Chemdawg NYC snapshot: on 9 of 32 licensed dispensary menus on Oct 17, 2026, $21 to $45 per eighth, 21% to 31% THC on labels

Chemdawg Strain: History, THC and Where to Buy It in NYC

Chemdawg is a hybrid that grew out of a handful of seeds a Grateful Dead fan known as Chemdog picked up on tour in 1991. Its exact parents have never been confirmed, but it is widely treated as a parent of New York’s Sour Diesel and is often linked to OG Kush. It smells like diesel and chemicals more than fruit. On Oct 17, 2026 it was on 9 of the 32 licensed NYC dispensary flower menus we read, at $21 to $45 per eighth with 21% to 31% THC on the labels.

Chemdawg at a glance

Type Hybrid, per Leafly and Weedmaps
Also spelled Chemdog, Chem Dog, Chem Dawg
Origin Seeds from Grateful Dead tour, 1991; sprouted by a grower known as Chemdog
Lineage Unknown. Weedmaps says its ancestry has never been confirmed
Related cuts Chem’s Sister, Chem Dog B and Chem D, from the same batch of seeds, per Weedmaps
Family A parent of Sour Diesel and often linked to OG Kush, per Weedmaps
THC About 18% on Leafly; 19% to 24.8% on Weedmaps; 21% to 31% on NYC menu labels
Terpenes Caryophyllene, then myrcene and limonene, per Leafly
Aroma and flavor Chemical, diesel and pungent, with earthy and woody notes
Effects people report Euphoric, relaxed, tingly
On NYC menus 9 of 32 on Oct 17, 2026
NYC menu price $21 to $45 per eighth; most listings were 14g or 28g

NYC figures come from our read of 32 licensed dispensary flower menus on Oct 17, 2026; two of them (FlynnStoned Chelsea and Unlimited Cannabis) could only be partly read. See how we built the dataset. Page published Oct 17, 2026.

Where Chemdawg comes from

The usual story starts in 1991 on the Grateful Dead’s tour. According to Weedmaps, a Deadhead known as Chemdog ended up with a bag that held 13 seeds and sprouted four of them. One became the original Chemdog, two became Chem’s Sister and Chem Dog B, and the fourth was a male that was thrown out. A seed from the same batch was germinated a decade later, in 2001, and became Chem D.

Where the bag came from is less settled. Leafly says it was thought to be Northern California bag seed that arrived “via a Colorado Grateful Dead concert.” A 2021 profile in Leaf Magazine names the grower as Greg “Chemdog” Krzanowski, places the story at a Dead show in Indiana in 1991, and reports that a clone of the original 1991 mother is still grown in Massachusetts as Chem 91. The accounts agree on the year and the band, not on the venue.

The New York connection runs through its children. Weedmaps calls Chemdawg a foundational parent of Sour Diesel, the strain most tied to New York, and says it is believed to sit behind OG Kush, though OG Kush’s origin is disputed. Many later “Chem” names on NYC menus, from Chem Cookies to Purple Chem, borrow the name without sharing a clear line back to the 1991 plant.

Aroma, flavor and terpenes

Chemdawg is a gas strain. Leafly’s flavor tags are chemical, diesel and pungent, and Weedmaps reviewers most often report earthy, woody and diesel flavors, with pine and citrus behind them. Leafly lists caryophyllene as the dominant terpene, which brings a peppery edge, followed by myrcene and limonene. If a jar labeled Chemdawg smells like candy, it is worth asking the budtender about the cut.

THC and effects

Leafly lists Chemdawg at about 18% THC and Weedmaps gives a range of 19% to 24.8%. NYC labels on Oct 17, 2026 ran from 21% to 31%, so the flower on city shelves may be stronger than the strain’s reference figures.

Leafly reviewers, who give it 4.3 out of 5 across about 2,500 ratings, most often tag it euphoric, relaxed and tingly. Weedmaps reviewers describe a fast, upbeat head high that settles into body relaxation. The most reported downsides are dry mouth, dry eyes and dizziness. Those are consumer reports, not predictions. Our THC calculator turns a label percentage into milligrams per serving.

Forms and brands of Chemdawg in New York

Our Oct 17 count covers flower menus only. These are other Chemdawg products we saw on NYC menus that day:

Form Brand (New York) Where we saw it
Flower, 14g and 28g Dank, Honest Pharm Co., Munchkins, To The Moon, Zips Most Chemdawg listings in the city; see the shops below
Sungrown flower, 3.5g Dank, 30.15% THC on the listing Lenox Hill Cannabis Co., Upper East Side
Flower, 3.5g Dolla Treez, 21% THC, $21 The Vault, Staten Island
Infused ground flower, 14g Ripped, 41% THC on the listing Vaporize, Richmond Hill

We left infused flower and crosses such as Chemdawg x Rainbow Beltz, Chem D x I-95 and Purple Chemdawg out of our count, since they are different products or different strains.

Where to buy Chemdawg in NYC

On Oct 17, 2026 we read the public flower menus of 32 state-licensed dispensaries across the five boroughs. Chemdawg was on 9 of them. Each shop below has its address, phone number, a Google Maps link, its online menu, our listing for it and the Chemdawg products we saw on its menu that day. Menus change daily, so check the menu or call before you go.

