Interview with Judge - Doctor's Choice (before the Award Ceremony)
AWC:
Hello, I'm Gabs Castro. I'm here at the Autoflower World Cup, 2023. And today I'm here with Doctor’s Choice. Thank you so much for being here. And I would like you to introduce yourself for us, tell us more about your relationship with cannabis, please.
Doctor’s Choice:
OK, well, I don't know how much time you have. But I'm going to make it quick, because mostly what I'm semi-famous for right now is the creation of the Lowryder variety. And actually, that was 20 years ago that it was released. So it's really an honor for me to be the judge at the third annual World Cup. So as you see the world of Autoflowers has come very far in those 20 years. And I'm actually a judge and I'm testing a bunch of varieties tonight.
AWC:
Yes, you are a judge. And what do you feel about that? And how is your first experience in the cup, and how was your first experience with cannabis in general?
Doctor’s Choice:
I'll be honest, it's extremely difficult to rate a large amount of varieties of cannabis, as you can imagine. It's something that would take a lot more time, ideally, I would have a year to do this and come back in one year and have winners. But the industry and everything moves so much quicker today. So it's a real challenge, especially in this environment, because we're not sitting in a lab with white lights.
We're also in a cannabis club, in a social environment. And we're exchanging information. We're making new friends at the same time. We're tasting strains, but it's a whole experience, right?
AWC:
We do make friends, the community is getting stronger every day, and this is very cool. You are like the father of the autoflowers. How do you feel about that?
Doctor’s Choice:
Well, I guess the quick version, I gave you the quick version, but the long version is that Lowryder and autoflowers and the plants that I was part of spreading… I was just in it, but there was a history before me. Ruderalis existed before. The big thing is the distinction. And it's become accepted now 20 years later. And it's just another category in itself. It's one of the most interesting things that's happened in the cannabis world, but there are other interesting things as well.
AWC:
I guess you know that nowadays we have autoflowers with over 29% of THC. What do you think about that? The THC percentage, the genetic selection…
Doctor’s Choice:
Well, generally, breeders are just creating varieties that the people want. A lot of people I know are looking for high THC strains. I'm not going to get into the debate about it because we're still pushing the limit. And now, interestingly enough, it's more than just about THC. It's about the synergy between different compounds, cannabinoids, terpenes. And there's so much more to learn. Every time we think that we really understand and know, well, something new happens, right? There’s a new discovery. And the thing is, these are just part of our new understanding of the plant. But this plant has existed already for thousands of years. So yeah, I'm really glad to see that the adventure continues. And there's a lot of work to be done. Still, a lot of places are fighting hard for the liberation of this plant.
AWC:
And the high THC is very good for making cosmetic things, too, because it's very good for pain relief.
Doctor’s Choice:
It is good for pain. And some people prefer to have very little THC. And they're looking for CBD. But there's still a synergy between it. And I think it's more of a personal thing. You have to try it and discover what's good for you.
AWC:
Can autoflowers outperform their photoperiod counterparts? How does it work?
Doctor’s Choice:
How does it work? Now we call the regular plants photoperiods sometimes, right?
But before we had autos, there were just regular plants. The difference is, autoflowering plants follow their own recipe. Basically, they have their own timeline for when they're going to flower. So that doesn't depend so much on the time of the year or the light cycle. When it's ready to flower, it will flower. Usually after a certain time, like for example, Lowryder was the first, it was starting to flower at three, four weeks from seed. And it doesn't matter if it's September or July, it just follows that plan of its own. So in that way, it stays small because it flowers very quickly. And it's also easy to grow.
And the difference… The traditional cannabis usually has photoperiod-activated flowering. So basically, they're looking for triggers when the daylight hours get low enough. It triggers the plant, depending on the variety, and the latitude that that variety comes from, they get triggered to flower that way. And if we think of Ruderalis plants, which are sort of the wild ancestors of cannabis... Actually, Ruderalis comes more from northern climates and high altitude, because in those kinds of environments, when you have a short season, autos are not only useful, but they are also the only varieties that will flower in time.
AWC:
This is amazing! And when you just started growing and started your own brand, have you ever guessed that you would become this famous in the industry as you are today? That you’d know so much about cannabis, so many people would talk to you… What do you think about your fame?
Doctor’s Choice:
I don't think very much about it. Actually, I don't like thinking about it very much. And the only place that I'm famous in is within the world of this cannabis seed industry. And even then, it's definitely something. But there are a lot of great characters out there. I'm really happy to be part of this family of cannabis lovers. But really, I'm a pretty regular guy. It takes a lot of work to do what we do. It's not all glamorous and fun and games. But when you come to an event like this, then you get to share. You see people that are, you know, just like you. And that's the best feeling. Because really, I wouldn't call myself famous.
AWC:
But it's good, because it's not just “famous” for the sake of being famous. It's for a good cause.
Doctor’s Choice:
Absolutely. Well, I like how you look at it.
