In August 2022, the Permanent Marker strain was on 10 store menus in the US. By November 2023 it was on 587, a 59x jump that Leafly says made it the fastest-growing new strain on US menus that year. Leafly then named it the 2023 Strain of the Year, and its Strain of the Year write-up is the source for much of what follows.
The name is literal. Most people's first impression is a sharp, chemical, felt-tip edge riding on top of sweet candy and fruit. That pairing is rare, and it's why this guide spends as much time on aroma chemistry as on the family tree.
Below: the lineage, the published lab data on its terpenes (the two main sources disagree, and we'll show where), the reported effects, and how we build the profile as an Entour™ Live Derived® blend.
Permanent Marker at a glance
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Breeder | J Beezy, co-founder and breeder at Seed Junky Genetics |
| Named and released by | Named by Doja Pak, released by Doja Exclusive in 2022 |
| Lineage | (Biscotti S1 x Sherb Bx1) x Jealousy F2 |
| Type | Hybrid, with effects Leafly calls "profound indica-hybrid" |
| THC | Regularly tests 25 to 30% (Leafly) |
| Lab-reported terpenes | Myrcene, limonene, caryophyllene (Leafly); limonene, linalool, caryophyllene (our blend) |
| Aroma | Marker fumes, grape candy, creamy berry, solvent, floral soap |
| Most reported effects | Tingly, relaxed, euphoric |
| Recognition | Leafly Strain of the Year 2023 |
| Entour™ version | Permanent Marker, Live Derived® only |
What is the Permanent Marker strain?
Permanent Marker is a hybrid bred by J Beezy, co-founder and breeder at Seed Junky Genetics, the same breeding house behind Jealousy. Doja Pak picked the name. The Los Angeles brand Doja Exclusive released it on both coasts in 2022, after earlier drops under other names, including Gunnpowwder.
The Permanent Marker strain lineage, decoded
Leafly's genealogy breakdown gives the cross as (Biscotti S1 x Sherb Bx1) x Jealousy F2. Per the Strain of the Year piece, J Beezy crossed a Biscotti S1 with his Sherb Bx1 male and selected a keeper female from the offspring. He then pollinated her with a Jealousy F2 male and hunted through the seedlings until one stood out.
The letters after each parent are breeder shorthand, and they tell you how heavily each input had been worked:
- Biscotti S1. A Biscotti plant pollinated by itself, or as Leafly puts it, "Biscotti times itself." Biscotti is Gelato crossed with OG genetics, and our Biscotti strain profile covers its sweet-cookie and diesel chemistry.
- Sherb Bx1. A first backcross of Sunset Sherbet, meaning offspring bred back to the Sherbet parent to lock its traits in. Sunset Sherbet itself came from GSC and Pink Panties.
- Jealousy F2. A second-generation Jealousy line. Jealousy is Sherb Bx1 x Gelato 41, and it was Leafly's 2022 Strain of the Year.
Trace the branches back and they converge. Gelato came from Sunset Sherbet and a GSC cut called Thin Mint. That means Sunset Sherbet genetics run through all three parents, and Gelato through two of them. Leafly calls the result "such refined Gelato work that it's leaving behind GSC's more earthy hashy roots."
One source orders the cross differently. SeedFinder's strain entry lists it as (Biscotti x Jealousy) x Sherb Bx. Same three parents, different sequence, and we've followed the breeder's own account.
Why Permanent Marker took off
The breeder was already on a run. Jealousy had won Leafly's top strain award the year before, and Leafly describes Permanent Marker as a refinement of it.
The selection was deliberate, too. J Beezy told Leafly the keeper "just stood out with candy-gas" and satisfied both co-founders: "I wanted the candy, Wes wanted the gas." By the end of 2022 it had made multiple High Times critics' lists.
Then there's the name. A strain called Permanent Marker that genuinely smells like one is easy to remember and even easier to talk about.
What does the Permanent Marker strain smell like?
Sweet up front, chemical behind it. Leafly's Strain of the Year piece describes "sweet, deep marker fumes of grape candy, creamy berry, and solvent." It adds a fruity-cereal opening with "a hint of chemical" underneath. Leafly reviewers also tag it vanilla, tobacco and menthol.
