Rethinking Cannabis Genetics: Beyond THC Potency

It’s with great pleasure that I introduce Cannabis Business Times’ second-annual State of the Industry report focused solely on cannabis genetics. A lot can happen in a year, and that’s especially true in our industry’s turbulent early stages.

When we published the first “Breeding & Genetics Market Report” a year ago, we extolled the benefit of novel cannabis genetics to create useful product differentiation in a saturated marketplace. Since then, industry trends of both horizontal and vertical consolidation have not slowed, and prudent players are deciding which link in the value chain they best serve in an increasingly segmented industry. There will be less producers, for sure, but there will be more breeders, nurseries and other enterprises serving a broader industry.

At the same time, we expect to see changes when it comes to other marketplace trends. Despite consumer preference for high THC concentrations, the notion that we must drive these concentrations higher and higher each year to remain relevant, and the accompanying willingness to “lab shop” for the best numbers, is not long for this world. A healthy industry cannot ethically sustain this pattern any more than “big booze” could tolerate misleading alcohol content on labels. The THC space race will soon see its end, if not by the pens of regulators, then by the protests of honest producers.

These two trends–industry consolidation and segmentation on the one hand, and a realistic view of potency on the other–will change the way we view our catalogs. Cute names and claims of blisteringly high cannabinoid content won’t overcome a lousy bag experience. Competition among the viable industry players will become increasingly stiff, and the platforms for disseminating product reviews, consumer watchdog surveys and verified lab results will increase in both number and influence.

We should be fiercely pursuing every last patient, customer and consumer by delivering what they want: reliably excellent cannabis products, with the right combination of intriguing aromas and effects, produced at a reasonable price and with an emphasis on transparency.

My sincere hope is that the new world order in cannabis is built on pillars of quality and veracity. We should be fiercely pursuing every last patient, customer and consumer by delivering what they want: reliably excellent cannabis products, with the right combination of intriguing aromas and effects, produced at a reasonable price and with an emphasis on transparency.

This, then, is the new role of genetics in your company’s portfolio. In the new era of segmentation, you don’t have to do it all. Let breeders like Occo deliver on your potency targets and your mission for new and complex aroma profiles. Let us make your cannabis plants resistant to disease and with improved yields that drive down your production economics. And let us deliver these new genetics in stable, F1 hybrid seed that simplifies your operations so you can focus on what you do best: growing great cannabis products that consumers can’t wait to buy.

– Casey Whelan, VP, Genetics Business Development Occo Innovation, a division of Aurora Cannabis Enterprises Inc.