Wade’s World of Cannabis Seeds

Whitethorn Rose

Roll Up For Cannabis Equity – A Monthly Column

By Terrie Best

I met Wade years ago at a cannabis activist meeting and he stood out when he volunteered to host a seed exchange for patients who would like to grow for themselves. That generosity, very typical of Wade, eventually morphed into a really fun activist action at the first ever Cannabis Row at Earth Day in Balboa Park.

Earth Day is held every year around April 20th which of course begs for a cannabis presence. The legal market had begun to flex its PR and marketing muscle beyond the back pages of The Reader and Cannabis Row at Earth Day goes down in San Diego history as one of the first mainstream weed events. A win. After all, it was 2017!

San Diego activists chose to push the envelope that year and hand out cannabis seeds. It seems innocent now – little seeds for free- but we were actually apprehensive and we were warned not to do it. We did it anyway.

Wade supplied the seeds and people really loved it.

Seedless weed wasn’t always a thing and since seeds are now so scarce (unless you know guys like Wade), if I see one, I am always tempted to spout it. There’s so much potential locked in that little shell, it seems sad not to show it that kindness.

Before our neighbors to the south discovered how to cultivate Sinsemilla – translates as seedless cannabis – and in times past and cabins unattended – I ‘ve noticed that that bygone seedy weed left out on trays would wind up with all the little shells neatly cracked open and the inside eaten by whatever varmint discovered the tray. Proving everybody loves cannabis!

Yes, seeds are cool and there’s no bigger seed nerd than Wade. That’s why it was so tragic when he lost his entire seed library in a misguided sheriff visit. He called me for help and as I struggled with the dilemma of a search warrant and raid in these times, Wade got to work doing it for himself.

First he managed to get the court to give him the affidavit that supported the warrant, then he contacted his colleagues in seeds ( I really want to say seedy colleagues) and bless their ever loving little hearts,  they were able to pledge to completely replace all Wade had lost, including the coveted White Thorn Rose (WTR) strain in the news lately. Because of the comradery, he wouldn’t even need to fight the law to get his stuff back.

Generosity has its perks. A while back, Wade had found a legacy WTR seed and asked the strain holder if he could sprout it. When he got permission, with a caveat to share what he grew with other propagators, he did. When he lost the precious mother plant to the sheriffs (they chopped it down – it was a tree), all of his friends came forward and offered their (WTR) clones (cuttings) he’d distributed to them for when he is ready to grow again.

In the meantime, Wade will continue his cannabis education even though legalization and over- regulation precluded him from any entrepreneurial endeavor, like it did 90% of legacy growers.

The Ganjier Program gave him a scholarship for their sommelier-type cannabis course. The instructors teach and certify professionals who will go on to help consumers distinguish quality products. Wade is being trained on the cannabis plant’s nuances and complexities and has been volunteering at the program as he earns his certificate. The WTR mother was his project at Ganjier and he is glad to have access to her clones.

Let’s grow more! Cannabis is a fascinating plant. As Arno Hazekamp wrote in Chemistry of Cannabis:

“If it were to be discovered today, growing in some remote spot of the world, it would be hailed as a wonder of nature; a new miracle plant with the potential to treat anything ranging from headaches to neurological disorders to cancer.”

Please put a seed in the ground and grow a miracle. Corporate cannabis shouldn’t be the only thing growing.