Yes, 2015 is an exciting time for the legal Cannabis Industry as marijuana news now reaches the mainstream population hourly.

Celebrating these headlines is exciting for advocates and consumers alike, but many staunch marijuana supporters aren’t content just reading about the emerging industry — they want to participate in it.

Securing a legal license to operate a marijuana business is a complex process, but let’s assume we are among those awarded such a license in a recently minted marijuana state. How then do we begin the cultivation process?

The foundation of the marijuana industry is agricultural, and like any farmer, we must decide which crops to grow. While there are only three subspecies of cannabis: indica, sativa and ruderalis, the genetic diversity within those subspecies is approaching infinite. We aren’t deciding whether to grow corn or oranges, we are deciding which type of orange to grow, only we have thousands to choose from.

Landrace (indigenous) marijuana strains are among the most sought after because they have adapted to their environments over centuries and have been found to produce optimal levels of medical compounds (cannabinoids). Some examples are Jamaican Lamb’s Bread and Pakistani Hindu Kush. These strains, and others from around the world, are particularly valuable in breeding and form the backbone for most of the genetics in the current marketplace.

Indoor marijuana cultivation, preferred by most MMJ states, takes many environmental considerations out of the equation. Landrace strains still hold value but unless we are monocropping the Lamb’s Bread and tailoring our entire facility to match the natural environmental conditions in Jamaica, we may not realize its full potential.

So what are the right strains? If we had a private vault with an incredible variety of globally diverse cannabis genetics, created and stabilized by the world’s most respected breeders, how would we decide which ones to grow?

Focus on yield

The most important quality when selecting genetics for a commercial cultivation business is yield. Factors such as grow methodology, lighting, media, nutrients, etc. will also impact overall yields but much of a strain’s potential is encoded in its DNA. Licensed commercial cultivators have a responsibility to their patients to produce enough medicine to satisfy the marketplace.

In Colorado or California, where there are several hundred producers, cultivators enjoy wiggle room to prioritize certain factors above yield but in most emerging markets there are few licensees and each carries the responsibility of meeting supply demands.

Finding strains that produce high yields in our custom environment requires sufficient research, experimentation and data collection. Each grow lamp in our facility represents valuable real estate and we must ensure that our space is occupied by productive tenets. However, yield alone is not nearly enough for a strain to reserve a permanent spot in our garden. We must also have quality.

Defining marijuana quality is much more complex than analyzing yield data. Several objective and subjective factors contribute to determining how each strain is perceived by consumers.

The potency factor

The most important objective quality marijuana can have is potency. High THC and CBD strains are desired for their medicinal properties and ease of use. If one gram of OG Kush can provide the same therapeutic results as three grams of Northern Lights most patients will choose the more efficient dose.

With a wealth of new cannabis information now regularly making it to consumers, the average patient’s level of understanding about marijuana is increasing sharply.

Marijuana patients in established markets like Colorado, California and Washington are incredibly knowledgeable and those in emerging markets aren’t far behind. This makes subjective criteria like smell (Blackberry Kush), flower structure (Blue Dream), strain notoriety (Girl Scout Cookies), connoisseur popularity (OGs) and resistance to pests (sativa dominant) important as well.

Even the name of a strain plays a role in our decision to grow it. Names like Green Crack and AK-47 might not be the most tasteful in medical markets but are fine in a recreational setting. Strains named after celebrities (Chuck Norris) are always popular and many connoisseurs like strains named after their geographical origin (Tahoe OG).

Give them a home

Ultimately, we want to select the strains that we grow the best and provide the most medical relief to our patients. Each strain decision is individual and must be right for our particular environment.

Large scale marijuana cultivation is difficult, but the core job is basic: provide medical grade cannabis to a population in need of it.

To fulfill this obligation we must start with a strong genetic foundation. Beautiful varieties currently exist and more are created every day. We just need to hunt them down and give them a home.