Strain Library

Panama

Panama Red

Also called Red, Red Weed, Panamanian Red, P.R.

Panama Red was a staple name of the late-1960s and 1970s counterculture, and appears in print by 1969. Its exact origin is disputed: accounts place it on the Pearl Islands, in rainy mountains north of the Canal, or on a drier stretch of the Pacific coast, so the safest statement is that it was said to come from Panama. Cannabis itself is documented there from the Canal era, when soldiers in the US-run Canal Zone obtained locally grown plants and Army orders against it were imposed in 1923 and lifted in 1926. How Panama Red reached the United States is unclear; tales of a 1969 shipload are unsupported anecdotes, and one breeder suggests it was Colombian seed grown by Panamanian entrepreneurs. The named product reportedly faded as Panama became a cocaine transit country.

Region
Pacific side of Panama (Pearl Islands often cited; origin disputed)
How sure we are
Mostly lore. Cannabis in Panama is documented, but the origin, location and genetics of the named Panama Red are contradictory and rest on anecdote.
Keep in mind
Seeds and flower sold as Panama Red today are generally recent cultivars and cannot be assumed to descend from the original Panamanian material.

Timeline

  1. 1914-1935 US soldiers in the Panama Canal Zone obtain locally grown cannabis; Army Circular No. 5 bans it in 1923 and is rescinded in January 1926. Source
  2. 1969 'Panama Red' is mentioned in the book The Drug Beat (Geller and Boas), so the name predates the 1970s. Source
  3. 1973 The New York Times reports Panamanian anti-drug measures and notes that the plant grew abundantly in the country. Source
  4. 2005 A veteran breeder's retrospective states that Panama Red was Colombian Red seed grown by entrepreneurs in Panama, a claim not independently verified. Source
  5. 2015 Panamanian soldiers burn thousands of cannabis plants in the Pearl Islands archipelago. Source

Sources

  1. Panama red (Wikipedia)
  2. Cannabeginners: The Adventures of Panama Red (High Times, 2023)
  3. Rumor and Libel: Regulating Cannabis in the Panama Canal Zone, 1914-1935 (Points)
  4. Cannabis in Panama (Wikipedia)
  5. Strains of Yesteryear, DJ Short (2005; forum repost) - breeder recollection
  6. The Legend of Panama Red (420 Magazine forum, 2008) - unverified anecdote

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Written from the sources above. Informational only, not medical advice.