Acapulco Gold

Acapulco Gold is the traditional name of a potent strain of Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) originating in Acapulco, Mexico. The plant is named after its brownish gold, or gold and green color.

The Oxford English Dictionary quotes an early usage of the term from a 1965 newsletter, in which it was described it as "a special grade of pot growing only in the vicinity of Acapulco. The color is either brownish gold or a mixture of gold and green. This grade has a potency surpassed by few of the green varieties and usually comes at slightly higher prices or in short weights." According to one linguistics book, "The gold in this phrase originally described the golden hue of the leaves on the marijuana plant, but later came to refer both to the high quality of the marijuana and to the especially high price it commanded." Acapulco by itself can be used as a synonym for marijuana, generally referring to a high-grade type like Acapulco gold. The similarly-named Acapulco Red, refers to a reddish-brown marijuana grown near Acapulco, Mexico with reddish tops on the plants.