Again, anyone can call anything N.L. #5 and who would know better.
Well, I think anyone who has tried the original in the early 90s would recognize something as being totally unrelated to it. Again, NL wasn't some obscure strain that nobody ever tried. . .it was highly popular and was (and still is) in fact one of the most famous "name" strains in the world. Lots of people smoked this, and lots grew it.
No "pure" N.L. #5 around since 1990, per Nevil and Shanti. Everyone elses is "impure".
I like your use of quotes there.
I'm not entirely sure how relevant "purity"/"impurity" is here when you're talking about a clone-only hybridized plant of unclear derivation and stability.
The claim also specifically reminds me of martial arts where every "master" with teaching slots to sell claims he is the only one with the "pure/authentic" system, handed down directly from the famous grandmaster, etc, with everyone ELSE'S system being a pale copy. That's even though there are only so many effective ways to punch, kick, or block, and the majority of these techniques have been spread widely and are effectively common to every martial art. That's another field where most everyone is selling what appears to be the same thing, and its full of BS claims to try and differentiate the "product".
Anyway, even stipulating that the "pure"/clone only NL#5 was gone by 1990, its documented fact that there was
something called "Northern lights" around far after that, presumably a hybrid derived from the above.
This "imposter" (and I'm using that tongue in cheek) was apparently good enough to win multiple awards, capture the public's imagination, and become one of the most famous cannabis strains of all time. Even if this so-called "Northern Lights" strain isn't exactly the same as NL#5, it appears phenotypically similar, being short, bushy, dark green, resiny, piney, low odor and potent, and I'd have to assume its at least partly (if not mostly) genetically similar.
So what's the "real" Northern lights. . .the strain that MNS claims was extinct in '90, or the one(s?) that became famous afterwards? That's an interesting semantic question. More important, even if the strain that won the cups wasn't NL#5, what was it, and where is it now? Hard to believe that that line is gone, too.
From my perspective, even if what's around now isn't the same as the "pure" NL#5, I'm not sure it matters. Its a case of "walks like a duck, quacks like a duck". If there is something around now that is partly (or mostly) derived from the same genetics, phenotypically similar, and excellent in its own right, I think that's probably "good enough" for anyone interested in growing this.
So, I think the original question is still germane. . .who has something good under that name now that isn't super-expensive?
