’ own description of its Pineapple Express #2 calls the original “Trainwreck x Hawaii”.1,3,10,11 G13 Labs’ current Pineapple Express is Big Bud × Hawaiian Skunk, and the breeder Pua Mana Pakalolo sells a Trainwreck × Kona Gold version that it credits to an old-school breeder from Hawi, on Hawaii’s Big Island.5,12
Mostly sativa, in most accounts. Leafly calls it a sativa-dominant hybrid with energizing effects, and AllBud, Barney’s Farm and Crop King all list 60% sativa and 40% indica.1,2,3,10 The exception is G13 Labs, whose Big Bud × Hawaiian Skunk version is 70% indica.5
Accounts conflict. Seth Rogen, who co-wrote the 2008 film, said in a 2014 interview that “there was no Pineapple Express weed before the movie”, and wrote in 2018 that no strain had the name when the film was made.7,13,14 G13 Labs, according to Weedmaps, claims it originated the strain in the mid-2000s.4 Leafly says it rose to fame with the film and is a real strain sold in dispensaries across the country.1
Lower than most strains we track.9 The median total THC across 461 state lab tests was 19.80%, and 29 of the 42 other strains in our dataset with at least 100 tests have a higher median; only 4.3% of Pineapple Express tests reached 25% or more.9 In the years with at least 20 tests (2018–2022), the yearly median stayed between 18.22% and 20.21%.9 Leafly lists 20%, AllBud 25% and Weedmaps 12–27%.1,2,4
Pineapple and citrus, by most accounts. On Weedmaps, 51% of flavor reports say pineapple, 25% citrus and 24% tropical; Leafly describes bright citrus with pineapple and earthy pine, and AllBud lists citrus, pine, pineapple, sweet and tropical.1,2,4
A different strain. Leafly lists Purple Pineapple Express, also called Pineapple Purple Skunk, as an indica-dominant cross of Pineapple Express and Huckleberry Hound bred by Annunaki Genetics, with hungry, relaxed and sleepy as its top reported effects.15 It is the most common near-miss name in our lab data: 137 results labelled “Purple Pineapple Express” are excluded from Pineapple Express’s count.9
Full lab data: by year, by state, terpenes and the downloadable dataset →
Pineapple Express has been a fixture of Leafly’s yearly best-seller lists: #6 in 2022, #7 in 2023 and #5 in 2025, when it was also the top seller in Illinois.16,17,18 Leafly’s 2025 ranking, built from millions of dispensary orders, counts flower, concentrates, cartridges and pre-rolls, and the formats beyond flower matter here: in California, Cannabis Business Times reported $27.4 million in Pineapple Express vape-pen sales from January to November 2025, behind Blue Dream’s $44.4 million, and $8.5 million in pre-rolls, third place, while it was absent from the state’s 2024 flower top 10.18,19,20
The name carries part of the load. Leafly calls it “our favorite example of fiction influencing reality”, and in 2017 Leafly reported that Google’s search panel for the 2008 film was showing Leafly’s strain rating, 4.4 from nearly 1,700 reviews, beside the film’s IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes scores.18,21 Its Leafly page now shows 4,490 ratings, and Leafly’s list of the 100 best strains files it among the best for feeling energetic.1,22 It was not the top seller in any of the 23 adult-use states on The Marijuana Herald’s September 2026 list.23
| Market | Stores | Menu items | Median eighth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | 139 | 194 | $29.49 (n=35) |
| New York, NY | 76 | 113 | $35.00 (n=61) |
| Chicago, IL | 34 | 66 | $43.20 (n=24) |
| Detroit, MI | 27 | 31 | $15.00 (n=18) |
| Phoenix, AZ | 14 | 16 | $12.00 (n=3) |
| Baltimore, MD | 14 | 16 | $30.00 (n=9) |
Stores within 50 miles listing Pineapple Express flower on Weedmaps, Oct 4, 2026.24
In Germany, where it is a prescription medicine, weed.de lists 2 pharmacy products made from Pineapple Express; in-stock flower starts at €4.40 a gram.29
Pineapple Express
Trainwreck × Hawaiian or Big Bud × Hawaiian Skunk? The full genetics page →
The Pineapple Express universe
If Pineapple Express is your strain, you know that going back is part of going up, and you stop the train for anyone who waves. Meet the Noon Conductor.
