The history of GMO Cookies

Timeline

1. 2001Chemdog germinates three more of his original seeds and keeps the one labeled D: Chem D, GMO’s Chem parent.^5,6
2. 2005Skunkmasterflex starts growing medical cannabis in Michigan; Seeds Here Now dates Skunk House Genetics to this year.^7,8
3. 2008A grower known as Ghost obtains the Cookies cutting that becomes the GSC Forum cut.⁹
4. Around 2012Mamiko Seeds in Spain makes its Chem D × GSC Forum-cut cross, sold as Chem Cookies, according to Prime Cuts Nursery.^1,10
5. 2013Skunkmasterflex selects and names the GMO phenotype, per Prime Cuts Nursery.¹⁰
6. 2016Respect of California Seed Bank joins Skunkmasterflex under the name Skunk House, by Lansing City Pulse’s and GreenState’s accounts.^8,11
7. Jun 2017In High Times’ results from the 2017 Midwest Cannabis Cup, GMO Cookies takes first place among indica flowers.^3,12
8. Dec 2017High Times includes GMO Cookies in its list of the 10 best strains of 2018.¹³
9. 2018GMO is first reviewed on Leafly.¹
10. 2019–2020Emerald Cup placings: 4th in Mixed Light and 7th in Sungrown in 2019, then 20th in Sungrown and 7th among live resin cartridges in 2020.¹²
11. 2021GMO wins a Best Smokeability trophy and 2nd overall in the San Diego Cannabis Farmers Market’s People’s Choice; Weedmaps News writes that it has been showing legendary status in recent years.^1,14
12. Dec 2023GMO Cookies is Oregon’s pick in Leafly’s Budtenders’ Choice survey, which drew more than 900 budtenders nationwide.¹⁵
13. Jul 2026Leafly lists GMO Cookies among its 100 best strains of all time.¹⁶
14. Aug 2026Three GMO descendants are state top sellers: Mule Fuel in Connecticut, Triple Burger in Missouri and Hash Burger in Oregon.^4,17,18,19

Why it spread

Growers and extractors liked it. High Times’ 2017 entry praised its heavy yield, high test results and hash returns; Leafly’s 2022 feature says it "dumps tons of hash" and that most state markets sell GMO clones; and Westword says its potency and trichome production are usually cited as the main reasons for its popularity.^1,13,20 The Cookies grower Ghost told Leafly that Chemdog-and-Cookies crosses dubbed GMO Cookies dominate in flower and extract form.⁹

It also arrived as the savory answer to the dessert strains. Leafly’s editors say GMO’s mix of chem and cookies unlocked a whole new world of funk, Leafly headlined its 2024 profile "Dinner before dessert", and its 2023 budtender survey noted that veteran smokers in Oregon, like those in Michigan, are into the funky, savory stuff.^12,15,16 Then it became a parent: Skunk House Genetics built its Burger line on it, and Garlic Breath, Mule Fuel and Garlic Juice carry it too (see genetics).^12,17,21,22

What GMO stands for

Nobody agrees. The popular expansion is "garlic, mushroom, onion": GreenState and Lansing City Pulse give it as the meaning, and Weedmaps lists Garlic Mushroom Onion as another name while warning that the expansion is lore, told a few different ways over the years.^2,8,23 Leafly’s 2022 and 2024 features credit Skunkmasterflex with the name, after news about genetically modified ingredients in a popular brand of cookies and because the plant grew "weird: like scientists modified it"; Prime Cuts Nursery says Skunkmasterflex has stated the same and calls the garlic-mushroom-onion backronym a persistent myth.^1,10,12

The plant itself is not genetically modified, as the breeder’s note on SeedFinder points out, and because the name may bother some, Leafly’s editors say, it is also sold as Garlic Cookies.^16,24

The disputed parts of the story

• Credit: Leafly’s strain page, GreenState and Weedmaps News credit Mamiko Seeds; Seeds Here Now calls Skunk House Genetics the founder of the GMO strain; most accounts give Mamiko the cross and Skunkmasterflex the selection (see genetics).^2,7,14,23,25
• The seed line’s name: "Chem D x GSC" (Leafly, 2022), D-Cookies (High Times, 2017) or Chem Cookies (Weedmaps; Prime Cuts Nursery).^1,2,10,13
• Dates: only Prime Cuts Nursery gives years for the cross (about 2012) and the selection (2013). Skunk House Genetics is dated to 2005 by Seeds Here Now and to 2016, when Respect joined, by Lansing City Pulse and GreenState.^7,8,10,11
• Parents: the strain databases say Chemdawg × Girl Scout Cookies; the detailed accounts name the cuts, Chem D and the GSC Forum cut.^2,6,24,25,26