Vice City Strain

Vice City Strain: Blueberry, Diesel and a Slow Neon Sunset

The Vice City strain is a 2022 hybrid from Exotic Genetix, the Washington breeder behind a long list of dessert-and-gas crosses. It pairs Sunset Runtz with the breeder's own Scotty 2 Hotty — a Biscotti × Rainbow Chip cross — and the result smells like sweet blueberry and cherry over spicy diesel, with a funky blue-cheese edge. The high moves like a night out: a quick, giggly, creative lift first, then a heavy, tingly body that can turn sleepy. If that sweet-over-gas lane is what you're after, browse our THCA flower collection.

It's also a strain where the internet gets sloppy. The two longest guides on page one don't name its parents at all, the flavor reports run from blueberry-diesel to "sherbet and vanilla," and nobody agrees on the dominant terpene. Below — what the breeder-linked databases actually say, where the name comes from, how the high unfolds, what the THC numbers mean, how to grow it, and how to judge a bag.

Vice City Strain Genetics & Lineage

• Type: Hybrid. AllBud lists it as an even 50/50; SeedFinder calls it "an evenly balanced hybrid"; Weedmaps also says balanced. Effects lean relaxing in practice — Leafly sums them up as "mostly calming."
• Breeder: Exotic Genetix, credited by Leafly, SeedFinder, Weedmaps and GrowDiaries. SeedFinder describes Exotic Genetix as a Washington-based seed bank founded by "Exotic Mike."
• Parents: Sunset Runtz × Scotty 2 Hotty — every database we checked agrees on this.
• Year: 2022, per Leafly. SeedFinder notes the seeds sold out and the 2022 release is no longer stocked.
• THC: Leafly lists 19%, GrowDiaries about 23%, and AllBud and SeedFinder put the ceiling at 27%.
• CBD and minors: negligible CBD (GrowDiaries lists 0.1%); Leafly shows about 1% CBG.

The Sunset Runtz side

SeedFinder's family tree lists Sunset Runtz as a cross of Sherb and Runtz. Go one level up and you hit the dessert royalty of the last decade: Runtz is The Original Z × Gelato, and Sherb traces to GSC × Pink Panties. That's the likely source of Vice City's candy-fruit sweetness and its purple-tinged buds.

The Scotty 2 Hotty side

Scotty 2 Hotty is Exotic Genetix's own Biscotti × Rainbow Chip. Leafly calls it indica-dominant, caryophyllene-led and capable of testing up to 29% THC, with diesel, skunk and "ammonia" flavors; AllBud puts it at 70% indica with berry, vanilla and diesel notes. Rainbow Chip itself is Sunset Sherbert × Mint Chocolate Chip, and Biscotti traces to South Florida OG × Gelato #25. Weedmaps credits Scotty 2 Hotty as the source of Vice City's potency — and it's the obvious home of the diesel funk and the heavier body.

Phenotypes and offspring

SeedFinder records no distinct phenotypes and suggests the line may be fairly uniform, though one JointCommerce guide says plants can lean either indica or sativa. SeedFinder lists no descendants yet — Vice City is still a young, end-of-the-line cross rather than a parent strain.

Vice City Terpene Profile

Leafly and SeedFinder both name myrcene as the dominant terpene, followed by caryophyllene and humulene. GrowDiaries flips the top two and lists caryophyllene first — which fits a strain whose grandparent Scotty 2 Hotty is caryophyllene-led. One long JointCommerce guide publishes exact percentage ranges with limonene on top, but cites no lab, so we don't lean on it. Caryophyllene is the terpene with real research behind it: a 2008 PNAS study identified beta-caryophyllene as a "dietary cannabinoid" that binds CB2 receptors.

• Myrcene: The earthy, musky base under the blueberry — and the terpene most often linked to the heavy, sleepy back half of the high.
• Caryophyllene: Pepper and spice. It's a big part of what reads as "spicy diesel" on SeedFinder's aroma notes.
• Humulene: Woody and hoppy, the dry finish AllBud's woody and nutty tags point to.
• Limonene and linalool: Strain guides mention them — limonene for the citrus some cuts show, linalool for a floral calm. Treat both as possible, not proven.

No single terpene makes the blueberry. It's the full blend — sweet esters from the Runtz side riding on myrcene, with caryophyllene adding the fuel — and it's why two jars of Vice City can smell noticeably different.

