Last verified: April 2026
Definition
OG is the two-letter prefix attached to an entire lineage of cannabis strains descended from the original OG Kush. In 2026, hundreds of named strains carry the OG prefix or suffix — OG Kush, Tahoe OG, Ghost OG, SFV OG, Alpha OG, Larry OG — and the initialism has become a near-synonym for “classic California indica-leaning flower with a specific lemon-pine-fuel profile.”
Etymology & Origin
The meaning of OG is famously contested even by the people who created it. Two theories dominate.
“Ocean Grown” — the strain came to the West Coast in the 1990s, and the story goes that a grower from Florida brought cuts to California, where, upon smoking it, a friend said “this isn’t mountain grown, this is ocean grown.” The initials stuck. This is the explanation most often cited by Josh D., widely credited as the Southern California grower who stabilized OG Kush in the early 1990s in Orange County.
“Original Gangster” — the hip-hop initialism that was already in wide use in Los Angeles gang and rap culture by the late 1980s (Ice-T released the album O.G. Original Gangster in 1991). Under this theory the cannabis meaning is simply the hip-hop meaning borrowed: OG Kush was “the OG” because it was the original, the real one.
Both explanations circulate. Both are plausible. Both probably reinforced each other. No single source has settled the question.
Usage
- “Got any OG on the shelf?”
- “Tahoe OG is the best of the OG family.”
- “That cut isn’t real OG, it’s just branded that way.”
Related Terms
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