Weed consumers worldwide are about to experience a “Hot Toad Summer.”
Contemporary Cannabis’s hottest, most-cursed strain — the potent, paralytic cross of Sin Mintz and Animal Face — just got released in massive numbers following unprecedented dueling Toad Venom clone drops that went down this May.
Ronin Seeds released 200 Toad Venom clones on May 10 at Goat Global in Los Angeles priced at $630 for two. Clone nursery Green Dragon released several hundred more on May 17, $1,000 for three cuttings, a T-shirt, a jar of flower and a birth certificate.
Growers flew in from New York City, Spain and beyond for the drops, a potential pot-boiling-over situation for this strain’s four-year-long hype cycle. Pounds of Toad Venom have fetched $4,000 to $10,000 in New York, and reports have stated that eighths in Thailand were priced at $150, making it one of the most economically impactful strains of our time.
A Cursed Strain
The drama around who owns Toad Venom and who has the authentic version has fueled its hype.
Toad Venom lore includes allegations that it was stolen, renamed and the selector’s role discredited. Fakes have appeared at least twice — once deliberately and once accidentally. And the cultivar seems to have been repeatedly released without permission. Simply put, the strain’s unique value has made people act odd.
“For this year, you couldn’t grow enough to satisfy demand,” said Green Dragon’s Glen S. “Everything about this strain has been weird.”
“It’s been part of some of the highest highs and lowest lows of my life,” said Ronin Seeds’ co-owner Jake. Glen and Jake’s last names have been held for security reasons.
Ronin definitely bred the cross, and Green Dragon hunted it, selecting its winning varietal from 30 seeds in 2022. Green Dragon originally named it Becky. What happened next depends on whom you ask, but Becky most certainly got out of Green Dragon’s grow and back to Ronin.
Ronin Seeds then renamed Becky to the evocative Toad Venom and heavily marketed the strain globally. Along the way, Ronin threw aggressive suitors off the trail with decoy versions, like a Detroit Runtz cut. Intrigue over who had the real Toad fueled haters who claimed to have tried it and said it didn’t match the hype.
Toadal Chaos
In late 2025, Archive Seeds’ Fletcher Watson denounced those who sought to discredit Green Dragon as the selector of the now-hyped strain, and in early 2026, Glen S. started his own marketing campaign asserting Green Dragon’s claim to it.
Now, a smattering of Toad Venom clones have gotten out from Archive Seeds, Masonic Seeds, Ronin and Green Dragon. Other nurseries and breeders were listing one clone for as much as $5,000 — adding fuel to the hype. It became clear the Toad had gotten out.
This April, Glen S. announced he would release the authentic Becky aka Toad Venom, in a clone sale to all-comers. Ronin countered with his own sale one week ahead of Green Dragon. Lines formed for both. Now, several hundred authentic Toad Venoms are headed to gardens worldwide. They will be mothered, cloned, bred, flowered and used to fuel the next big strain wave.
“I call it ‘toadal’ chaos,” said Jake. “Every time I think Toad has peaked, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.”
Taste of the Toad
Toad Venom is not winning any beauty contests — it’s a spongy, muddled green bud that isn’t the blingiest. Green Dragon selected her for her pungent, minty, cookie, lime taffy, chemical-fume taste and paralytically euphoric high.
Looking at the parents, Toad Venom was bound to be a menace. It mixes work from Cookies’ breeder Jigga, Seed Junky Genetics, Las Vegas’ Sin City Seeds and the Emerald Triangle’s Terphogz.
Ronin Seeds made the cross of Sin City Seeds’ foundational Sin Mint Cookies and Zkittlez. They dubbed the result Sin Mintz and then added in Seed Junky’s award-winning Animal Face. Sin City’s Sin Mint helped power Seed Junky’s massive Kush Mints wave. So this is like a Kush Mints and Zkittlez cross with more of the gassiness of Face-Off OG from the Animal Face.
A Thousand Toads Bloom
Now that the Toad is free, expect it to invade most dispensary shelves across the country by September. Meanwhile, the principals are deep into follow-up projects.
Jake said there are at least 20 Toad crosses now: Galaxy Toad, Tiger Lily, Fire Belly Toad, Banana Belly and Snake Charmer. He is looking forward to seeing different facets emerge in new styles of grows.
“There’s a ton of different expressions,” Jake marvelled. “It’s just the coolest thing ever.”
Glen S. and Green Dragon have also made a bunch, like a highly anticipated Hash Burger cross called Toad Burger.
The saga shows how great strains are much like the dinosaurs in “Jurassic Park.” A fit species simply cannot be contained. As the film’s Dr. Ian Malcolm said, “Life finds a way.” And of course, drama sells. What else is there to talk about when we’re high?
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