Appearance

SeedFinder describes grape-shaped, dark green buds with purple accents, orange pistils and heavy resin. AllBud says small, dense, grape-shaped forest-green nugs with minty undertones, sparse thin orange hairs and a thick, sticky coat of white trichomes. Weedmaps adds deep green with purple undertones. A few Leafly reviewers describe larger, bulbous green-and-purple buds — so size varies by grower, but the dense shape, the purple and the frost are consistent.

Aroma and Flavor

Open a jar and you get sweet blueberry first, then cherry, then a spicy diesel and earthy wood underneath. SeedFinder's short version: "sweet blueberry and spicy diesel." AllBud's aroma tags read berry, blueberry, cherry, diesel, earthy, nutty, spicy and woody. Leafly's top flavors are diesel, blue cheese and blueberry, and one reviewer described a sweet, marker-like nose with "sweet fuel" earthiness.

On the inhale it's sweet berry and fruit; the exhale turns earthy, nutty and peppery. SeedFinder's flavor note mentions citrus and tropical fruit on the inhale with herbal spice on the exhale — a brighter read than most. GrowDiaries growers say the aroma is more intense than the flavor: pungent, diesel and woody in the jar, fruitier and sweeter in the smoke.

Recreational Effects

Vice City starts in the head and ends in the body. On Leafly, where it holds a 4.5 rating from 31 reviews, the top effects are:

• Relaxed: the most-reported effect, and why Leafly calls it "mostly calming."
• Giggly and euphoric: AllBud describes "a bright, lifted euphoria" shortly after inhaling.
• Creative and focused: AllBud and GrowDiaries both report mental stimulation early on — good for music or a creative project.
• Aroused: one of Leafly's three headline effects.
• Heavy body, then sleepy: AllBud says the tingly body high "can become heavily sedating"; GrowDiaries growers report sedation and sleepiness at the end.

How the high unfolds: onset, peak and duration

• First few minutes: a fast, cerebral lift — euphoric, chatty, a little giggly.
• 15–60 minutes: the peak. SeedFinder calls it a "progressive" high: energetic and creative first, then physically relaxing as it builds.
• 1–3 hours: a long slide into a heavy, tingly body. At higher doses that can mean couch and sleep.

Think late afternoon into evening, not first thing in the morning.

→ Experience it yourself — shop Diesel Hemp's THCA Flower

How Strong Is Vice City?

Vice City is above average, and the published numbers spread out more than usual:

• Leafly: 19% THC and about 1% CBG — "higher THC than average."
• GrowDiaries: about 23% THC average, 0.1% CBD.
• AllBud: 19–27% THC.
• SeedFinder: up to 27%, with the parents at about 23% (Sunset Runtz) and up to 29% (Scotty 2 Hotty).

JointCommerce's 21–28% range comes with no lab or source. Realistically, expect a well-grown cut in the low-to-mid 20s. The body-heavy finish makes it feel stronger than the number on a modest batch, so pace yourself.

THCA flower is labeled differently from dispensary flower: the lab reports THCA, which converts to THC when heated, plus a small amount of delta-9 THC. When you compare a batch of Vice City against the 19–27% range above, compare total THC on the COA, not the headline number — our guide on how to read a THCA flower COA walks through the math.

Why Is It Called Vice City?

Weedmaps says the strain is named after the TV crime drama Miami Vice. "Vice City" is also the name Grand Theft Auto gave its fictional Miami — neon, palm trees and pastel sunsets — which is likely why the name rings a bell for so many people searching it. We couldn't find Exotic Genetix explaining the name in its own words. The "Sunset" in Sunset Runtz and the purple-tinged buds fit the neon-sunset theme either way.

One thing it isn't: Miami Vice, a separate strain on Leafly with grapefruit, pineapple and diesel flavors and no listed connection to Vice City. Different plant, different lineage — don't let a menu swap them.

Why the Vice City Flavor Reports Disagree

Read five pages on Vice City and you'll get three different strains. Leafly, AllBud, Weedmaps and GrowDiaries all land on blueberry, cherry and diesel. SeedFinder's flavor note goes citrus and tropical. And one JointCommerce guide describes "sherbet," vanilla custard and mint — with no source and no parents named. Here's how to read that:

• Trust the multi-review sources. Leafly's tags come from user reviews; AllBud and GrowDiaries reflect many reports. Blueberry-diesel is the consensus.
• Expect cut-to-cut swing. With Runtz, Gelato, Sherb, Biscotti and Mint Chocolate Chip in the tree, a citrus or creamy phenotype is plausible — but it's the exception.
• Cure changes everything. Fresh, well-cured Vice City leads with fruit; older or rushed flower loses the berry and smells like earth and fuel.

