White Widow NYC snapshot: on 10 of 32 licensed dispensary menus on Oct 17, 2026, $30 to $51.33 per eighth, 23% to 32% THC on labels

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

White Widow is a sativa-leaning hybrid of a Brazilian sativa landrace and a South Indian indica, released in Amsterdam by Green House Seeds in the mid 1990s. It won the 1995 High Times Cannabis Cup and is still one of the best-known strain names in the world. On Oct 17, 2026 it was on 10 of the 32 licensed NYC dispensary flower menus we read, at $30 to $51.33 per eighth with 23% to 32% THC on the labels.

White Widow at a glance

Type Hybrid, about 60% sativa per Leafly; NYC menus list it as a hybrid
Lineage Brazilian sativa landrace x South Indian indica
Breeder Green House Seeds, Amsterdam; who did the breeding is disputed (Shantibaba or Ingemar)
Released Mid 1990s; one account gives 1994
Also called Arnhem’s Wonder, per Weedmaps; Mr. Nice later sold a version as Black Widow
THC About 15% on Leafly; 17% to 26% on Weedmaps; 23% to 32% on NYC menu labels
Terpenes Myrcene, then caryophyllene and pinene, per Leafly
Aroma and flavor Woody, earthy and floral, with spice
Effects people report Euphoric, uplifted, talkative
Awards First place, 1995 High Times Cannabis Cup, per Weedmaps
On NYC menus 10 of 32 on Oct 17, 2026
NYC menu price $30 to $51.33 per eighth (citywide median: $40)

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 White Widow comes from

The parents are not in dispute. Leafly describes a Brazilian sativa landrace crossed with a resin-heavy South Indian indica, first bred in the Netherlands by Green House Seeds in the 1990s, and NYC growers who named a cross on their menus said the same.

Who bred it is another matter. Wikipedia credits Shantibaba, who co-founded Green House with Arjan Roskam in 1994; after the two fell out, Shantibaba took his plants to the Mr. Nice seed bank, where his version was sold as Black Widow. Roskam has backed a different account that credits a breeder known as Ingemar. CannaConnection lays out both versions and concludes there is not enough evidence to settle it. Weedmaps simply calls the origin disputed.

What is not disputed is the result. White Widow took first place at the 1995 High Times Cannabis Cup, per Weedmaps, and three decades later it is still one of the best-known strain names on any menu.

Aroma, flavor and terpenes

Leafly lists myrcene as the dominant terpene, followed by caryophyllene and pinene, and its flavor tags are woody, earthy and flowery. Weedmaps reviewers mostly describe earthy and spicy, herbal flavors. Compared with modern dessert strains, White Widow smells quiet and old school.

THC and effects

Leafly lists White Widow at about 15% THC and Weedmaps gives 17% to 26%. Labels on NYC menus ran from 23% to 32%, so the White Widow sold in the city today is far stronger than the reference figures for the 1990s plant.

Across more than 4,600 Leafly reviews, the most common tags are euphoric, uplifted and talkative. 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 White Widow in New York

Our Oct 17 count covers flower menus only. White Widow also turns up in pre-rolls from several New York brands. These are products we found listed for New York in October 2026:

Form Brand (New York) Where we saw it
Flower Back Home Cannabis Co., Canna Cure Farms, Doobie Labs, Synergy, To The Moon, Zips 10 NYC dispensary menus (see below)
Pre-roll 7-packs Ruby Farms (Classics and Doobies) The Travel Agency
Pre-roll, 0.5g Nanticoke, 20% THC on the brand listing The Travel Agency
Infused pre-roll blunt, 1.25g Dank By Definition, a New York brand, 37.11% THC on the listing Cannabis on Lex and other NY shops

We did not find a White Widow vape or edible from a New York licensed adult-use brand.

Where to buy White Widow in NYC

On Oct 17, 2026 we read the public flower menus of 32 state-licensed dispensaries across the five boroughs. White Widow was on 10 of them. Each shop below has its address, phone number, a Google Maps link, its online menu, our listing for it and the White Widow 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 White Widow by borough: Manhattan 0 of 13, Brooklyn 6 of 11, Queens 3 of 6, the Bronx 0 of 1, Staten Island 1 of 1
White Widow by borough: licensed NYC dispensaries carrying it, out of the menus we read in each borough on Oct 17, 2026.

