Joint Doctor

Over the past 15 years, the Joint Doctor has never exhaled, delving into a uniquely wide range of cannabis-related topics. A consultant on cannabis variety trials, his hands-on experience includes industrial hemp production as well as ganja-fueled genetic research. His writings have appeared in such publications as Cannabis Culture, the International Hemp Association Journal (Holland), and Heads Magazine. A little more about the Joint Doctor Seeking out old and new cannabis landraces and varieties, cultivation techniques, research methods and cultural practices, the Joint Doctor has led a veritable “weed odyssey” during his (still short) career of 15 years.

Growing up on a farm, he began taking interest in cannabis cultivation while in his teens. Bringing some seed with him to college, he continued to supply his head stash by growing in his dorm room and the adjacent woodlot. These “extra-curricular” activities, in time, became the real focus of his studies. This turned out to be the beginning of a career in cannabis cultivation and research. The Joint Doctor has moved around a great deal across international borders, as well from country to city and back again. Always trading strains, collecting information, and cultivating contacts at all levels in the world of cannabis research, many doors have been thankfully opened to him in terms of learning opportunities. With lots of help from qualified persons along the way, he has conducted outdoor grow trials in several countries, which has led him to a greater understanding of the light-dependent mechanisms involved in the flowering process, among other things. While traveling, he observed many ganja plantations, wild patches of cannabis, towering hemp fields, and even ornamental hemp, learning a great deal about the incredible diversity of this species. Soon, the Joint Doctor became convinced that nearly anything is possible, and indeed, practicable, in the marijuana breeding department. To create new, better varieties, he reasoned, all that was needed was some diverse sources of high-quality genes, a keen eye for observation, lots of time and patience, and as it turns out, a bit of luck. “At one point during my travels in Eastern Europe, I visited a friend whose family lived in a typically small, cramped working-class apartment. The previous summer, when I had first stopped by to visit, I turned his open-minded mom on to her first taste of marijuana – totally unprejudiced, she was immediately taken by the weed’s euphoric effects, exclaiming, ‘I like this better than vodka!’” “Now, my friend’s mother was attempting to grow some weed on a windowsill, from seeds I had donated on my last visit. I doubted this was practical. ‘Wouldn’t it be neat,’ I began to think out loud, ‘if someone could develop a dwarf type of pot that was meant strictly for windowsills, balconies, and cramped apartments?’” It seems that his hosts shared this opinion. The idea stuck, and gave new direction to the Joint Doctor’s projects. Though Lowryder wasn’t his first attempt at developing a new cannabis strain along these lines, it is his first commercially-released variety – ten years later. It is the latest incarnation of his mission, and the accumulation of years of trial and error. “The creation of Lowryder has been a lengthy process. Lowryder was borne of a desire to breed innovative cannabis, coupled with the limitations presented by confined spaces in often-changing locations, both indoor and out. From guerilla-style bush patches, to urban basements, to suburban backyards, even the skylight of a camper van, I have tried it all.” Lowryder is already having a huge impact on cannabis cultivation and breeding worldwide, beyond even the Joint Doctor’s wildest dreams. “This one variety I’ve created will probably have the most significant impact of anything I’ve done. The seed’s out there now, people are growing it and crossing it with their own plants in England, Taiwan, in Finland, in Italy, maybe even the North Pole, or Mars someday! I can just sit back and watch this amazing plant – my “baby” – spread out and take a life of its own, in so many ways.”