The number of strains offered in Washington has grown from fewer than 1,000 per month in March 2015 to over 9,000 by May 2016. Based on the state’s traceability system data, this reflects a total of 39,000 strains offered during that period. However, due to the lack of standardized naming conventions a significant number of those strains are not unique.

For example, entries for one of the most popular strains included Girl Scout Cookies, Girlscout Cookies, Girlscout Cookie, GS Cookies, and GSC. Additionally, the challenge in strain naming is compounded by the amount of crossbreeding that is leading to the creation of new, previously unnamed strains. Girl Scout Cookies alone has been crossbred with over 80 other strains and since the new strains created have yet to be named, the producers name them by listing the two parent strains, for example, Girl Scout Cookies x Cherry Puff or Girl Scout Cookies x Tom Hill Haze.

New Frontier has already identified over 10,000 strains incorrectly marked as unique due to inconsistent spelling, use of acronyms, and non-standard abbreviations. The lack of standardized strain names is a significant challenge facing the industry, as it makes it increasingly difficult for producers and retailers to know what is on the market, and effectively compare between different strains.