Northern Lights Strain: History, Flavor, and How to Grind It

Updated October 2026

Short answer: Northern Lights is a classic, indica-leaning strain bred from Afghani and Thai landrace genetics, first grown near Seattle and made famous in the Netherlands after 1985. It smells sweet, earthy and piney, and people usually describe it as a mellow, heavy-bodied evening smoke. Its buds are dense and resinous, so grind it in a 4 piece with the standard 300 micron screen.

Every stoner has a Northern Lights story. Usually it starts with "my older cousin had this stuff in like 1998" and ends with somebody asleep on a beanbag. It's the strain your favorite strains are related to, and it still shows up on dispensary menus decades later. Respect.

We're a grinder company, so yes, we're going to tell you exactly how to grind it. But first, let's clear up the history, because the old version of this post got some of it wrong.

Where Northern Lights came from

The most widely accepted story goes like this. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a small group of growers on an island near Seattle, Washington worked with Afghani indica plants (and, by most accounts, some Thai genetics). They numbered their plants, and one standout, Northern Lights #5, became the keeper. Leafly's strain history of Northern Lights describes 11 numbered indica sprouts, with #5 rising to the top.

In 1985, the genetics moved to Holland, where Nevil Schoenmakers had recently founded The Seed Bank, one of the first Dutch seed companies. Sensi Seeds bought The Seed Bank in 1991 and has propagated the Northern Lights line ever since. Sensi's own Northern Lights listing describes it as indica-dominant Afghani and Thai genetics with a fast 45 to 50 day flowering time.

A few corrections to the internet (and to our 2023 post): Nevil didn't "discover it in the 1970s and carry it to Amsterdam," and Dutch Passion wasn't the company that brought it over. The exact breeders on that Seattle island were never publicly documented, and neither were the Afghani males used in later breeding. So the honest answer is: Pacific Northwest roots, Dutch fame, and some genuinely lost details.

Why is it called Northern Lights?

Nobody has a documented answer. The popular guesses are the frosty, glowing trichome coverage and the strain's Pacific Northwest roots. Treat both as folklore.

Aroma, flavor and terpenes

Crack a jar of Northern Lights and you'll get sweet earth first, then pine and a little spice. Sensi describes the scent as earthy and rich "with a hint of honey." Smoke is smooth, sweet and mildly spicy on the exhale. It's not a loud, in-your-face strain like a Chem or a Diesel. It's the cozy one.

Leafly lists myrcene as the dominant terpene, followed by caryophyllene and limonene. Myrcene brings the earthy, herbal sweetness, caryophyllene adds the peppery spice, and limonene gives a faint brightness on the back end. Want the deeper dive on what those compounds are and how heat and grinding affect them? Read our guide to cannabis terpenes.

Commonly reported effects

People mostly describe Northern Lights as relaxing and body-heavy, with a happy, easygoing headspace. Common words in reviews: relaxed, sleepy, hungry, euphoric. It's widely seen as an evening or end-of-week strain rather than a "go be productive" strain. Leafly lists average THC around 18%, though modern cuts vary a lot by grower.

Everyone's experience is different, so start low, go slow, and only consume where it's legal for adults 21+.

What Northern Lights buds look and feel like

• Shape: compact, chunky, rounded nugs. Classic Afghani structure.
• Density: high. These buds feel heavy for their size.
• Color: deep green, sometimes with purple hints, orange pistils, and a heavy coat of white trichomes.
• Stickiness: medium to high. Well-cured NL is resinous but not gooey.

Dense and resinous is exactly the combination that punishes a bad grinder. Blunt pegs mash it, small holes jam, threads gum up. Which brings us to the good part.

How to grind Northern Lights

Northern Lights rewards a cutting grinder. Here's the move:

1. Break it down first. Pull dense nugs into pea-sized pieces and toss stems. Dense buds dropped in whole get crushed instead of cut.
2. Load around the teeth, not on top of the center. Fill loosely. Don't pack it.
3. Give it 6 to 8 short back-and-forth turns. Dense flower needs a few more passes than fluffy sativa, but spinning it 30 times just turns it to dust.
4. Tap, then open. A couple of taps on the table pushes the cut flower through the drop-through holes and kief through the screen.
5. Want it finer? Flip the grinder upside down and give it a few more turns. Flower stays in the teeth longer and comes out finer, which is ideal for a dry herb vape.

Screen: the standard 300 micron screen is the sweet spot for NL. If your flower is extra sticky or you live somewhere humid, swap to the 400 micron coarse screen so resin doesn't blind the mesh. Desert-dry flower? The 180 micron fine screen keeps plant bits out of your kief. All three come in the Upgrade Kit, and our screen system explainer shows how to swap them.

Best method: a bowl or a joint. A medium grind packs evenly and burns slow, which suits a mellow strain. For vapes, use the flip trick for a finer, more even grind.

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New to all this? Our grind guide covers grind size for joints, bowls and vapes in more detail.

Famous descendants of Northern Lights

Northern Lights is one of the most important breeding parents in cannabis. A few verified descendants:

• Super Silver Haze: Skunk, Northern Lights and Haze. Three straight Cannabis Cup wins in the late 1990s.
• Shiva Skunk: Northern Lights #5 crossed with Skunk #1.
• Northern Lights #5 x Haze: a Sensi classic that pairs NL's resin with Haze's headspace.
• Jack Herer: Sensi Seeds built it from a Haze hybrid crossed with Northern Lights #5 and Shiva Skunk.
• Hash Plant: listed by Leafly among NL's notable offspring.

Some Sour Diesel origin stories also run through a Northern Lights hybrid. More classics in our top 10 OG strains of all time.

Growing notes (legal home growers only)

Northern Lights has a reputation as one of the easier strains to grow. Plants stay short and sturdy, finish fast (about 45 to 50 days of flowering indoors per Sensi), and are known for resilience. Keep humidity in check late in flower, since dense buds can trap moisture. Home cultivation rules vary a lot by state and city, so check your current local law first. Our home grow guide walks through the basics through harvest, drying and curing.

FAQ

Is Northern Lights indica or sativa?

It's considered an indica, or heavily indica-dominant. Its roots are Afghani landrace genetics, with some Thai in the mix by most accounts.

What does Northern Lights taste like?

Sweet and earthy with pine and light spice. Smooth on the exhale. Some people pick up a honey-like sweetness.

Is Northern Lights good for beginners?

It's one of the more familiar, mellow-tasting classics, but modern cuts can be potent. If you're new, take a small amount, wait, and see how it hits before having more.

What screen should I use to grind Northern Lights?

The standard 300 micron screen for most flower. Go 400 micron if it's very sticky or the weather is humid, and 180 micron if it's dry.

Northern Lights has been the comfort-food strain for 40 years. Give it a grinder that actually cuts.

Keep reading

• Super Silver Haze strain: history, flavor, and how to grind it
• OG Kush strain: history, flavor, and how to grind it
• Best weed strains of 2026–2027 and how to grind each