CBN is my next project.
If a cannabis/hemp species is cropped early or let go it doesn’t guarantee any specifc cannabinoids % they do covert but not consistently
The theory is common, but in general what I find is that it’s purely genetic and can occur in any strains even hemp.
There is some strains higher in CBN
Animals cookies, Ace of Spades, Destroyer and I believe Magic Jordan
But CBN is a good one to pursue.
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Beth, you are doing great! Bring on your questions!
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Thank you both for sharing what you know!
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@Growernick ok!
I have lots of questions. But let’s start here:
If we could tear down the intellectual property system as we know it, and rebuild a better system by and for growers, what would that system ideally look like? How would it operate?
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As a follow up, how could we make a system like this that also works in service of protecting genetic diversity?
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Alan @Strainly
Thanks for hosting this very informative AMA!
It seems like hybrid strains are taking over nowadays. Do you find your customers buying more Indica, Sativa or Hybrid strains?
Also, I really like how 75% of your customers use Strainly from their mobile devices. It makes it much easier for people on the go.
Thanks again!
~ 
Kareenabis~
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The dominant model in industrial plant breeding is patent-driven breeding.
In software development or artistic creations areas, however, some open source / open sharing licenses exist.
OSSI (Open Source Seeds Initiatives) came with a pledge to foster open breeding of tomatoes and any kind of plants.
Open Source Seeds Association, came with a bolder approach = an Open Source Breeding license.
Since this Open Source Breeding license is created under the Creative Commons license CC-BY, they told us we could use it as a starting point to create a cannabis breeding license. And this is what we did.
Last week, we contacted a few Growers Alliances and Associations in the US and Canada, to offer them an “Open Cannabis License” that they can issue to their members (growers and breeders) to set make sure that their genetics would not be patented and used to streamline the genetic pool.
These are the key terms of the license:
- Anyone may freely use open-source seed - that is, grow, propagate, develop it further and use it for breeding. In addition, the seed and its developments may be transferred under existing laws, whether sold, exchanged or given away.
- No one, however, may privatize the seed and its developments - the licence excludes patent and plant variety protection.
- Each recipient assigns the same rights and obligations to prospective users of seed and its further developments.
We wrote a few articles on the topic 
https://blog.strainly.io/2018/09/19/open-source-cannabis-breeding-resources/
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Available cultivars are mostly hybrids these days, but an increasing number of people look for landrace cultivars, sativa or indica, as a more stable starting point to breed new strains.
I think that, as strain-awareness matures, a return to more “classic” strains may happen, and that may imply an increasing popularity of landrace strains.
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Hey Alan I had a couple quick questions about genetic stability. What generation do you see breeders growing to before calling a new strain line “stable”? When sowing seeds we see multiple phenotypes that are dramatically different from one to another. This isnt the case in large scale agriculture and I’m curious how we can get our industry to that same level of stability. What thoughts do you have on this?
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As a breeder, I can definitely see the value/appeal in breeding from landrace cannabis strains. With widespread hybridization becoming more commonplace, are you finding it harder to source landrace genetics?
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I love the open source model and am thrilled that now there’s an open source license available. Thank you for putting it out there.
Some questions that I have:
• How do people using the open source license enforce it in case of a violation?
• Some breeders might not want to use the open source route, because they feel they’ve done a lot of work to create something truly novel. If not a patent or PVP, is there another ethical possibility? ← the question that keeps me up at night.
Thank you for being here and all the great work you do!
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Hey Jacob,
That is quite a very valid and… technical question.
A lot of the strains we have today are from some people call “pollen chucking”. They take the first generation and release the seeds. When you do this from landrace (generally more stable) strains, the first generation will usually show somewhat consistent phenotypes (still with variations).
However, the more hybridized your parents are, the more variations you will see, unless, you go down the stabilization route again. That is, interbreeding the across several generations, while selecting the desired traits (phenos) and so one and so forth. After 6 or 7 generations you should notice more consistency between children’s traits.
There is usually a debate about the minimum number of generations, some say 6 is enough, other breeders say a minimum of 9 generations is required to stabilize and official give birth to a new line.
@Maximum-Yield published an interesting article on the topic
However, you can go around by propagating from clones, where you can make sure that all your plants will be identical, since they come from the same (selected) mother.
The emergence of tissue culture in the cannabis world, should allow growers to propagate consistent phenotypes at scale while leaving the stabilization effort to breeders.
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The “Open Cannabis License” model we issued to growers associations puts the alliance/association as the Beneficiary , which means alliances/associations represent the breeder who used the license to enforce their rights when needed.
So, the Growers’ Alliance/Association can cease and desist if necessary and proceed with litigation if unsuccessful. This is likely easier than for the breeder to be left on its own to enforce their rights. In addition, the simple fact that the cultivar is issued under this open license makes it a lot more difficult for a third party to patent it in the first place, because it is formally identified as open source, and as such the USPTO (for instance) would/should reject a patent application for a cultivar bred from an open source cultivar.
There are not too many alternatives…
If you want to protect your work, you need to obtain a patent (PVP, PBR, Plant Patent…). But this comes at a cost (read article for more details) and is only an entitlement to fight the fight if infringed ($$$$).
Individual breeders simply can’t afford patents. The model is designed for corporations, not individuals or family businesses. If they can afford the application, they will lack the resources to enforce the patent. And this time, they’re on their own (no association to support them).
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@Strainly, thanks again for taking time out of your busy schedule to be here with us for another great and informative GNET AMA! If you have any more questions for Alan, please feel free to DM him or leave your questions here.
Happy Growing!
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Thanks for such an in-depth reply! Quick follow up question since you mentioned cuttings: How significant do you think the stresses from taking cuttings to clone are to the genetic lines? We see a lot of variation once we get into the flower stage despite all cuttings being from a single plant and seed.
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Not easy to answer…
First, the vigorousness of the child plant can vary depending on where on the mother the clone is taken… which shows into flowering stage.
Different phenotypes may emerge from a single identical genotype, influenced by external factors. It would be interesting to test the different plants from a same “generation” of clones from a same mother (expected to be genetically identical), as well as the clones from different “generations” but from the same mother plant and compare the genotypes.
I don’t know anyone who has made this experiment and haven’t seen any results from such an experiment yet. I wouldn’t expect significant variations genetically but… there could be surprising observations. The stress needed to alter the genotype of a plant may also come from other factors related to the environment.
If anyone has any facts on the question, please chime in 
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No problem, it was a very good question.
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@memberdirectory, To all GNET members, the information on Breeders’ rights on Strainly website is priceless. I recommend everyone to read the articles. Thanks @Strainly
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