Cannabis sativa is an annual herbaceous flowering plant. The species was first classified by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The specific epithet sativa means 'cultivated'. Indigenous to Eastern Asia, the plant is now of cosmopolitan distribution due to widespread cultivation. It has been cultivated throughout recorded history and used as a source of industrial fiber, seed oil, food, and medicine. It is also used as a recreational drug and for religious and spiritual purposes.
Heaven's Stairway was an Eastern Canadian cannabis seedbank, supplying around 300 different cannabis strains. Established in 1998, the Montreal-based company imported seeds from New Zealand and the Netherlands and shipped them worldwide, especially to customers in Canada, the United States and Europe. On or around January 31, 2006, the company was raided and their websites were taken down. A two-year investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Project Courriel seized 200,000 cannabis seeds, US $183,000 and three gold bricks. The company's owner Richard Hratch Baghdadlian, 38, aka Richard Calrisian, from Marsan Street in Montreal, and six other persons who operated the Heaven’s Stairway company have been charged with importing and trafficking in cannabis.
Cultivation of cannabis is the production of cannabis infructescences. Cultivation techniques for other purposes differ.
Cannabis indica is an annual plant species in the family Cannabaceae indigenous to the Hindu Kush mountains of Southern Asia. The plant produces large amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), with total cannabinoid levels being as high as 53.7%. It is now widely grown in China, India, Nepal, Thailand, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, as well as southern and western Africa, and is cultivated for purposes including hashish in India. The high concentrations of THC or THCV provide euphoric effects making it popular for use for several purposes such as recreational drugs, clinical research drugs and the potential of Cannabis or selected constituents for new drug research or being used in alternative medicine, among many others.
Cannabis ruderalis is a variety, subspecies, or species of Cannabis native to Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. It contains a relatively low quantity of psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and does not require photoperiod to blossom. Some scholars accept C. ruderalis as its own species due to its unique traits and phenotypes which distinguish it from C. indica and C. sativa; others debate whether ruderalis is a subspecies under C. sativa.
The High TimesCannabis Cup is a cannabis festival sponsored by High Times magazine. The event features judges from around the world who sample and vote for their favorite marijuana varieties, with cups (trophies) being awarded to the overall winner in the cannabis variety competition. Since 1997, the Cannabis Cup festival has hosted induction ceremonies for the Counterculture Hall of Fame.
Cannabis strains is a popular name to refer to plant varieties of the monospecific genus Cannabis sativa L.. They are either pure or hybrid varieties of the plant, which encompasses various sub-species C. sativa, C. indica, and C. ruderalis.
The High TimesMedical Cannabis Cup is an annual event celebrating medical marijuana. The first Medical Cannabis Cup took place in San Francisco, California, on June 19–20, 2010.
Malawian cannabis, particularly the strain known as Malawi Gold, is internationally renowned as one of the finest sativa strains from Africa. According to a World Bank report it is among "the best and finest" marijuana strains in the world, generally regarded as one of the most potent psychoactive pure African sativas. The popularity of this variety has led to such a profound increase in marijuana tourism and economic profit in Malawi that Malawi Gold is listed as one of the three "Big C's" in Malawian exports: chambo, chombe (tea), and chamba (cannabis).
Soma Seeds is an Amsterdam based medical cannabis seed company owned by Soma. The company became internationally famous after winning the 1999 High Times Cannabis Cup with Soma's 'Reclining Buddha' strain in the Indica category; in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 with 'NYC Diesel' strain in the Sativa category, in 2002 with 'Buddha's Sister' strain in the Indica category in 2004 with 'Amnesia Haze' in the best strain category and in 2005 with 'Lavender' strain in the Indica category.
Nevil Martin Schoenmakers was an Australian-born cannabis breeder known for founding the first cannabis seedbank, which was called "The Seed Bank of Holland", in the early 1980s in the Netherlands. This was also the first seed company to advertise directly to the public in High Times magazine.
Autoflowering cannabis or day neutral cannabis varieties automatically switch from vegetative growth to the flowering stage based on age, as opposed to the ratio of light to dark hours required with photoperiod dependent/short-day strains. Many autoflowering varieties are ready to harvest in less than 10 weeks from seed. Dwarf varieties can have short stature while still giving decent harvests.
Cannabis in South Africa is an indigenous plant with a rich historical, social, and cultural significance for various communities. South Africa’s cannabis policy evolution has been marked by significant shifts, particularly following decriminalisation by the Constitutional Court in 2018, and the passing of the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill in May 2024.
Acapulco Gold is a strain of Cannabis sativa that was popular during the 1960s counterculture movement for its potency, taste, and unique color. It is a landrace cannabis variety that is an 80% sativa and 20% indica hybrid reportedly produced by crossing a native Mexican strain with a Nepalese indica. It is reported to be difficult to cultivate indoors under lights and is better grown as an outdoor plant due to its large size. This cannabis strain flushes in gold and amber tones in the final stages of flowering, producing dense golden buds with a peppery and citrus odor and flavor, and averages 24% THC and 1% CBD. The terpene profile of Acapulco Gold is mostly caryophyllene, a spicy terpene also found in black pepper. Myrcene is also present and contributes to the earthy aroma of the strain, as well as Limonene which adds a lemon aroma/flavour.
Christian Hageseth is an entrepreneur, author, marijuana rights advocate and business owner. He was born in Pensacola, Florida, and grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado. He graduated from Arizona State University in 1992 with a degree in Political Science. He is the founder of Green Man Cannabis, an award-winning marijuana cultivation and dispensary business in Denver, Colorado. He is also the founder of American Cannabis Partners (ACP), a cannabis business development firm, which is developing the Colorado Cannabis Ranch. Hageseth is the author of Big Weed: An Entrepreneur's High Stakes Adventures in the Budding Legal Marijuana Business, published in 2015 by Macmillan.
White Widow is a balanced hybrid strain of Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa that was created and developed by Shantibaba whilst he worked at the Greenhouse Seed Company.
Super Lemon Haze is a sativa-dominant cannabis strain in the haze family of strains. It was originally bred by Franco Loja from the Netherlands-based Green House Seed Co. as a cross between two other strains: Lemon Skunk and Super Silver Haze.
Scott Blakey aka Shantibaba is a cannabis breeder who currently operates from Switzerland and is known for creating the cannabis strains White Widow, Super Silver Haze, White Rhino, Critical Mass and El Nino. Cannabis companies that Blakey has owned include Mr. Nice Seedbank, Greenhouse Seed Co. and CBD Crew and Sciva Corporation.
David Paul Watson, better known as Sam the Skunkman or Sam Selezny, is an American breeder, who is credited with the development of some of the most popular modern cannabis varieties such as Skunk#1, Haze, and Amnesia, and the apparition of high-cannabidiol varieties.