Bar chart of NYC dispensaries stocking Chemdawg by borough: Manhattan 3 of 13, Brooklyn 4 of 11, Queens 1 of 6, the Bronx 0 of 1, Staten Island 1 of 1
Chemdawg by borough: licensed NYC dispensaries carrying it, out of the menus we read in each borough on Oct 17, 2026.

Chemdawg in Manhattan (3 shops)

Chemdawg in Brooklyn (4 shops)

Chemdawg in Queens (1 shop)

Chemdawg in Staten Island (1 shop)

The growers on those menus were Dank, Dolla Treez, Honest Pharm Co., Munchkins, Nitrous, To The Moon and Zips. Most of the Chemdawg in the city was sold in half ounces and ounces rather than eighths. Eighths ran from $21 to $45. The live entry is under Chemdawg in our NYC weed strains database, and our NYC dispensary directory lists every licensed shop by borough.

Bar chart comparing five strains on 32 NYC dispensary menus, Oct 17, 2026: Blue Lobster 12, Gelato 41 12, Super Lemon Haze 12, Blue Nerdz 11, Chemdawg 9
How this batch of five strains compares on NYC menus, Oct 17, 2026.

Is Chemdawg legal in New York?

Chemdawg is legal to buy in New York only from a licensed adult-use dispensary or licensed delivery service. The rules below come from the state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and other government sources; our New York cannabis guide covers them in more depth.

  • Age: you must be 21 or older to buy, possess or consume cannabis in New York (OCM, adult-use information).
  • How much you can carry: up to 3 ounces of cannabis and 24 grams of concentrated cannabis, which covers vapes, oils and edibles (same OCM page).
  • Licensed shops only: a business needs an adult-use license to sell cannabis. Licensed stores post the state’s Dispensary Verification Tool, a QR code, near their main entrance. You can check any store on the OCM dispensary verification page or with our license checker. A smoke shop or bodega selling “Chemdawg” without a license is not a legal seller, whatever the bag says.
  • Hemp products: under a federal law signed in November 2025, hemp products with more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container become unlawful in November 2026 (OCM, 2025 federal hemp law FAQ).
  • Where you can use it: in a private home or in most places where tobacco smoking is allowed, but not in a motor vehicle and not where smoking is banned. In New York City the Smoke Free Air Act covers smoking and vaping cannabis in most workplaces, parks, beaches, pedestrian plazas, and the indoor and outdoor areas of bars and restaurants (NYC Health, Smoke Free Air Act). Hotels and employers can set their own bans.
  • Driving: it is illegal to drive impaired by cannabis.
  • Taxes: retail cannabis carries a 9% state excise tax and a 4% local excise tax, 13% in total, and no sales tax (NY Department of Taxation and Finance). For sales on and after June 1, 2024, the old THC potency tax on distributors was replaced by a flat 9% distributor tax.
  • Growing it at home: adults 21 and over may grow 3 mature and 3 immature plants, with a cap of 6 and 6 per household (OCM).
  • Travel: it is illegal to take cannabis across state lines, and you cannot use it on federal land. TSA does not search for marijuana, but it refers anything it finds to law enforcement (TSA).
  • Federal law: on April 23, 2026 the Justice Department moved FDA-approved marijuana products and products regulated under a state medical marijuana license into Schedule III (U.S. Department of Justice). A broader rescheduling was still pending when we last checked, so adult-use cannabis remains illegal under federal law.

Chemdawg in the news

For the full backstory, High Times published “25 Years of Chem Dog” by cultivation editor Danny Danko in 2016. It retells the 1991 seed story, explains how the Chem’s Sister and Chem D cuts came about, and traces how a cut reached the East Coast and fed into Sour Diesel, which is why Chemdawg matters to New York.

Chemdawg FAQ

What strain is Chemdawg?

Chemdawg, also spelled Chemdog, is a hybrid that came from seeds a Grateful Dead fan known as Chemdog sprouted in 1991. Its parents have never been confirmed.

Is Chemdawg the parent of Sour Diesel?

Weedmaps calls Chemdawg a foundational parent of Sour Diesel, and it is often linked to OG Kush as well, though OG Kush’s origin is disputed.

How strong is Chemdawg?

Leafly lists about 18% THC and Weedmaps gives 19% to 24.8%. Labels on NYC dispensary menus ranged from 21% to 31% on Oct 17, 2026.

Where can I buy Chemdawg in NYC?

On Oct 17, 2026 it was on 9 of the 32 licensed NYC menus we read: 3 in Manhattan, 4 in Brooklyn, 1 in Queens and 1 on Staten Island. Eighths were $21 to $45, and most listings were half ounces or ounces.

What does Chemdawg smell like?

Leafly describes it as chemical, diesel and pungent, and Weedmaps reviewers add earthy, woody, pine and citrus notes. The dominant terpene is caryophyllene.

What is the difference between Chemdawg, Chem D and Chem’s Sister?

They came from the same batch of seeds. Per Weedmaps, Chemdog and Chem’s Sister were sprouted in 1991, and Chem D came from a seed in the same batch germinated in 2001.

More strain guides

Sources

For adults 21 and over. Nothing on this page is medical advice. Effects people report vary from person to person. Phone numbers and addresses were checked against each shop’s own site or listing in October 2026.