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Opening the doors to standardized cannabis propagation

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1 month ago

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Twenty cannabis growers from all over Europe and the world recently gathered in Austria for another industry event: a one-day invitation-only masterclass on cannabis propagation, hosted by Fluence, one of Europe’s largest cannabis clone producers, at the Flowery Field in Vienna.

The day included lectures, live demonstrations and a rare guided tour through a facility that is usually closed to outsiders. “It was a good mix of practice and theory,” says Fluence’s Theo Tekstra. “In the morning we had a theoretical block, then we had an in-depth tour of the tissue culture laboratory and the mother plant and reproduction areas, and in the afternoon a practical workshop. Everyone saw and participated in the whole process.”

© Fluence BioengineeringA cannabis tissue culture clone in the early rooting hardening phase was demonstrated at the Flowery Field hands-on session, demonstrating propagation techniques with Fluence LED lighting.

Historical installation
Flowery Field was founded by Alexander Klima, a former law student who noticed that Austrian regulations discriminated between plants and their uses. In practice, this means that cannabis can be sold as an ornamental plant, as long as it is not harvested for consumption.

What started as a small shop selling houseplants along with cannabis cuttings, has since become a major production site, with a hundreds of square meters of mother plant and tissue culture laboratory where eight technicians work every day. The company now focuses entirely on cannabis clones, supplying customers in Austria and neighboring countries, often with same-day delivery to selected locations.

Standardized expansion
For Franz Joseph Sima, Fluence’s long-time propagation specialist, the masterclass aimed to show how standard procedures transform the mother and clone phases of cannabis production. “Many producers still have challenges in the expansion phase,” he said. “At Flory Field, these processes have been refined over twenty years. We wanted participants to see how a consistent and commercially viable system works in practice.”

The workshop covered everything from mother plant maintenance and replacement schedules, to light intensity, watering and pest management. The attendees received the full procedure afterwards. “The only condition,” says Franz, “was to be there.”

© Fluence BioengineeringFranz Josef Sima, Cannabis Research & Plant Specialist at Fluence, guiding participants through best practices in mother plant maintenance and clone cutting.

From tissue culture to mother plant
Participants followed the entire production chain, from tissue culture and virus testing in the laboratory, to cutting and preparation of clones. Flowery uses PCR testing to ensure cultivar stability and purity, a practice more common in pharmaceutical or ornamental horticulture than cannabis.

“The contrast was striking,” says Theo. “You have this sterile white lab on one side, and on the other a fully commercial clone factory based on the mother plants. Seeing both under one roof gave people a real sense of scale.”

Opening the doors
One of the main takeaways from the day was the atmosphere of openness. “In the Dutch horticulture industry, growers thrived by visiting each other and sharing knowledge,” says Theo. “In cannabis, everyone tends to close their doors. Events like this are a step to change that.”

The small group format helped. What began as quiet observation soon turned into a back-and-forth of ideas, with growers comparing notes, solving problems, and sharing their methods.

© Fluence BioengineeringAttendees of the Fluence Propagation Masterclass at Flowery Field in Vienna, a meeting of cannabis cultivation professionals from all over Europe.

Interest in the event exceeded expectations, Franz and Theo both say, and Fluence is already considering repeating the format. “We can do another show in the same place, and maybe even one in the US. It’s something that people can clearly see. In cannabis, very few cloning procedures have been proven for a decade or more, so showing something that has stood the test of time makes a big difference.”

For one day, Flowery Field opened its doors, its laboratories and its mother rooms to a small but focused group of professionals. “In a sector where practical knowledge tends to be kept close to the box, that alone was worth a visit,” concludes Theo.

If you are interested in participating in Fluence Masterclass events across Europe, please get in touch (email protected)

For more information:
fluency
https://fluence-led.com/

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HoneyGrove Dispensary selivers affordable small-batch flower to patients amid push for MMJ reform

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16 hours ago

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December 7, 2025

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HoneyGrove Dispensary has partnered with Ewing-based medical cannabis company Noble Valley Harvest Company to offer small-batch flowers at reduced prices to medical marijuana patients.

Half ounces are available for $75 and full ounces are available for $125, with no sales tax applied to cardholder purchases. HoneyGrove waives sales tax on adult-use transactions for patients with a valid medical card to support patient access.

Within NJ’s three-ounce monthly purchase limit, cardholders can get $100 off multiple ounce purchases.

