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The forgotten story behind autoflowering cannabis

Published

4 weeks ago

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.

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.”

Related Topics:autoflowering Cannabis forgotten Story

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Michigan cannabis industry appeals 24% wholesale tax as job cuts loom

Published

17 hours ago

December 30, 2025

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as reported by Crain’s in DetroitMichigan’s cannabis industry is ramping up its legal battle over the 24% wholesale tax that will take effect on January 1st. The Michigan Cannabis Industry Association (MICIA) filed an appeal in the state appeals court on Tuesday, challenging the decision of Court of Claims Judge Sima Patel, who denied the group’s request to block the tax.

MICIA spokeswoman Rose Tantraphol told Crain’s that she “doesn’t think the Claims Tribunal made the right call” and that the case is “an exceptionally strong case on the merits.” The association says the wholesale tax violates the 2018 voter-approved cannabis law, the Michigan Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTMA), and “we will not back down from fighting for the will of the people in court,” it said.

A tax passed by lawmakers in late October to fund road repairs is already making waves in the state’s cannabis market. Ann Arbor-based C3 Industries is closing its 35,000-square-foot growing facility in Webberville, cutting 62 jobs, according to a state Workforce Adjustment and Retraining notice. CEO Ankur Rungta told Crain’s that the business “cannot operate the Michigan production facility profitably with the new wholesale tax.”

Marquette-based Higher Love, which runs ten dispensaries along with growing and processing operations, announced it will lay off nearly 30 percent of its workforce, citing tax reasons, though the exact number of workers affected is unclear.

MICIA’s legal challenge argues that the Legislature lacked the supermajority needed to change the voter-approved law and may have sidestepped the rules by introducing a toll road funding bill without a public hearing. Judge Patel disagreed that the tax violated the law, but left the door open for further review, and that courts should consider whether the 24% wholesale tax undermines the intent of the MRTMA’s original 10% retail excise tax, which aims to keep legal marijuana affordable and curb the illegal market.

With the new tax set to go into effect within days, MICIA is asking the Court of Appeal for a quick ruling to stop the wholesale levy before it takes effect.

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Florida Marijuana Campaign Sues State Over Invalidation Of 71,000 Signatures With Turn-In Deadline Weeks Away

Published

17 hours ago

December 30, 2025

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A Florida campaign seeking to put marijuana legalization on the state’s 2026 ballot has filed a new lawsuit against state officials, alleging they improperly directed the cancellation of about 71,000 signatures as the filing deadline quickly approaches.

Smart & Safe Florida has fought several legal battles this cycle to ensure its initiative can be put on the ballot.

The latest lawsuit, filed Monday in Leon County courts, alleges that Secretary of State Cord Byrd (R) ordered county election officials to invalidate about 42,000 signatures from so-called “inactive” voters and about 29,000 signatures collected by out-of-state petitioners.

This comes after another court upheld a previous decision to strike with around 200,000 signatures, which the state said were invalid because the petition did not contain the full text of the proposed initiative. The campaign challenged the legal interpretation, but declined to appeal the decision, confident it had collected enough signatures to settle the dispute.

Now, about a month away from submitting 880,062 valid signatures by the Feb. 1 deadline, Smart & Safe Florida points out that additional cancellations could jeopardize their chances of getting on the ballot. Currently, the state has validated 675,307 signatures.

“Time is of the essence,” the new lawsuit says. according to Florida News Service. “Florida’s Secretary of State has issued two illegal directives that, unless stopped, will invalidate citizen initiative petitions signed by more than 70,000 registered voters.”

As for “inactive” voters, the term refers to those who are registered but marked as undeliverable, resulting in their addresses being considered unconfirmed. This group can remain unregistered if they do not vote in two consecutive general elections.

“The absurd result of the Secretary’s directive is that ‘active’ voters can vote for the proposed amendment, but cannot count their petitions to vote to place the proposed amendment on the ballot,” the lawsuit states.

The out-of-state petitioner lawsuit, on the other hand, is about enforcement of a law passed earlier this year that prohibits the collection of signatures by non-Florida residents. Among the legal challenges, a federal court ordered its enforcement blocked for about two months before another judge lifted that order.

