US (CA): California officials fund project to preserve ‘legacy cannabis’ genetics and culture
In California, a state-funded effort is underway to analyze the genetic information of various cannabis strains to preserve the state's rich history of cannabis cultivation.
It's part of a project meant not only to acknowledge the past but also to protect the future of legacy-growing regions such as the Emerald Triangle.
"Having been relegated to the shadows for the past 60 years, the legacy of California's extraordinary cannabis is finally coming into the light," said Genine Coleman, executive director of Origins Council, a group that represents rural cannabis growers. "This is a remarkable moment in our journey to full legalization of cannabis agriculture."
Origins Council is one of a handful of partners on the project—titled, "Legacy Cannabis Genetics: People and Their Plants, a Community-Driven Study"—which also includes academics at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, and the University of California, Berkeley; the plant genetics company LeafWorks; and the United CORE Alliance, a nonprofit that works to restore the rights of formerly incarcerated people.
The goal of the project is to answer two questions, according to a presentation held this month at UC Berkeley: "What are California's cannabis legacy genetics?" and "What are legacy cultivation regions?"
It ultimately aims to "legally protect as intellectual property the individual and collective genetic resources of legacy cannabis breeders and legacy cannabis cultivation communities," according to a press release.
