An Exclusive Q&A with DNA Genetics' Don and Aaron

This article originally appeared in the March 2017 print edition of Cannabis Business Times. To subscribe, click here.

DNA Genetics exemplifies the modern cultivation business — one that was attracted to the industry out of a love for the plant and now carefully balances the culture of the cannabis community with a hugely successful, global business. Since opening in 2003, the company, owned by brothers Don and Aaron, has grown to approximately 40 employees and has operations in California, Amsterdam, Canada and Chile.

DNA has a track record with which few can compete — including more than 150 awards for their genetics and induction into the High Times Seed Bank Hall of Fame in 2009. And recently, the duo has been forging a new track, not only with their thriving seed company, but through a consulting business that has already landed them a partnership with Canadian cannabis titan Tweed, Inc. (a subsidiary of Canopy Growth Corporation).

“We have added an award-winning global powerhouse in breeding and genetics, acclaimed for the unique strain profiles their cannabis possesses," said Tweed President Mark Zekulin in a press release announcing the partnership in October 2015. According to the release, “The only place where Canadian patients will be able to acquire true, certified DNA strains grown to DNA standards will be Tweed.”

Here, Don and Aaron are interviewed by one of the most well-known names in cannabis cultivation, Mel Frank. Frank has nearly five decades of cultivation experience, is an internationally recognized marijuana book author, publisher and photographer, and has been contributing original articles to cannabis magazines since 1976.

In this revealing interview, Frank talks with Don and Aaron about the origins of and current state of the international seed market, genetics and the future of patents in the industry, why the hype around THC is misguided, an announcement the team makes publicly here for the first time, and more.

To read the full article in Cannabis Business Times' March edition, click here.