Smart & Safe Florida is arguing that the signatures collected during the mandate window should not be invalidated because they were obtained legally while the law was not in effect.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Florida’s attorney general asked the state Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of the legalization initiative. The court granted the request and set a schedule for state officials and the cannabis campaign to file briefs next month.

The campaign said last month it had collected more than a million signatures to put the cannabis measure on the ballot, but it’s not. He has sued state Supreme Court officials for delaying the certification processarguing that the review of ballot content and summary should have gone ahead several months ago when the initial signature threshold was reached. The state then he agreed to proceed with the processing.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) campaigned hard against an earlier version of the proposed legislation, which won a majority of voters last year but fell short of the 60 percent threshold needed to pass a constitutional amendment. Former Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) unsuccessfully challenged the earlier initiative in court.

In March, two Democratic members of Congress representing Florida asked the federal government to investigate What they described as an “illegal diversion” of millions in state Medicaid funds through a group with ties to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The money was used to fight a popular ballot initiative the governor vehemently opposed that would have legalized adult marijuana.

The lawmakers’ letter alleges that a $10 million donation from a state legislative settlement was misappropriated to the Hope Florida Foundation, which later sent the money to two political nonprofits, and sent $8.5 million to the anti-Amendment 3 campaign.

The governor said this in February The latest measure to legalize marijuana is in “big trouble” with the state Supreme CourtHe announced that it will be blocked from going before the voters next year.

“There are a lot of different views on marijuana,” DeSantis said. “It shouldn’t be in our Constitution. If you feel strongly about it, you have a legislative election. Bring back the candidates you think will be able to deliver what you think about it.”

“But when you put these things in the Constitution, and I think, I mean, the way they were written, there’s all kinds of things going on here. I think it’s going to have a lot of trouble getting passed by the Florida Supreme Court,” he said.

the last the initiative It was introduced to the secretary of state just months after initial versions failed in the November 2024 election, despite President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

The revised version of Smart & Safe Florida is expected to be successful in 2026. The campaign — which received tens of millions of dollars from cannabis industry players in the last election cycle, notably from multi-state operator Trulieve — introduced some changes in the new version that address criticisms of opponents of the 2024 push.

For example, it now specifically states that “smoking and vaping marijuana in any public place is prohibited.” Another section states that the legislature should adopt rules governing the “time, place and public manner of consuming marijuana.”

Last year, the governor accurately predicted this The campaign’s 2024 cannabis measure would survive a legal challenge From the state attorney general. It’s not entirely clear why he thinks this version will face a different outcome.

Although there is uncertainty about how the state’s highest court will navigate the measure, a poll released in February It showed the overwhelming support of a bipartisan voter for reform— 67% of Florida voters support legalization, including 82% of Democrats, 66% of independents and 55% of Republicans.

—
It’s Marijuana Time tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelic and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters by pledging at least $25/month, you’ll get access to our interactive maps, charts, and audio calendars so you never miss a development.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracking and become a Patreon supporter to gain access
—

In hindsight, a recent survey by a Trump-linked research firm found that Nearly 9 in 10 Florida voters say they should have the right to decide whether to legalize marijuana in the state

Meanwhile, a pro-legalization GOP state lawmaker has just introduced a bill to change state law code that the public use of marijuana is prohibited.

Rep. Alex Andrade (R), the sponsor, said earlier this year Passing cannabis reform is a way for the Republican Party to get more votes from young people

Separately, there are medical marijuana officials in Florida actively expunging the records of patients and caregivers with drug-related criminal records. The policy is part of the sweeping budget legislation that DeSantis signed into law earlier this year. The aforementioned provisions address the State Department of Health (DOH). void the records of medical marijuana patients and caregivers if convicted of drug offenses, or pleaded guilty or no contest.

Mike Latimer’s photo.

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Happy Holidays!

Published

2 days ago

December 29, 2025

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Next publication on January 5, 2026

We are officially closing for the holidays. MMJDaily will be back on January 5, 2026, a little more rested.

Thank you for staying with us until 2025. Go enjoy your vacation, eat too much, sleep too little and try not to set anything on fire. See you next year!