Where does cannabis smell like skunk?
Knowledge: Odorants with similar properties
Gabriel ThomasOctober 5, 2026
If you've ever sniffed well-preserved, unburned cannabis buds and thought you smelled something skunky - or, what is less likely, if you've come into contact with skunk spray and wondered why you smell of cannabis - then ask yourself maybe why the two smell so similar.
In other words, why does cannabis smell so much like skunk spray? It turns out that the smelly culprits in both substances belong to a family of prenylated volatile sulfur compounds (VSC), a subset of volatile organic compounds (VOC), according to a study published in ACS Omega in 2021.
"We suspected sulfur-containing compounds were the origin of this aroma, simply because of our chemical intuition as chemists," said the study's lead author, Iain Oswald, an analytical chemist at Abstrax Tech, a Tustin, Calif. Company that manufactures aromatic compounds , called terpenes, versus Live Science. After all, "skunks have a bunch of VOCs in their aerosol spray," so cannabis may have similar properties, the team suggested.
The sulphurous origin of the plant's pungency reported in the study was perhaps to be expected, but the novelty of some of the compounds the team discovered wasn't, Amber Wise said. Wise is the chief scientist and analytical chemist at Medicine Creek Analytics, a cannabis testing laboratory in Fife, Washington, and was not involved in the study.
"The smelly smell, you know, the egg smell, if you want to call it 'fart smell' - these are all sulfur compounds as at least chemists know them," Wise told Live Science. "The surprising part was that there are some kind of unique molecules in cannabis."
These compounds include VSC6 and VSC7, which, according to Oswald, have not yet been found in any plant.
Cannabis has a complicated scent profile, with more than 200 secondary metabolites - small molecules that plants produce to ward off predators like insects or attract pollinators - contributing to its distinctive aroma. About six of the aromatic compounds can individually be responsible for up to 50% of the odor differences between different cannabis strains, the authors write in the study. For example, the OG Kush cannabis variety gets its characteristic gasoline-like odor from the terpenes β-myrcene and β-caryophyllene, while higher concentrations of terpinolene and D-limonene make the Jack Herer variety smell of citrus fruits and wood.
While the role of terpenes in the individual strain profiles is well known, Oswald and his colleagues - three of whom, including Oswald, have applied for patents related to their findings - wanted to get to the bottom of the compounds that give all cannabis strains their stinky odor to lend.
VSCs have a relatively complex structure, which has made them difficult to analyze. In addition, the concentrations of VSCs - which are also found in hops and the hot fruit durian - in cannabis plants are very low compared to terpenes.
"The actual amount in the plant is very small, although it has a very strong effect on the smell itself," said Oswald. "And that's simply because the human nose is very sensitive to these types of connections, so it doesn't take much to get far."
To understand the structures of the sulfur-containing compounds, Oswald and his colleagues used a specially made two-dimensional gas spectrometry system that was combined with mass spectrometry and sulfur chemiluminescence. Using these techniques, they were able to identify the structures of the seven VSCs. The scientists found that five of them contained a prenyl functional group - a characteristic of VSC that is also found in garlic.
The scientists then had a trained four-member panel rate the spiciness of the diluted VSCs along with a collection of terpenes and cannabis flowers on a scale from zero to ten. The panel found that VSC3 - which was identified in a 2001 study in Chemistry - A European Journal as the main compound in "stinky" beer ruined by exposure to ultraviolet light - most closely related to the smelly aroma of cannabis remind.
"VSC3 smells like cannabis on its own, especially from a distance," said Oswald. "The terpenes themselves only remember it very faintly".
This was confirmed when researchers mixed the 10 main flavor components of the Bacio Gelato cannabis strain, but excluded VSC3 - creating an odor that the panel believed was reminiscent of the strain's floral scent, but not its stinking pungency. VSC3 doesn't do all of the aromatic tasks on its own, however.
"There's this synergistic effect," said Oswald. "When we mixed them up, the taste panel said, 'This is cannabis, it definitely is.'
Oswald also pointed out that while the 2021 study highlighted the significant contribution of VSC3 to the funky smell of cannabis strains, the compounds VSC4 and VSC5 can also play an important aromatic role.
"VSC3 is by far the most important and has the strongest correlation with the varieties," said Oswald. "But if we ever found a cannabis breeder who didn't have VSC3 at all, but did have VSC4 and VSC5, I promise you that everyone would say it smells like cannabis."
