We gotta set the record straight. Strawberry Cough, one of the most iconic strains in cannabis history, was not made by Kyle Kushman. The real breeder? A man named Jeff Cavanagh—a humble grower who bred the strain while battling severe brain damage. Jeff’s life wasn’t glamorous. He wasn’t on magazine covers or making millions off dispensary cuts. He was just a passionate, struggling grower with a gift—and he got robbed.
Kyle Kushman took Strawberry Cough, rebranded it, and ran with it. Now he profits off the name while the guy who actually created it gets no recognition. Kushman even had the nerve to say “don’t stir the hornet’s nest” when the truth started coming out. That line alone tells you everything you need to know.
Even Subcool—rest in peace, a real one—got caught backing the wrong guy on this one. That might be the only thing Sub did that wasn’t cool. But this isn’t about hate. This is about the truth.
Before Instagram, before legalization, before Kushman became a brand—Strawberry Cough was Jeff Cavanagh’s gift to the plant. And we’re not gonna let it be erased from history.
Thanks for sharing the truth. Kushman is a legit awful person. Chronic liar and scammer. He just puts on that “nice guy” front. My old hash company was ripped off fof 17k worth of trim that had the most myclobutinal Ive ever seen in tests from his grow. And when I confronted him publically about it, he had the nerve to call me a liar, despite me having tests to prove it. Straight up snake.
Theres a couple guys that have been grifting for a long time .A Couple of them have been selling and endorsing very popular and successful selling Grow books we all grew up on.You can wear all the rasta wigs and bozo the clown mustache glasses and haunt every Cannabis cup but eventually your actions catch up with you no matter how many times you change your name.Kyle is one of these guys sans the Rasta wigs and cheesy names like the other doof, Kyle was caught on the strawberry cough years ago His story changed from He bred the plant himself to himself being gifted the cut in a crumpled Dixie cup from a mother that was being grown in a paint can in what he called “A pitiful grow”.He has been called out publicly numerous times by various other Seed Breeders and other Heads in the buisness do i trust all those guys either ?No i take them all with a grain of salt unless i was in that tent when the deed was done i dont know shit i dont know them either so tread carefully Folks its a minefield out there and the buisness is chock full of thieves and those who choose to enrich themselves
I recall an interview where Kushman alluded to having left the gifted cut on the floorboard of his vehicle for a day or days, only to get hit with the strawberry odor that piqued his interest & nursed the ailing cut back to health, & the rest is basically history
He also says that he smelled the cutting which was placed in a small brown paper bag and all he could smell was the scent of strawberries in his car.So he smelled the strawberries in the bag then jump to he just leaves this amazing strain to wither up and die in his car and Bring it back to life?His stories keep changing up and he cant even keep it straight anymore.
All i know is i like strawberry cough. I was always under the impression the kksc was the only one. Yes i know the stories, but Kyle gives him credit every time he retells it not by name though. Yes the story gets longer and more elaborate over time like most, but it was a gift and hes the one that kept it going. Personally i appreciate him getting it out to people way back then. Dont recall him ever saying he made it? Or am i just missing something.
Old interviews he has done with various channels on YouTube if you look around thier in there the one was a Ganjia interview and another was a snippet with Kevin Jodrey i want to say.It was brought to my attention by the Future Cannabis Project when callers in played it back it all public access now.Why make some elaborate story if it was a gift?Call it at that give the dude the credit in the first place and be a man instead of it had to evolve to what it is.Like he was already sponsoring a Really good thing that wasn’t enough for his ego
Unfortunately there are crooks in every industry. People with no morals steal intellectual property all the time.
I really appreciate the community here on OG. Most of us are just humble growers/breeders who are happy to share beans freely. The people who are hellbent on becoming famous/recognized, will always have questionable motives. Thats just my opinion.
Wow. I read through the comments instead because I can’t watch shirtless guys pontificating videos and take them seriously and it looks like the guy soma (John) in the comments is his friend that bred it and the parents were The Cough x Orange Crush. He also confirmed it has the asymmetrical branching that I was wondering about early on with the clone I’m finishing up. Thanks for sharing this!
Well unfortunately thats the game. I mean just look at dj short hes been ripped off left and right by people reselling his blueberry as their own blueberry. He doesnt get a penny from all the profiting from his creation, and there absolutely nothing he can do about it. Im not taking sides just pointing out it happens all the time.
I do have sympathy for the guy but he should have come forward 30 years ago after high times blew up strawberry cough not to mention all the resellers like dutch passion. Again i feel for the guy but theres no laws to protect your cannabis creations. Trust me if hes your buddy id be upset too but its way too late now.
Whether you like Kushman or not hes always been an advocate and lover of mj too. I learned alot about growing from reading his articles in high times during the 90s. Plus all the growing techniques hes shared like chiropractic training.
There was a bunch of gnarly stories about him floating around when he and Mz Jill separated, the most concerning were about his relationships with young women. Mz Jill booted him out for a reason, whatever it was so he’s definitely not an angel. I remember being disgusted by his lack of transparency and honesty during that time as people threw out rumours like she was locked up, shot by cops or thrown in a looney bin. White washing history diminishes people, he was a dude like everyone else that had good and bad qualities, not some angel who did no wrong. If this post is about truth, then we need to be honest about everyone, including those who’ve passed like Subcool…
It was an ugly divorce and one should be careful about believing too much of what either side said. Subcool certainly did have at least one young woman who was his girlfriend and lived with him for awhile, as was shown in his videos. To be clear, she was an adult. As for internet rumors, I think they are worth exactly nothing. I don’t get complaining about a lack of “transparency” in stranger’s personal life, TBH.
In progress…