Vice City vs Similar Strains

• vs Sunset Runtz: the parent. Sunset Runtz is sweeter, candier and lighter; Vice City adds diesel funk and a heavier body from the Scotty 2 Hotty side.
• vs Rainbow Chip: the grandparent. Rainbow Chip runs fruit and mint with an upbeat, giggly high; Vice City is funkier and ends far heavier.
• vs Biscotti: the other grandparent — cookie, gas and spice. Vice City trades the cookie dough for blueberry.
• vs Blueberry Diesel: the closest flavor twin by name — blueberry over fuel — from a completely different family.
• vs Blue Cheese: if the funky, savory edge Leafly reviewers mention is what you liked, Blue Cheese is that note turned all the way up.
• vs Super Boof: our featured in-stock pick, and honestly a cousin rather than a twin. Both are sweet fruit over gas with a potent, heavy finish, but Super Boof leans berry and tropical candy where Vice City runs blueberry, cherry and blue-cheese diesel. Want it heavier and gassier? Mule Fuel is the fuel-forward option on our shelf.

Who Vice City Is (and Isn't) For

Good fit: evening smokers, people who like a social, giggly start before settling in, berry-and-gas flavor fans, and anyone winding down after work.

Poor fit: morning or work-day use, and people prone to THC paranoia — "paranoid" is one of Leafly's top-reported negatives. For a sweet-fruit-over-gas evening flower on our shelf, Super Boof is the pick, from $65 a half ounce.

How to Use Vice City THCA Flower — and How Much

THCA has to be heated to do anything. Raw, it isn't intoxicating; heat converts it to THC (decarboxylation), which is why the method matters as much as the strain.

• Smoking (joint, pipe, bong): the fastest onset. Take one or two small hits, then wait 10–15 minutes before deciding on more.
• Dry-herb vaporizer: the best way to taste the blueberry. Lower temperatures, around 350–380°F, keep the fruit and myrcene up front; 390–410°F brings out the pepper, diesel and wood — and more of the heavy body.
• Pre-rolls: the no-prep option — see our THCA pre-rolls.
• Homemade edibles: decarb the flower first. Edibles take 30–120 minutes to kick in and last far longer, so start low and wait the full two hours.

How much? New or occasional users: one or two small puffs, then wait 15–30 minutes. Regular users usually find two or three hits gives the full arc from lift to couch. Save bigger sessions for when you don't need to get up. You can always add more; you can't take it back.

Medicinal Benefits

These are uses consumers report on Leafly, AllBud and GrowDiaries, not established clinical outcomes. Individual response varies with dose, tolerance and chemotype.

• Anxiety: the most-cited reason on Leafly (about 34% of reviewers) — though "paranoid" is also a reported negative, so keep the dose low.
• Depression and low mood: about 27% of Leafly reviewers; AllBud and GrowDiaries list it too.
• Stress: about 20% of Leafly reviewers.
• Sleep and pain: AllBud lists insomnia and chronic pain, which fits the sedating finish; GrowDiaries reports insomnia and PTSD.

For a plain-language primer on how terpenes are thought to shape these effects, see Project CBD on terpenes. Nothing here is medical advice, and nothing on this page is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you take prescription medication or have a health condition, talk to your doctor before using any cannabis product.

Side Effects and Cautions

• Dry mouth and dry eyes — the most common complaints on Leafly and GrowDiaries.
• Paranoia or anxiety — reported on Leafly and SeedFinder, mostly at higher doses.
• Dizziness, sedation and headaches — SeedFinder's list; GrowDiaries also reports dizziness.

Is Vice City good for sleep? It can be — the back half is heavy, and reviewers report sleepiness. Don't drive after using it, and talk to your doctor first if you take prescription medication, are pregnant or nursing, or have a heart condition.

Is Vice City Top Shelf? How to Judge a Good Bag

• Ask for the breeder. Exotic Genetix is the documented source. The seeds are sold out, so a lot of what's sold under this name is clone or reseller stock — provenance matters.
• A current third-party COA naming the lab, with THCA, delta-9 and total THC. Treat 30%+ claims without paperwork as marketing. Ours are on the lab results page.
• Blueberry and diesel. Real Vice City has sweet berry over fuel and spice. Flat, earthy flower with no fruit is old or mislabeled.
• Dense, grape-shaped buds with purple accents and a thick, sticky frost. Airy, larfy nugs are a red flag.
• A proper cure — hay or grass smell means it was rushed, and the berry goes first.

