In 2014, 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.
From this experience, I learned that there needed to be a centralized, compliant marketplace for cannabis genetics. And thus, CannaGen was born in 2025. CannaGen is a centralized online marketplace for cannabis genetics, built exclusively for licensed breeders, nurseries, and cultivators. The concept for CannaGen was born out of a real need to aid licensed nurseries and cultivators experiencing difficulty in replenishing genetic stock compliantly.
Help Us Build the CannaGen Community
We are building a community of breeders, nurseries, and cultivators. CannaGen is a national sales platform for the regulated cannabis industry. “Sellers” can list seed, seedlings, clones, teens, breeders’ cuts, and pollens for free. We have all listings allocated to the appropriate states for viewing based on licensing and transport rules. For example, almost all seed and seedlings are available to a national audience, but some clones (and certainly teens) will only be available within their state of origin. We do the legwork so state-licensed cultivators can make informed decisions.
All sales are redirected off-site to take place privately, within compliance between the two parties. There are no fees, commissions, or transactions on the actual platform. Breeders and nurseries or “sellers” will always use this platform FREE OF CHARGE. Licensed cultivators or “buyers” will pay a flat monthly subscription fee of $29.99. There will never be any additional charges or increases to that rate.
Time is our most valuable commodity. Sure, we’re selling subscriptions to licensed cultivators for access to the platform and its listings. However, what we’re actually selling is time, or at least the savings of it.
In Cannabis, We’re Always Short on Time – Here’s a Solution
Breeders and cultivators alike simply don’t have extra time or bandwidth. CannaGen is selling you that extra time. The time you spend researching genetics, scouring seed banks and other websites/listings, and attending trade shows for booth pickups, can be saved using CannaGen.
Think about all the things in your life that you spend money on to effectively save time. Do you belong to a car wash club? Do you have a cleaning service or landscaper? How about express passes at theme parks or airports? Have you ever greased a bouncer to skip a line? If you’re in California I know you’ve opted for toll roads before! We spend money to save time in our personal lives everywhere. Shouldn’t the same be true for your business? Time is your most valuable commodity. Allow CannaGen to free a little of it up!
In addition to time savings, these happen to be the most comprehensive listings ever offered for cannabis genetics. Each listing includes up to five uploaded documents. That documentation can include COAs, test results, IPM implementation, tissue culture, pathogens, origins, genetic IPs, and more. We’ve even got a message board so breeders and nurseries can post tips and conduct healthy debates. All accounts are license-verified to maintain a professional only (B2B) platform.
That’s it. No catches. No surprises. No increases. Just a community of like-minded professionals trying to conduct business in a constantly evolving industry. Built by a former licensed cultivator for usage by current licensed cultivators.