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The koalas speak to Lelehnia about the report she has been working on for the past six years.
REPORT AT A GLANCE – ONE PRESERVED SELECTION. MANY ENVIRONMENTS.
Ten completed Grow-Off samples documented differences in measured cannabinoid and terpene composition among samples from one preserved selection produced under independent cultivation conditions.
MEASURABLE VARIATION. A RECURRING THC-DOMINANT, MYRCENE-LED PATTERN.
Total THC ranged from 8.88% to 25.35%; total terpenes ranged from 0.58% to 1.78%, while the completed samples remained THC-dominant and myrcene-led.
VALUE BEYOND POTENCY.
Among the ten respondents who answered the primary-choice question in a small exploratory consumer survey, none selected THC percentage as the primary reason for interest.
PEOPLE, HISTORY, AND RESPONSIBILITY.
The project combines scientific evidence with provenance, community knowledge, consent, and ethical stewardship.
WHAT THIS REPORT INCLUDES
PROVENANCE • GENETIC RESEARCH • LABORATORY DATA GROW-OFF • CONSUMER RESEARCH • ETHICAL FRAMEWORK
Executive Summary
The Humboldt Legacy Project was launched by Humboldt Grace in 2020 to explore ethical and practical ways to protect, document, and value cannabis genetics and the knowledge connected to them. HLP Skunk #1 became the project’s first cultivar-level case study.
The work centered on two preserved selections donated to the project: HLP Skunk #1 No. 1 and HLP Skunk #1 No. 3. HendRx Farm served as the primary preservation partner. No. 1 supported consumer research and was later lost as living material. Both selections were registered through Canopyright; No. 3 was used for DNA-supported lineage research and the multi-farm Grow-Off. Distinguishing the selections was essential because findings from one plant cannot automatically be assigned to the other or to every plant sold as Skunk #1.
The project combined historical research and private interviews with David Watson; provenance and acquisition records; whole-genome sequencing through Medicinal Genomics; a THC synthase gene comparison; Canopyright distributed-ledger registration; cultivation by independent growers; cannabinoid, terpene, and exploratory thiol testing through Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs; consumer research; educational programming; and finished-concentrate analysis involving ArcataX, Lightwork Distributors, and SC Labs. Twenty-nine farms and cultivators registered for the Grow-Off, and ten completed samples were represented in the primary Certificate of Analysis dataset. The research was community-led and conducted with approximately $1,463 in direct cash funding, extensive volunteer labor, and donated professional services.
The scientific work contributed useful evidence, but it did not provide a complete answer. HLP Skunk #1 No. 3 showed consistency with the Weiblen Skunk #1 reference at the THC synthase gene examined. This supports continued investigation of the reported lineage; it does not prove complete cultivar identity, ownership, authenticity, or chain of custody. The project therefore uses the language “DNA-supported lineage research” rather than claiming that a laboratory test authenticated all of Skunk #1.
The ten Grow-Off COAs documented differences among submitted samples from one preserved selection produced independently across multiple cultivation settings. Across the ten primary Certificates of Analysis, total THC ranged from 8.88% to 25.35%, and total terpenes ranged from 0.5782% to 1.781%, with β-myrcene the highest-concentration measured terpene in each COA. Minor-cannabinoid and supporting-terpene expression also varied. All submitted Grow-Off samples were sent for exploratory thiol testing, but reportable measurements were available only for Sample 07 and supplemental Sample 11, and their prenylthiol measurements differed. Those limited, method-specific results do not support broader conclusions. A separate concentrate record documented how one labeled Skunk #1 lot performed after extraction, but it was batch-specific and did not provide genetic authentication.
The consumer research was small and exploratory, but it added another kind of evidence. Among the ten respondents who answered the primary-choice question, half selected the legacy story, 40% selected supporting Humboldt legacy, and none selected THC percentage. This does not represent the broader market; it does show that, when consumers are given context, history, place, community, and purpose can contribute to perceived value.
The central finding is that no single tool can carry the whole record of a legacy cultivar. Genetics can describe and compare samples. Historical records can preserve provenance and memory. Cultivation data document reported
farm conditions, methods, timing, and plant-health challenges connected to the tested samples. Laboratory results document chemical expression. Registration and legal tools can create dated records and define responsibilities. Consumer research can reveal forms of value that potency alone misses. None can independently establish the complete history, identity, ownership, cultural meaning, or value of a widely shared cultivar.
The case study points toward a stewardship model built from connected evidence, clear sample identification, living preservation, consent, honest limits, attribution, benefit sharing, and accountability. It also demonstrates why ethics is not separate from scientific or commercial work. Every decision about preservation, access, research, storytelling, ownership, credit, and commercialization affects who is recognized, who carries risk, and who benefits.
HLP Skunk #1 did not produce a final answer. It produced a documented process, a practical model others can examine and improve, and a foundation for Humboldt Grace’s broader Cannabis Ethics Survey. Together, the two projects ask how cannabis can move forward without erasing the genetics, knowledge, values, and people that carried it here.
Contact Lelehnia here. lelehnia.lele.dubois@gmail.com
Lelehnia DuBois
Lelehnia DuBois is a cannabis strategy advisor and expert in cannabis culture, genetics authentication, and product curation.
Her work bridges lived cannabis culture with genetic provenance, market positioning, and long-term value creation.
She advises brands, researchers, and policymakers on how cannabis actually functions — culturally, genetically, and in real markets — helping them avoid costly missteps and build credible, differentiated outcomes.
Her perspective is grounded in decades of experience across legacy cannabis, research initiatives, and emerging regulated markets.