Growing Vice City

GrowDiaries growers rate Vice City as challenging: it needs careful watering and a steady environment, but the plants stay medium-sized and yield well.

• Indoor or outdoor: SeedFinder recommends indoors for the best results; skilled growers can take it outside.
• Training: SeedFinder suggests low-stress training such as a ScrOG, plus heavy pruning in the last weeks of veg to push yield into the top colas.
• Flowering: no source publishes a number. GrowDiaries only calls the flowering period "long," so plan for at least 9 weeks and go by the trichomes.
• Yield: GrowDiaries rates it high; the one logged harvest there came in at 60 g per plant — a small sample, so don't plan around it.
• Seeds: feminized only, and sold out at the breeder per SeedFinder. With only three public grow diaries, there's little real-world data yet.

Is Vice City THCA Flower Legal?

Under the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp is federally legal when it contains no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry-weight basis — see the USDA hemp program. THCA flower is sold under that rule. State laws differ and are changing, so check your state before you order. And whatever the label says, THCA flower will show up on a drug test — heated, it is THC.

Shop Premium Flower at Diesel Hemp

• Super Boof THCA Flower — our featured pick — sweet fruit over gas with a potent, heavy finish, from $65 a half ounce.
• THCA Flower — the full lineup, grown in Colorado by Diesel Hemp and partner farms.
• THCA Pre-Rolls — the same flower, pre-rolled.
• THCA Small Buds — same genetics, smaller nugs, better price per gram.
• What THCA flower actually is — the encyclopedia explainer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Vice City indica or sativa?

Vice City is a balanced hybrid. AllBud lists it as 50/50 and SeedFinder calls it evenly balanced, but Leafly says its effects are mostly calming, and the body-heavy finish makes it feel indica-leaning to most people.

What is Vice City a cross of?

Sunset Runtz × Scotty 2 Hotty. Scotty 2 Hotty is Biscotti × Rainbow Chip, and SeedFinder lists Sunset Runtz as Sherb × Runtz.

Who bred Vice City?

Exotic Genetix, a Washington-based breeder. Leafly dates the release to 2022.

How strong is Vice City?

Leafly lists 19% THC, GrowDiaries about 23%, and AllBud and SeedFinder up to 27%. It's above average, and the heavy finish makes it feel strong.

What does Vice City taste like?

Sweet blueberry and cherry up front, then spicy diesel, earth and wood. Leafly's top flavors are diesel, blue cheese and blueberry.

What are the effects of Vice City?

A fast, euphoric, giggly and creative lift that settles into a tingly, relaxed body. AllBud says it can become heavily sedating; Leafly's top effects are relaxed, aroused and giggly.

Why is it called Vice City?

Weedmaps says it's named after the TV show Miami Vice. Vice City is also Grand Theft Auto's fictional Miami. We couldn't find the breeder's own explanation.

Is Vice City the same as Miami Vice?

No. Miami Vice is a separate strain with grapefruit, pineapple and diesel flavors and no listed link to Vice City's Sunset Runtz × Scotty 2 Hotty lineage.

Is Vice City good for sleep?

It can be. The back half of the high is heavy, and AllBud and GrowDiaries report sedation and sleepiness. Use it in the evening.

Is Vice City good for anxiety?

It's mixed. About 34% of Leafly reviewers say it helps with anxiety, but 'paranoid' is also a top-reported negative. Keep the dose low.

How long does Vice City take to flower?

No source publishes a number — GrowDiaries only says it has a long flowering period. SeedFinder recommends growing indoors with low-stress training.

Where can I buy Vice City THCA flower online?

Vice City isn't in the Diesel Hemp shop right now. Our closest everyday pick is Super Boof THCA Flower — sweet fruit over gas with a potent, heavy finish, from $65 a half ounce, third-party lab tested. It leans berry-tropical rather than blueberry-diesel; for more fuel, try Mule Fuel. Add a pre-roll to ship free over $75.

Related Strains

• Sunset Runtz — Vice City's candy-fruit parent.
• Rainbow Chip — a grandparent, via Scotty 2 Hotty.
• Biscotti — the other half of Scotty 2 Hotty.
• Runtz — the dessert line behind Sunset Runtz.
• Mint Chocolate Chip — Rainbow Chip's Exotic Genetix parent.
• Blueberry Diesel — the closest flavor twin by name.
• Blue Cheese — the funky note Leafly reviewers taste in Vice City.
• Gelato — a great-grandparent on both sides of the tree.
• Super Boof — our sweet-over-gas in-stock pick.
• Browse the Full Diesel Hemp Encyclopedia