The Leafly Permanent Marker strain page lists ammonia, chemical and tobacco as its top flavors. Its description adds "floral, soapy, candy, and gassy funk," and notes that the funk carries through to the taste. Our own listing sums the blend up as "funky-fruity aromas and lavender-gelato flavors."
The chemical side is the part people remember. Leafly's David Downs wrote that the strain "mimics petrosolvents like xylene, toluene, and urethane resin." Mimics is the word that matters. Xylene and toluene are industrial solvents, not terpenes, and the comparison describes what the nose reports, not what a lab measured.
Where does the marker note come from?
We haven't found a published study that isolates the marker note in this cultivar, so we won't name a molecule. None of the terpenes reported for Permanent Marker smells like a felt-tip pen by itself. Limonene reads as citrus, linalool as floral, caryophyllene as pepper and myrcene as earthy musk.
Our own reading, after years of fingerprinting cultivars, is that the solvent impression is a whole-profile effect, made by the major compounds and the minor ones landing together. It's also why two Permanent Marker products with the same top three terpenes can smell noticeably different.
Permanent Marker terpene profile: what the lab data says
Two published data sets give two slightly different answers.
Leafly attributes the terpene data on its strain page to Leafly Certified labs. That data puts myrcene first, followed by limonene and caryophyllene. Our Live Derived® listing for Permanent Marker names limonene as the primary terpene, with linalool and caryophyllene alongside it.
Neither source publishes percentages. We won't invent any.
Limonene and caryophyllene show up in both. The real split is myrcene, which leads Leafly's pooled data, against linalool, which sits in our profile.
Leafly's figure pools flower from many growers, cuts and harvests. A blend is built against one reference fingerprint, so it captures one version of the strain. Ratios shift with the phenotype, the grow, and how the flower was dried and stored, and a strain cloned this widely will drift.
There's a second catch with pooled data. Leafly's results can include flower that was sold under the Permanent Marker name but has no real link to the original plant. The cultivar started out in one state, and growing it legally across the country is not easy, if it's legal at all, so it's hard to know how much of what gets tested elsewhere is the genuine cut. Even when it is, every grow location brings its own environment, and that changes how the profile expresses itself.
For a buyer, the practical rule is short. If a supplier's Permanent Marker COA doesn't show limonene and caryophyllene near the top, ask why. If the lavender-soap side matters to your product, look for linalool on the sheet.
Limonene
Limonene gives the candy half its bright, sweet citrus lift. Most people already know it from orange peel, and our limonene guide covers the chemistry.
Linalool
Linalool is the floral note, and the likeliest source of the lavender and soap descriptors. PubChem's linalool record quotes a reference handbook describing its odor as "similar to that of bergamot oil and French lavender." That matches the lavender-gelato note on our listing. Our linalool profile goes deeper.
Caryophyllene
Caryophyllene brings pepper and dry spice, the edge that stops the candy from turning cloying. It's one of only two terpenes that both data sets place in the top three, which makes it a useful anchor when you compare COAs. Our caryophyllene page has the full profile.
Myrcene
Myrcene is earthy, musky and a little herbal. It tops Leafly's pooled data, which suggests plenty of the flower on the market reads earthier than our limonene-led profile.
Permanent Marker strain effects: what people report
Leafly's top reported effects for Permanent Marker are tingly, relaxed and euphoric. Its Strain of the Year write-up tells readers to "prepare for profound indica-hybrid effects" and calls the strain "tingly, chatty." On the negative side, reviewers most often list feeling anxious, headaches and dry eyes.
Potency drives a lot of that reputation. Leafly says Permanent Marker regularly tests between 25 and 30% THC, and notes that the breeder's own selection can test well above that.
None of these terpenes is intoxicating. The potency comes from THC, and our explainer on terpenes vs THC covers where one ends and the other begins. What the terpene profile decides is how the strain smells and tastes. Linalool is often associated with calm and limonene with a brighter mood, but those associations come from research and user reports. They aren't promises about any batch.
Who does Permanent Marker suit?