© Rey Fernandez

The initiative addresses ongoing concerns about affordability in New Jersey’s medical marijuana program, which has drawn criticism for high costs and limited supply. By offering premium, small-batch products at prices associated with lower-quality options, HoneyGrove and Noble Valley aim to improve immediate patient access while advocating for broader program reforms.

“HoneyGrove and HoneyStash are committed to patient care by partnering with local growers,” said Dave Valese, CEO of HoneyProjects, the management company for both dispensaries. “This partnership with Noble Valley ensures that medical patients receive high-quality flower at affordable prices, supporting our broader efforts to improve New Jersey’s medical cannabis program.”

“Noble Valley Harvest is producing small-batch cannabis for the New Jersey market,” said Dr. Lisa Grega, founder of Noble Valley Harvest Company. “We’re excited to give medical patients first access to help boost a market that’s shrinking in size and selection.”

For more information:
Honey Projects
honey-projects.com



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Ohio Senate Expected To Vote On Bill Recriminalizing Some Marijuana Activity That Voters Legalized

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16 hours ago

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December 7, 2025

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“You can be charged with a felony for having legal weed in a package other than what you bought it from. You can be charged with a felony for buying legal weed in Michigan.”

By Jake Zuckerman, Signal Cleveland

It was this story originally posted By Signal Cleveland. Sign up for their free newsletter at SignalCleveland.org/subscribe.

A new law to be passed in the Statehouse next week would establish a series of juveniles Criminal penalties for persons illegally transporting or possessing marijuana in Ohiowhile withdrawing legal protections for users, such as child custody or professional license disputes.

That’s why NORML, the oldest marijuana advocacy organization in the US, is leading a quixotic effort to urge the Ohio Senate to reject Senate Bill 56 before a final vote next week.

With Senate approval, the bill would go to Gov. Mike DeWine (R) for his signature or veto.

The marijuana changes are part of a larger package that also establishes a new, comprehensive regulatory system for the intoxicant hemp, a product functionally similar to legal marijuana, but sold without age restrictions, taxes or quality controls. DeWine, a Republican who opposed relaxing Ohio’s marijuana laws, has been making public the issue of hemp more than a year ago.

But perhaps due to a political compromise, marijuana users have been caught up in the crackdown on hemp, according to Morgan Fox, NORML’s political director.

“A lot of this stuff is completely nonsensical,” he said in an interview. “This is recriminalizing a lot of behavior that is relatively innocent and has been legal for a long time.”

House and Senate lawmakers negotiated the final version of the legislation in a conference committee, which means the bill cannot be changed. The House passed it last month by a 52-34 vote last night, with a handful of Republicans joining Democrats in opposition.

Committee members described the final version as a compromise between mixed blocs of voters: Democrats who don’t want new criminal penalties for regular users, Republicans who support the right to grow marijuana, religious conservatives who oppose the expansion of legal use of the intoxicant, local governments who want their money to ruin a gas station. retailers, and both the hemp and marijuana industries seeking market advantages. (In all, 153 lobbyists signed up to work on the bill in August, state records show.)

In 2023, Ohio voters passed Issue 2 by 57 percent to 43 percent, allowing adults to legally use, buy, sell and possess cannabis. Those rights remain intact under the bill.

However, SB 56 imposes legal penalties for not having marijuana in its original container or buying legal marijuana in Michigan, where it is usually much cheaper.

Below is a closer look at some of these rules.

Out-of-state marijuana

SB 56 reclassifies what counts as the “legalization scope” of marijuana. And under its rules, marijuana that isn’t grown at home or purchased at a state dispensary is illegal. Prices are much lower in Michigan’s more mature cannabis market, and SB 56 would make it illegal to bring the substance back into Ohio.

Violators can be charged with a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum fine of $150, but no jail time.

Fox, the state lobbyist for NORML, said he is not aware of any adult-use states that outlaw the simple possession of cannabis produced in another state.

Driving with marijuana in the car

Under the bill, drivers could legally transport marijuana. However, it must be stored in the trunk or, in cars without a trunk, behind the last upright seat of the car. Marijuana and any paraphernalia must also be stored in its “original, unopened container.”

Likewise, edibles must be kept in their original packaging to complete the bill.

Offenses are minor fouls.

“You can be charged with a felony for having legal weed in a package other than the one you bought it from,” Bride Rose Sweeney, one of the top Democratic negotiators in the House, said at the conference. “You can be charged with a felony for buying legal Michigan weed.”

