About Us

In 1992, I smoked cannabis for the first time. I was 15 years-old and a sophomore in high school. It was love at first puff. Since that day cannabis has played a very large role in my life. In 2012, almost twenty years later to the day, I secured one of the very first recreational cultivation licenses in Washington state and the country. Three years later, I had my first and only run-in with PM (powdery mildew). Likely the two worst letters ever said to a grower. Responsible growers mitigate risk. That meant killing off irreplaceable stock. A brutal outcome made only worse by a lack of replenishment options. Sourcing legal (state-compliant), verified genetics was incredibly difficult. Most states require licensed cultivators to intake genetics only from other in-state licensees, but there was no centralized system to find them. No listings. No visibility. Just a fragmented mess of gatekeeping, guesswork, and regulatory headaches.

There needed to be a centralized, compliant marketplace for cannabis genetics. Well, in true cannabis fashion it took me a decade to get there, but CannaGen was finally born in 2025. At first, I was thinking solely about THC-dominant cannabis and the licensed recreational side. Hemp wasn't even on my radar. After all, there weren't many regulations for hemp genetics, and truth be told, I felt aligned with the recreational and legacy folks. I didn't fully grasp all of the different markets for hemp genetic material either.