The history of Lamb’s Bread

Timeline

1. 1913Jamaica bans cannabis, then called Indian hemp, under the Ganja Law; the plant had been imported in the 1850s–1860s for indentured workers from India.⁴
2. 1973Florida smuggler Steve Lamb, 20, is arrested after trying to land nine tons of Jamaican cannabis in Dixie County, the Steinhatchee Seven case. His later memoir, as quoted by breeder James Riddle, claims Jamaican farmers named a strain Lamb’s Bread after him; coverage of Lamb does not repeat the claim.^5,6
3. Mid-to-late 1970sSylford Walker records the single “Lamb’s Bread” with producer Glen Brown; his album of that name, recorded in 1978, is released in 1988.²
4. May 29, 1981UB40 release “Lamb’s Bread” on Present Arms, written as part of the band’s campaign for the legalisation of cannabis.³
5. Feb 2015Jamaica decriminalizes possession of up to two ounces, allows up to five plants and permits Rastafari religious use.⁴
6. Aug 2015The first large genetic study of cannabis strains reports that a “Jamaican Lambs Bread” sample sold as 100% sativa was nearly identical to an Afghan indica.^7,8
7. Feb 6, 2017Leafly lists Lamb’s Bread among seven Jamaican strains for Bob Marley’s birthday, saying only that “it has been reported” that he encountered it.⁹
8. 2018James Riddle buys seeds from a grower in the hills above Negril, the start of the Lamb’s Breath Seeds stock.¹⁰
9. 2018–2023The 117 state lab tests of Lamb’s Bread flower in our dataset date from these years, 76 of them from 2023.¹¹
10. 2020Riddle moves to New England; six remaining seeds are grown as an isolated seed crop in Vermont.¹⁰
11. Jun 9, 2024Riddle publishes “Lamb’s Breath or Lamb’s Bread?”, questioning whether the two names always meant the same plant.⁶
12. Jan 3, 2025His 2024 outdoor seed grow report is published: 18 plants, a selected male, and the seller’s claim of 30.6% total THC for Irie Select.¹²
13. Jul 14, 2026Leafly’s list of the 100 best strains of all time includes Lamb’s Bread among strains for feeling energetic.¹³
14. Oct 3, 2026Weedmaps shows Lamb’s Breath flower at 23 store listings in 7 of 27 US markets, 8 of them near Boston.¹⁴

Why the name travels

It stands for Jamaica. Leafly calls it a “native Jamaican strain” and “a bright green and sticky sativa”, Weedmaps “this strain with reggae roots”, and seed companies sell what they describe as Jamaican sativa or landrace genetics under the name.^13,15,16,17 Jamaica’s own landraces, Verilife notes, were almost eradicated by prohibition and slow grow times, which makes any surviving line hard to verify.¹⁸

Music carried the words before strain databases did. Sylford Walker’s roots-reggae single “Lamb’s Bread” dates from the mid-to-late 1970s, and UB40’s 1981 song of the same name was part of the band’s campaign to legalise cannabis.^2,3 The term is not in Wikipedia’s list of Rastafari names for cannabis, which gives callie, Iley, the herb and the holy herb.¹⁹

The Bob Marley question

Every account hedges. Leafly’s strain page says the plant “is believed to have been one of Bob Marley’s favorite strains”; its top-100 list says “it’s said that Bob Marley frequently smoked it” and that it “is rumored to have been one of Bob Marley’s favorites”; its landrace guide says “Said to be Bob Marley’s strain of choice”; its 2017 list of Jamaican strains says only that “it has been reported” that he encountered it.^1,9,13,20 Weedmaps says it is “thought to be a Sativa-dominant variety from Jamaica that Bob Marley popularized”.¹⁵

Sellers drop the hedge: AllBud says it “was loved by the legend Bob Marley”, Wikileaf that it was “smoked and well loved by the great Bob Marley”, Zamnesia calls it “his favourite strain”, Crop King says it is “famously linked to Bob Marley”, Yardie Seeds that it is “said to be his favorite smoke”, and Lamb’s Breath Seeds that “it is known as Bob Marley’s favorite”.^{10,16,17,21,22,23} None of them cites a source or quotes him, and we found no primary document; even James Riddle, who sells the seed, asks which plant Marley actually favored and leaves the question open.⁶ We treat the association as popular lore and attribute it every time.

The disputed parts of the story

• The name: named after smuggler Steve Lamb (his memoir, via Riddle), a Patois rendering of “Breath” (Leaf Magazine), or simply unknown (Yardie Seeds).^6,23,24
• The parents: a Jamaican landrace (Leafly), a King’s Bread offspring (Leafly’s King’s Bread page), “a variety of skunk” (Wikileaf) or a sativa–indica cross (the memoir); see genetics.^1,6,22,25
• Sativa or indica: a sativa by every label, yet the one tested “Jamaican Lambs Bread” sample was genetically an Afghan indica.^1,7
• Bread or Breath: aliases to Leafly, Weedmaps and our lab matching; possibly two plants to Riddle.^1,6,15