Loss of legal protections

In addition to legalizing marijuana, the voter-approved 2023 law created legal protections for adults who use marijuana in many civil and administrative contexts.

For example, state licensing boards cannot penalize licensees solely for using marijuana. A judge cannot deprive a parent of parenting time or responsibilities based solely on marijuana use and absent clear and convincing evidence of the child’s lack of safety.

Similar protections exist in relation to access to medical care, such as organ donation, in relation to denying a person as a tenant or disqualifying them from public benefits.

The bill removes almost all of these protections, although users can access public benefits (except unemployment compensation).

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The forgotten story behind autoflowering cannabis

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2 days ago

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December 6, 2025

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Many of the things that are common in modern cannabis come from a time when curiosity about the plant could lead to real problems. With the market now dominated by hybrid genetics, it is a common belief that it is almost impossible to bring anything back to an original cultivar. However, many of these initial building blocks came from the first wave of cannabis exploration, when a handful of growers traveled across continents in search of unique local varieties. Nevil Schoenmakers was one of them, and what he spotted on the side of a highway during a trip to Turkey left a mark on the history of cannabis that has never been erased.

On the way to Turkey
Dwight Diotte of D9 Canna Consulting still remembers those early years. A time when the modern industry was just an idea and the world of cannabis lived in the shadows between one country and another. Everyone in that circle followed clues more than maps, and it all felt like a treasure hunt with pocket knives and curiosity.

So how did cannabis ruderalis enter the cannabis world. The story begins with a road trip. Nevil was moving through Eastern Europe on one of his journeys to find his seed when he saw something strange on a highway in Hungary. The plants, already in flower, stand out against the July heat. He stopped so suddenly that his car screeched. Then he ran across like someone who had just seen a myth pass by.

© Dwight Diotte

He took some branches and dried them in the car heater. He soon realized that what he found was something special. He paused again, and turned around. Turkey could wait. What he had just discovered demanded attention, “and perhaps saved him from a more dangerous detour,” Dwight notes. The Cold War was still very real and the borders of that region were not yet friendly to roving plant hunters.

Sparking the seeds of something new
By the time Dwight saw Nevil the following year in the Netherlands, the seeds of the mystery were already on the table. They were tiny, dark and impossible to germinate with the usual tricks. Dwight remembers gently cracking the pebbles and soaking them as Nevil thought animals might do in the wild. “It felt less like horticulture and more like archaeology,” Dwight recalls.

Once they sprouted, the surprise came quickly. These were no ordinary plants. They went from seed to flower oblivious to the light of day and seemed determined to complete their cycle, encouraged or not. The concept of autoflowering did not yet exist. “Nevil saw the plants blooming on the fifth or seventh node and understood that something new was on the table.”

This was the birth of the modern ruderalis work, although at the time no one was thinking in neat categories. “We were trying to understand what we found.”

Claiming ownership
Dwight wandered between Canada and Europe during those years and witnessed it all. He helped raise funds for what would later become the famous Cannabis Castle, watched the early grow in action and watched Nevil push ruderalis as far as he could before returning to his passion for long-flowering cannabis. “The Finola project was created in the mid-90s and its founders claimed credit for the autoflowering breakthrough, even though the genetics went back to the same region that Nevil had explored, if not the same plants as Nevil himself,” Dwight said.

Everyone involved in that era seemed to reinvent themselves every season. The seed companies changed their names. Growers moved between projects. Some developed legendary cultivars. Others disappeared completely from public life. Through it all, Nevil remained a figure who kept one foot in research mode and the other in business reality. When the Dutch tightened regulations in the nineties, the landscape changed again, and a series of legal dramas followed across continents. “A few years later the dust settled and life moved on, but the seeds of his legacy had already been planted.”

According to Dwight, many of the fog lines that dominate the shelves today have their origins in Nevil. “It’s the same in the autoflowering category. Even after turning his attention away from ruderalis, he produced work that breeders talk about in low tones and reverence.”

Heritage
Dwight still grows ruderalis for fun. He says that plants teach him things. He says that even after forty years they still amaze him. “Nevil Schoenmakers always worked with what he found and let the plants say what they wanted to be. But the evidence is hard to ignore. When the first little black seeds were opened in Hungary, the industry of the future cracked with them. And even today, every time an autoflower appears on a legal shelf anywhere in the world, a small part of that moment is still on the side of the road in Eastern Europe.”

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