Black Tuna is a strain that has quickly made itself a patient favorite from Trulieve in the past year or so. This is another one of those strains that for whatever reason, I have just “missed” when it’s been in my area – until now.

This is a strain from a company called 5 Star Organic, and it is named for the Black Tuna Gang that smuggled cannabis in to Miami in the 1970S.

Black Tuna itself is a rare example of a Florida medical cannabis strain that receives almost unanimously positive reviews. I’ve had quite a few requests to review this one, so here we go!

Quick Facts:

Black Tuna

Price at time of review: $58/eighth 

Lineage: Lamb’s Breath x Herijuana

Batch/Harvest Number: 18275_0000479906

Lab Report

Appearance/Cure

Just about everything I’ll review on Black Tuna reminds me of that “old school funk” (as described by friends and family at the time) that I got in the late 2000s when I was first beginning to experiment with cannabis. The appearance is no exception; it’s “classic green” – nothing too special to it, but man, is this a pretty batch.

The nugs almost had a “soft” look and texture to them, but were both very sticky and moderately dense, though perhaps a little bit “wispy” on some of the buds. It breaks down into that nice “fluffy” consistency that I often mention in my reviews.

Trichome coverage is abundant, but it looks like the plant could have been given a little more time as the majority of the trichomes are clear rather than amber.

All things considered, I felt this was a very nice batch of flower in this category.

Appearance/Cure Rating: 7.60/10.00

Smell/Taste

As I mentioned in the “Appearance/Cure” category, the smell has that classic funk quality to it. Immediately upon opening the jar, there is a very prominent skunk and almost chemical smell.

The chemical/ammonia smell seemed to fade after the first week, and I was left with buds that smelled skunky, with hints of pine, earth, and a slight note of fruit.

When smoked, the taste came through as surprisingly sweet, with hints of pine, earth, and spice on both the inhale as exhale. I didn’t quite expect this taste based on the smell of the strain, but it was enjoyable.

Smell/Taste Rating: 7.90/10.00

Effects/Medical Use

For me, the effects category is where Black Tuna really shines. The best way to describe the effects would be to say that it does exactly what I’m looking for to help soothe my depression, anxiety, and PTSD, with the added bonus of a mild to moderate full-body relaxation that doesn’t become too sedating in light to medium doses. And at the risk of sounding redundant at this point, the effects have that sort of “old school” feel to them – a happy medium of euphoria and relaxation while enhancing mental clarity.

Black Tuna brings on a strong cerebral “jolt” at the beginning, but it isn’t racy or speedy, or even overwhelmingly introspective for me. It just feels like a strong dose of cannabinoids.

As the effects progress, body relaxation comes in relatively early (within 10-15 minutes after the first dose) and becomes well-seated through the duration of the effects. I didn’t find this strain to be sedating, but it does become heavily relaxing and a bit “couch-locking” in higher doses.

After reviewing dozens of strains the past few years, it seems that these days it takes more for a strain to stand out in any particular category – but Black Tuna achieves that with its effects.

Possibly good for treating:

• Depression and related anxiety 
• ADD/ADHD or focus-related issues (in lower doses)
• Lack of motivation (in lower doses)
• Improves concentration and memory recall (in lower doses)
• Increases energy/alertness, in a way almost similar to caffeine (in lower doses and particularly during the initial effects)
• Relief of minor aches and pains
• General relaxation
• Relief of minor GI issues: IBS, etc.

I’m definitely no medical doctor, so please take the preceding conditions only as my own personal observations from using this strain and having experience with a multitude of different cannabis strains. Everybody is different, and every body reacts differently to various medications. 

Effects Rating: 8.50/10.00

Overall Rating: 8.00/10.00

Overall, I would best describe Black Tuna as a “very good” hybrid strain from Trulieve.

At $58, I am not sure that this strain stands out enough for me to buy it at that price regularly – but if it is available during a sale, I would likely purchase Black Tuna again in the future. It’s definitely a good strain!

Trulieve has been releasing what seems like dozens of new strains in the past year, and I am doing my best to keep up with them and the other MMTCs’ new strains to review for you all. Thanks for your continued support of FLMCC; I look forward to continuing to do this with all of you as the Florida medical cannabis industry continues to grow!

Be sure to join our email subscriber list and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with all the latest in the Florida medical cannabis industry! You can find a quick-subscribe button in the righthand column on this site. Thank you for taking the time to read; we genuinely hope you find this site beneficial to helping you as a patient!