On the consumer side, it suits people who enjoy loud, unusual aromas and the gassy end of the Gelato family. Anyone after a clean fruit profile or a classic earthy indica will find it an odd fit.
For brands, Permanent Marker suits products where the aroma is the pitch and shoppers already know the name. Our Live Derived® range is weighted toward exactly those profiles.
Format matters as much as profile. Our guide to when Live Derived® is worth the cost argues the premium tier earns its money in vape carts and dab-adjacent concentrates. In edibles and beverages, a food matrix or an emulsion flattens the top notes. Permanent Marker's floral, solvent-sharp edge is exactly the sort of detail that disappears in a gummy.
How Entour™ recreates the Permanent Marker profile
We make Permanent Marker in one tier only, our Live Derived® range, which sits at the premium end of the catalog. The live site sums up that range as formulations built for a "cultivar-specific authentic essence." Every blend in it starts from a True To Plant® fingerprint of the cultivar, the analytical method developed by our parent lab, The Werc Shop®.
The rebuild uses natural, non-cannabis botanical ingredients, so the bottle holds the aroma, or as our listing puts it, the cultivar "minus the cannabinoids." What's left is a limonene-led profile with linalool and caryophyllene, aimed at the funky-fruity, lavender-gelato character the listing promises.
The listing doesn't publish percentages for this blend, and we don't claim it matches any particular flower's lab numbers. It does mark the blend as lab tested and offers both a safety data sheet and a COA. Ask for the COA before you build a product around it.
FAQ
Is Permanent Marker indica or sativa?
It's a hybrid. Leafly lists it as one and describes its effects as "profound indica-hybrid," so it leans indica in how people report it. Some strain databases quote a 70% indica split, but we couldn't trace that number back to the breeder.
What terpenes are in Permanent Marker?
Limonene and caryophyllene appear in both lab-based sources we checked. Leafly's certified-lab data leads with myrcene, while our Live Derived® blend leads with limonene and adds linalool. Ratios vary by batch, so read the COA.
What does Permanent Marker strain smell like?
Like its name. Expect sweet grape candy and creamy berry over a sharp, solvent-style marker note, with floral and soapy tones underneath.
How strong is Permanent Marker?
It's potent. Leafly says it regularly tests between 25 and 30% THC, and its strain page lists 25%. Batches vary, so go by the THC figure printed on the product you're holding. Our Live Derived® blend carries none of the cannabinoids.
Who bred Permanent Marker?
J Beezy of Seed Junky Genetics bred it from a (Biscotti S1 x Sherb Bx1) x Jealousy F2 cross. Doja Pak named it, and Doja Exclusive released it in 2022.
Where to take this next
To put the Permanent Marker aroma into a cart or concentrate, start with our Permanent Marker Live Derived® blend and request the COA with your order. If you're matching a specific cut or planning a wider line, talk to our formulation team.
About the author: The Entour™ team is a division of The Werc Shop®, the first commercial cannabis laboratory to test for terpenes back in 2011. The team formulates True To Plant® terpene profiles for licensed cannabis brands across the US, Canada, and tribal markets.
Read More
Trainwreck Strain: Terpene Profile, Aroma and Effects
Around four in five cannabis strains lead with myrcene, caryophyllene or limonene, going by the dominant-terpene breakdown that SC Labs publishes. Terpinolene leads in roughly one in ten. The Trainwre
Citrus Sunrise Strain: Effects, Flavors, and Why It's Worth Trying
If you're on the hunt for a strain that wakes you up without wiring you out, the Citrus Sunrise strain deserves a serious look. This sativa-dominant hybrid punches above its weight with a vibrant citrus aroma, clean-headed effects, and a flavor profile that actually lives up to its name. Here's everything you need to know.
Blueberry Bubba Strain vs. Other Indica Hybrids: What Makes It Stand Out
The indica hybrid category is crowded. There are dozens of strains competing for attention, all promising relaxation, stress relief, and sleep support. So what makes Blueberry Bubba stand out in a crowded field? The answer comes down to three things: lineage, flavor, and effect consistency. If you're already familiar with the basics, the full Blueberry [...]