Convenient and cost-effective, the clones available at Clonetopia come with the dream of becoming the next big thing in cannabis. These days, the hype levels around certain types of cannabis genetics can make or break a company. With clones, which are cuttings genetically identical to the mother plants from which they sprang, there’s no messing around.
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Hendrx Nursery is set to release 100 clones of Tire Fire OG for $1,566 each. While the price might seem exorbitant, growers who find the right genetics to sell have the chance to set themselves apart and secure a chunk of the $40 billion U.S. cannabis market.
“California is a global epicenter for vintage and modern cannabis genetics,” says Clonetopia organizer David Downs. “Any one of our top-shelf flavors can be a game changer in a commercial grow.”
Set for May 16-17 at 7 Stars dispensary in Richmond, Calif., and Solful on Irving Street in San Francisco, Clonetopia (dubbed one of the nation’s biggest clone drops) aims to provide growers with the strains they need to stay competitive in the legal cannabis era.
“You will get terps on target with clones,” Downs says. “You won’t have to hunt through a pack of seeds and waste time and money finding a strain that’s not as good as the clones that these professionals have selected for you.”
And why not just stick to the tried and true strain you’ve always grown, such as the ever-popular and frequently disparaged Blue Dream?
“If you like Blue Dream, you’re probably going to be interested in a variation on it,” Downs says. “The way, if you like Coke, you might be open to a cherry Coke.”
The Holy Grail
Profiting from growing cannabis is a quest in the vein of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table.
Growers spend money on elite clones because one plant can be grown out into a mother plant, which can make more clones, which are grown out to sell the bud that heady boys argue on the internet about.
“The purchasers intend to make their money many times over,” Downs says. “It’s an investment, and it’s like a seat at the table for the highest level genetics conversation in the world.”
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Buying cannabis in seed form is more of a gamble than buying clones.
“If people go buy tomatoes, the seeds they’re buying are fixed and guaranteed to produce one type,” Downs explains. “Generally speaking, cannabis seeds are not fixed. It is a grab bag, and that’s part of the fun. But if you don’t have that intention of playing the lottery and you just want to win, like an arcade game, then you want to go this clone route.”
Cannabis consumers have a lot of choices with what they grow and smoke. The Clonetopia event, curated by Downs, one of the world’s most preeminent cannabis genetics experts, offers wannabe knights a noble steed to join in the global genetics race.
“I love stinky, funky, weird stuff, so Haze Valley Nursery’s Modified Mule, which is GMO Mule Fuel, is brand new and should be extra weird,” Downs says. “If you’re a regular smoker who’s always wanting to find something new and adventurous, that could be a story.”
For something on the sweeter side, Downs recommends Bodhi’s Strawberry Headband, a cross of Loompa’s Headband and Strawberry Milk.
A Civic Duty to Grow
While commercial cannabis growers may see green at Clonetopia, Downs wants everyone from backyard cultivators to major players participating. He believes that, in the modern weed era, all smokers should exercise their rights.
“You have an American duty to avail yourself of the right to cultivate cannabis,” Downs says. “That, right, is more prevalent now than ever. It’s not a guarantee that we’ll ever keep it.
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“And May into June is the annual peak of these plants going out—they’re going out all across the country in gardens big and small,” Downs continues. “Like, this physical expression of this civil right, and so even if you don’t smoke, you can grow a little and enjoy the flavor and the color and the like knowledge that it’s legal and special that way. A lot of people got in a lot of trouble over a lot of years for us to do this simple act. And so I think it remains a little bit radical, even as it’s legal.”