Nightshade is an indica-dominant hybrid bred and grown by Connected Cannabis Co., the vertically integrated California producer. Connected sells it as flower in 1g and 3.5g jars and describes it as powerful without being paralyzing.
Its standout credential is a lab number. A Connected batch reviewed by The Highest Critic in December 2021 tested at 27.08% THC and 33.98% total cannabinoids, and the reviewer scored it 91.5 out of 100.
Connected's Sacramento roots
Connected grew out of a cannabis movement that Caleb Counts started in 2009. The Connected brand itself launched in 2018 at Fruitridge Health & Wellness, a Sacramento dispensary. The company now runs stores in Sacramento, Stockton and San Francisco and also operates in Arizona and Florida.
Connected handles its own breeding, growing and retail, and it refines its in-house strains through consumer input and rigorous testing. It also keeps a longtime partnership with Alien Labs, the California cultivator and lifestyle brand. Nightshade is one of the strains Connected credits to its own breeding program.
Dark purple buds and a three-terpene profile
Connected's strain review, published in August 2023, describes dense buds under a heavy trichome coat, with dark greens, purple hues and orange pistils. The 2021 batch showed the same pattern: dark purple nugs with heavy frost and layers of green and orange. That batch was packaged in October 2021 and bought at Off The Charts in Vista.
Connected lists D-limonene, β-caryophyllene and linalool as the leading terpenes. The flavor runs earthy at first, sweet in the middle and gassy on the finish. Leafly lists Nightshade at around 21% THC with 1% CBG, at an average price near $60 per eighth.
The Weedmaps product listing tags its effects as relaxed, sleepy and euphoric. Leafly reviewers call it a creeper whose effects arrive with a delay. The Highest Critic found an early mental lift that gave way to a relaxing, sleepy finish, and called the strain surprisingly strong.
From California shelves to Trulieve stores in Florida
Nightshade crossed the country through Connected's partnership with Trulieve in Florida. For that launch, Connected trained growers who relocated to Florida, so the Florida flower would match the California product. A Florida review from January 2023 priced the Trulieve eighth at $65.
That reviewer rated the Florida batch 8.23 out of 10 and pointed to a sticky cure and frosty trichomes showing both milky and amber heads. The review filed Nightshade as an indica-leaning hybrid for evening and bedtime, the same slot Connected gives it in California.
Nightshade 22 and the Permanent Marker cross
Connected has also put Nightshade to work as a parent. In April 2025, The Highest Critic reviewed Permanent Marker × Nightshade 22, a Connected cross that pairs Nightshade 22 with Permanent Marker. Connected is credited as both breeder and grower on that release.
The reviewer rated the cross 8.8 out of 10 and placed it in the evening, with an early euphoria that settled into physical calm. Lavender tones came through when the buds were broken up.