White Widow in Brooklyn (6 shops)

  • All Good Cannabis Dispensary (Flatbush and Midwood). 3405 Avenue H, Brooklyn, NY 11210. Phone: (929) 420-0021. Google Maps · Online menu · Our listing. On the menu Oct 17: Back Home Cannabis Co., 3.5g, $35, 27.2% THC.
  • Budega NYC (Park Slope). 321 4th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215. Phone: no public phone number found; use the online menu. Google Maps · Online menu · Our listing. On the menu Oct 17: Zips, 14g, $75, 27.2% THC.
  • Erudito Cannabis Boutique (Carroll Gardens and Red Hook). 120 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11231. Phone: (212) 923-0088 (from its Leafly listing). Google Maps · Online menu · Our listing. On the menu Oct 17: Back Home Cannabis Co., 3.5g, $35, 27.1% THC.
  • High Tidez (Coney Island). 1019 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224. Phone: (718) 701-6634. Google Maps · Online menu · Our listing. On the menu Oct 17: Back Home Cannabis Co., 3.5g, $30, 27.1% THC. The state list gives 1019 Surf Ave; the shop’s own site gives 1029 Surf Ave.
  • Kushmart (Sheepshead Bay). 1413 Kings Hwy, Brooklyn, NY 11229. Phone: (212) 381-8355. Google Maps · Online menu · Our listing. On the menu Oct 17: Canna Cure Farms, 0.7g, $11, 22.6% THC; Back Home Cannabis Co., 3.5g, $34, 24.7% THC.
  • Superbness (Williamsburg). 110 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11249. Phone: (718) 255-3464. Google Maps · Online menu · Our listing. On the menu Oct 17: Canna Cure Farms, 0.7g, $9, 22.6% THC.

White Widow in Queens (3 shops)

White Widow in Staten Island (1 shop)

The growers on those menus were Back Home Cannabis Co., Canna Cure Farms, Doobie Labs, Synergy, To The Moon and Zips. Eighths ran from $30 to $51.33, against a citywide median of $40. The live entry is under White Widow in our NYC weed strains database, and our NYC dispensary directory lists every licensed shop by borough.

Bar chart comparing how many of 32 licensed NYC dispensary menus carried each strain on Oct 17, 2026: Ice Cream Cake 13, Cap Junky 13, Northern Lights 12, Durban Poison 12, White Widow 10
How this batch of five strains compares on NYC menus, Oct 17, 2026.

Is White Widow legal in New York?

White Widow 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 “White Widow” 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.

White Widow in the news

For a look at the strain’s place in cannabis history, High Times profiled Green House Seeds founder Arjan Roskam in “The Reigning King of Cannabis” by Jimi Devine (Aug 13, 2022). The piece credits Roskam with White Widow and describes his 1995 trip “to the podium” with it as the start of a legend that “carries weight to this day.” It does not go into the breeding dispute, which CannaConnection covers in detail.

White Widow FAQ

What strain is White Widow?

White Widow is a sativa-leaning hybrid of a Brazilian sativa landrace and a South Indian indica, released by Green House Seeds in Amsterdam in the mid 1990s.

Who created White Widow?

Green House Seeds released it, but who did the breeding is disputed. Some accounts credit Shantibaba, others a breeder known as Ingemar, and the available evidence does not settle it.

Is White Widow indica or sativa?

It is a hybrid. Leafly lists it as about 60% sativa and 40% indica.

How strong is White Widow?

Leafly lists about 15% THC and Weedmaps gives 17% to 26%. Labels on NYC dispensary menus ranged from 23% to 32% on Oct 17, 2026.

Where can I buy White Widow in NYC?

On Oct 17, 2026 it was on 10 of the 32 licensed NYC menus we read: 6 in Brooklyn, 3 in Queens and 1 on Staten Island. Prices were $30 to $51.33 per eighth.

Did White Widow win the Cannabis Cup?

Yes. It took first place at the 1995 High Times Cannabis Cup, per Weedmaps.

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.