By Angela Bacca
Cannabis breeders have notoriously been reclusive and secretive, primarily as a byproduct of Prohibition. While the last century has pushed many mainstream agricultural commodities towards a more narrowed genetic pool to support monocropping and mass production, cannabis genetics were shaped by a global underground cottage market comprised of small-scale grower-breeders, smugglers, and seedbanks that resulted in the variety that cannabis consumers have come to expect. Genetic sequencing and research are now rapidly reshaping cannabis cultivars as legalization pushes production into mainstream agricultural markets, yet cannabis is now following a very different path than agricultural commodities like corn and soy. While there is still lingering distrust with these new technologies and the motivations that fuel them, some cannabis breeders are not only starting to embrace these new technologies but are also teaching them alongside traditional cannabis breeding practices.
“Cannabis breeding isn’t just cannabis breeding anymore,” says James Loud, a former professional chef turned 25-year cannabis breeder and connoisseur, who has recently worked with geneticists, Amsterdam and North American seed companies, and well-known cannabis breeders and researchers to bring traditional breeding practices to the mainstream. “Now it’s genetic preservation, drug discovery, and breeding old varieties to increase heterosis and hybrid vigor; it’s about studying the plant more than we ever have.”
Loud is now actively working to mainstream and merge traditional practices with new technologies, like genetic sequencing and tissue culture, through his 2023 book Cannabis Breeding: The Art and Science of Crafting Distinctive Cultivars and a course through Oaksterdam University.
Genetic sequencing has rapidly accelerated modern understanding of plant breeding and medicine in the 21st century, but it hasn’t been without scandal and controversy. In some cases, the controversy is fueled by fears that arise from a misunderstanding of the scientific complexities, but in others, …
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Author: High Times Contributors / High Times
