Bob Marley was a cultural icon. From introducing reggae to a global audience to popularizing Rastafari beliefs, his influence extended far beyond music. The Marley name is also ubiquitous in the cannabis community. Now, Humboldt Seed Company (HSC) is giving growers the chance to cultivate strains inspired by the legend himself.
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But the Bob Marley Collection isn’t just another celebrity cannabis collaboration. The new One Love and Redemption cultivars emerged from years of breeding work in Jamaica, where Humboldt Seed partnered with local growers, Rastafari community members, and researchers to develop genetics rooted in the island’s cannabis heritage.
“A long time coming…”
Artist Cedella Marley, Bob Marley’s daughter and the CEO of the Bob Marley Group of Companies, said in a press release that the seed collaboration represents the culmination of nearly a decade of research and development.
“This has been a long time coming—the HSC team has been working on perfecting these varietals since their first breeding project in Jamaica in 2017,” Marley explained.
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HSC co-founder and chief science officer Benjamin Lind told GreenState that the company has spent years working throughout the Caribbean, from pheno-hunting in Antigua to donating 20,000 seeds to cannabis growers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines following a devastating volcanic eruption.
Much of this work was done in partnership with Dr. Machel Emanuel, a botanist at the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica. Emanuel led the cannabis breeding project that eventually produced the One Love and Redemption cultivars.
The connection to the Marley family began with Flagman Judah, who serves as flag-bearer and chef for musician Damien Marley, Bob Marley’s youngest son. Judah runs a food sovereignty project in the Nine Mile area of Jamaica, Bob Marley’s birthplace. Humboldt Seed supported the effort, and the relationship grew from there.
“The Marley family’s still really connected to Nine Mile in a lot of ways and really tries to give back,” Lind explained.
The search for Marley-inspired genetics
To develop the Bob Marley cannabis seeds, Lind and his team worked closely with Emanuel to create strains that they said reflect the reggae icon’s legacy and appeal to modern cannabis cultivators.
Both strains are suitable for growers seeking washers, a term used for cannabis that is suitable for hash production. Tests revealed up to 3 percent return on buds from Marley plants.
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The indica-leaning Redemption combines Lamb’s Bread, a Jamaican landrace long associated with Marley, with Don Carlos and SFV OG. One Love, a sativa-leaning cultivar, starts with the award-winning Jamaican variety Westmorland Pineapple. Breeders then crossed it with Mango Sherbet and HSC’s Stoopid Fruits, producing a strain bursting with tropical vibes.
The final selections came after a pheno-hunt involving local Rastafari growers and graduate students working under Emanuel.
“It was this cool juxtaposition of old-school traditional knowledge and new-school book-smart knowledge,” Lind recalled. “The old-school Rastas and the new grad students are collaborating and sharing knowledge in this really cool way.”
Cedella Marley said the HSC team’s continued partnership with the community and dedication to the craft helped solidify the Marley family’s trust, paving the way for the release.
“The company’s commitment to rigorous, sustainable breeding practices and collaboration with farmers at Nine Mile has led to the creation of Redemption and One Love, honoring my father’s legacy and his connection to community and cannabis as a sacrament,” Marley said.
