Breeding and genetics in a post prohibition world

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I’ve been breeding for just over 20 years now and growing for 30. I’m from Alberta, so we had to do everything very quietly. There was no real set culture in Alberta like there is in in B.C. and in lower Ontario; we’re a very conservative province. We had to be very quiet with what we were doing and it was tough to get genetics, short of driving to Vancouver. 

I unfortunately lost my daughter to a fentanyl overdose; she was an opioid addict. I talked to Frenchy Cannoli shortly after that and it was a blessing. We talked for two hours about different terpenes, funny enough, that we were going to look for to help with this opioid crisis. That day I set out to create a cultivar to help battle the opioid crisis, and it’s still something we’re working on. There’s two major compounds we’re looking for: myrcene and caryophyllene. 

We’re trying to create a cultivar that can help those people stop the need to use, and it’s  something that we’re going to keep working on. And there’s a whole other myriad of things we look for when it comes to breeding structure, like how does it grow in a commercial facility? 

Some cultivars are really beautiful at home in a tent, but you want to bring them to the commercial game and you can’t, because they’re just too much plant work and too much overhead. So how do you get that plant into something that’s commercially viable to grow?

I have also created a cultivar that pulls up 30 per cent less water than any other cultivar studied. It’s great for drought-stricken areas and went 28 days without being watered. I also grow on Galiano Island in B.C., and we have a lot of water restrictions there. 

Some guys just want to breed for that high THC. Other guys want to breed for terpenes. Right now, at Big League Genetics, we sell mainly to Germany and Australia, and in Germany, they’re after terpene content. They don’t care about the THC; they want the experience. I think that’s something we need to be driving home more: the experience of cannabis and not the numbers. There is amazing stuff that’s 1:1 out there, and they make you feel fantastic. 

I had a Violator Kush that was lightning in a bottle. When we had it on the legacy market, we couldn’t keep the packs; they were gone as soon as they were ready. We brought it to the legal market, did a proper COA on it, and my business partners said, ‘nobody’s going to want this.’ I said, ‘Get it into a market and just let them try it.’ It went to the OCS and it sold through right away. 

I find with high THC, it’s a quick ramp up and I’m back down again. Whereas I find something that’s a little lower THC, higher CBD or even just lower THC and higher terpene content, sometimes I find those highs last longer, or it’s more enjoyable to smoke. Those super high THC for the most part are not the most tasty. I like something that I can sit back and relax with; that’s part of the experience. I can put it out halfway through and come back to it, and it still tastes delicious. At Ganjier, that’s called the ashtray test. 

I breed for flavour. I look for dance partners: who’s going to make a real good dance partner coming from stable parents?

Cherry pie is one of them out of California. I grow a lot with cherry pie; it’s a very dominant genetic plant, it’s a very crystally plant, it will pass on a lot of trichome structure to anything I put to it. It’s also delicious. I’m a cherry and grape fan. I love gas. I do like garlic as well. 

As a breeder I take the Rick Ross McDonald’s approach to breeding, and I think a lot of LPs need to start this as well. We need to start telling the customer what’s on the menu and not asking them what they need. We need to force the narrative to our side, saying ‘this is what you need to smoke, and it will make you feel amazing. I promise you don’t need to worry about the numbers.’ McDonald’s doesn’t ask you what burger you want. They figure it out. They do research themselves, they’re ahead of the game, and they drop products and then they’ll pull them back if it doesn’t work. They have standards. 

For me, White Widow Skunk, all the old standards, we need to bring those back to market. I have those as the standards and then we have our little exclusives that come in and out. I like to mix old school stuff with some new school stuff, so people get to experience a bit of both as a bit of a bridge; it’s been very         successful for me.   

My Thailand Wedding was at the Grow Up Conference four years ago, and no one was ready for it. Now I’m getting requests for the genetic constantly     because it grows incredibly well in Ontario and Quebec, but it’s the old school flavour with some new school structure. I have some plants that grow the smallest little flowers, they are so bold, but it’s not commercially viable. How do I get that into another plant? 

I think about what people like, and I try to be ahead of the game by about two years. I find, you don’t chase today’s trends, you create tomorrow’s. I’m not chasing a trend; I’m creating the next smoke for the people. 

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Dustan McLean was a founding partner and head of cultivation for Parkland Flower Inc. He is now the head of cultivation and master grower for Big League Cultivation in Alberta. In 2024, Dustan was named one of Canada’s Top 50 Cannabis Leaders. 

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