Cannabidiol Cannabis and The New Age of Breeding
I first heard of CBD on like 60 minutes in association with Cancer. I was not yet into the medical benefits of Cannabis I just liked smoking it and new it made me feel better. I saw the documentary on little Charlotte Figi, the British girl with Dravet Syndrome, a rare, debilitating, and often fatal, form of epilepsy.
Using AC/DC, the Stanley Brothers created the now famous “Charlotte’s Web” strain. Successful because of its high CBD content, Charlotte went from over 300 grand mal seizures a week, to zero the first week of administering the CBD oil. I was obviously aware of the recreational benefits of cannabis, but up until I heard this story, I hadn’t really considered the medical side.
I think like many of us it was the Story of a child using this cannabinoid to get some amazing results that got us fired up about CBD.Literally years went by and I created Jack’s Cleaner BX and Dannyboy and then once I moved to the west coast over 75 strains before I heard about a cutting called AC/DC. I had started working with and teaching a local guy Joel Taylor how to grow using my techniques and methods.
He had a small medical grow and he had a large empty room I talked him into converting it into a pollination and breeding room and off we went. At the time we were working with a strain. At the time Harborside Health Center had some pretty amazing cuttings and Joel of Norstar Genetics grabbed a few clones of this Haliquin and shared them with Dioxide this would make a huge difference in my seed line, the cutting he picked up would go on to change history.
During our time working with Cannabis and learning about breeding we started looking at the Jack the Ripper hybrids looking for a really rare Male plant that passed on THC-V.
At the time we were all growing as much as we could within legal guidelines and all of us had a collection of fire moms. I loved the idea of combining CBD with THC-v so I had Joel Load the Harliquin in with our JTR male. An 8 day stagger was added to allow the female plant to produce enough stamen to make a good amount of seeds. Harvested sorted and sent to needy patients, it wasn’t long before we started seeing test results with 1-1 ratios in the 9’s and 10’s.
We called Her Pennywise Originally created by Joel Taylor
I added Pennywise to the seed menu in 2009 and distribution was slow at first. I think people like getting high a lot and most of the Cannabis smoked is for enjoyment IMO. But CBD is amazing and it can change a person’s life that is struggling with pain. Over time Pennywise established itself as a powerful medicinal strain.
From Leafly:
Pennywise is a high-CBD indica cross between Harlequin and Jack the Ripper, a combination that lends this strain its killer clown name. Four phenotypes of this Stephen King-inspired strain exist, some of which have fingerlike buds while others appear more round. Notes of coffee and pepper lift from the purple-fringed flowers with undertones of lemon and bubblegum.
Rich in the therapeutic compound CBD, Pennywise is especially effective in treating arthritis, PTSD, epilepsy, neurological disorders, and cancer symptoms. It contains a 1:1 ratio of CBD and THC, so the psychoactive effects are milder and more relaxing. Jack the Ripper’s cerebrally focused effects are detectable in Pennywise’s genes as euphoria and mental clarity take over with an invigorating buzz. Pennywise flowers in 60 to 67 days and is suitable for either indoor or outdoor gardens.
Joel of Norstar Genetics the same guy who found the Harliquin clone from Harborside, picked up the AC/DC cutting from Redwood Herbal and spent a full year selecting the Pennywise male plant. He selected a male plant that tested at 1.5:1 CBD/THC Male plant.
Joel feels the future of CBD is sports medicine. Once he had this rare male he worked his magic and produced Deadlights a CBD hybrid that has tested as high as 28% CBD and very low for THC. I would be looking more for a 75/25 Pheno for the best pain ratio myself. What makes Deadlights unusual is the amazing peach and citrus smell along with high CBD in seed form. Deadlights Created by Joel of Norstar Genetics.
Leafly:
Deadlights is a CBD-rich combination of medically-oriented cannabis strains. Created in a collaboration between TGA Genetics and NorStar Genetics, Deadlights is a flavorful mixture of ACDC and Pennywise that expresses three distinct phenotypes.
This strain offers a generous yield (especially for a CBD strain) and sweet bouquet of blackberries and musky earth. Its effects are exceptionally clear-headed with just a touch of passive relaxation that isn’t weighted or cumbersome. Deadlights is a great strain for brand new consumers and those seeking to tone down nausea, nagging aches and pains, and stress.
Most CBD strains are Indica based but I wanted to create a strain that had the calming effects of myrcene so I took the Harliquin CBD mother and outcrossed her to my Purple Querkle Male,
The resulting progeny we call Hurkle and many patients use it to medicate at night while helping reduce pain and inflammation. I enjoy the calming effect of extracts made from Hurkle and it seems to help me sleep as well as lower my pain level at night.
Four years ago I met a man named Patrick King he runs a business called The Soil King and he told me a very interesting story about CBD. He has gone on to become one of my most trusted friends in business and he will be supplying Soil for all my new outdoor projects.
In 2015, when my mother was diagnosed with cancer, she asked me to quit drinking and partying. If I would do that, she would try my wacky tobaccy that I believe so much in. Being the mama’s boy that I am that was all the reason I needed to change my life at that moment. CBD became my life. Mama’s Boy, and a few other CBD strains I have been working on, were born.
They gave my mother 90 days or less to live with stage 4 lung cancer. She lived for two years without the use of heavy narcotics; allowing herself to have open communication in relationships, not clouded by opiates, with myself and the people around her, up until the end.
Don’t get me wrong, it didn’t one hundred percent replace conventional drugs but it definitely helped to keep them at bay. She took some Norco throughout the process and to the end of her life.
Mama’s Boy played a huge part in her my life. It gave me the realization that I’m doing something for the world to better it along with helping my mother, and I gave my mother a reason to trust in her son. To believe he’ll be by her side with the best form of help he could provide – which most of all is love and commitment -to be there till the end. A month after she passed I went to the High Times Sonoma County show and decided to enter mama’s boy and show it to the world. WOW, it took it by storm, and place 4th.
After the last few years, reformed from partying, I now consider myself a CBD whore. Whole Plant Cannabis, Non-hemp CBD is my life and what I use. From anxiety, pain, focus, inflammation and so much more this CBD plant has helped me center my life and be the man I am today – an accomplishment I can feel proud of. Yes, I love myself and my mother is right alongside me every step of the way.
Since she has passed I have been working very hard on some new CBD strains. “Mama’s Berries” 1:1 and 18:1. Mama’s Berries has an incredible Barry flavor. It was crossed with Ringo’s gift x 1 and Berry Good. Lawrence Ringo, my predecessor in this industry (and the CBD man I look up to) left us with the one last cut he said to change the world with. Ringo’s gift back crossed with a 32% CBD male. Berry Good was from High County Genetics.
Our high THC strain is named Mama’s Cheese. Very sought after old, original genetics I’ve been working for years. years combined. I grew this strain and have worked it over the last few years to what it is today. 20:1 CBD to THC ratio. The fragrance and aroma that comes from this incredible stock is a one off, mold resistant, and the returns from processing oils in manufacturing is incredible; much more than any other CBD that I’ve worked before.
This year Subcool’s The Dank continues our work with CBD strains with a few new hybrids.
Taking the original Harliquin mother plant we outbred with Space Queen to increase the Cherry terpenes associated with CBD.
If you have a medical issue do yourself a favor and look into CBD. Even if your not a grower you can now order CBD extracts online legally. If your a cannabis producer make damn sure you have a high CBD plant in your medical garden.
Subcool
The Weed Nerd
Written and Published by Subcool in Weed World Magazine Issue 136
