Getting Caught Up with DELTA-9 LABS

By Ed Borg

The cannabis seed industry continues to thrive as the seed companies are once again sprouting faster than the seeds themselves.

I stated this about 12 years ago after a colleague had noticed a growing phenomenon even 2 years earlier. So,  how does a customer choose a variety that is what it is and knows that the outcome should be as rewarding as choosing the variety in the first place? Many seed companies are under the impression that producing a new variety is as fast as running a race. With the recent craze of feminized seeds, a seed company only needs an acquired clone to begin to make female only seeds and thus can avoid the arduous, time consuming work of selective breeding with both males and females. Unfortunately what has occurred in recent years is so- called seed breeders taking other seed company’s hard work in clone form, changing the name and apparent ori- gin and then releasing female seeds in order to enter the market in this fashion.

Although Delta-9 Labs is reluctant to release a  female only seeds line, some of our customers and the overall market is demanding it in the same way that knowledge is taking a back seat over other GMO’s such as soy bean and corn. Making female seeds is not rocket science. In fact, it’s quite easy. With the appropriate ratio of two combined chemicals, that are no strangers to me coming from a photo-printing background also being used in the photography industry. The sex reversal method is known as STS, or Silver Thiosulfate. The result is a combination of the two chemicals, one being silver nitrate and the other sodium thiosulfate.

In the following 4 issues I will describe and include pho- tos of the actual recipe, applying the mixture on Delta-9 Labs very stable Super Star variety from start until har- vest 4 issues later. I will continue to document and fol- low through with photos every week from the exact same plants in the exact same set up so that the Treating Yourself readers can see and learn the entire process for themselves and to have a better understanding of what is involved. A first for a cannabis magazine to follow the entire flowering period through until harvest from the exact same plants as well as seeing feminized seeds being made.

With Delta-9 Labs being a 100% biological seed company, crossing the fine line utilizing chemicals was quite hard to consider as it appeared to break my main rule of passion over profit.

With other Earth-Friendly seed com- panies offering female seeds, we decided to run our own experiments. These experiments have been  successful and ongoing for the past 3 years.

Delta-9 Labs had to establish a facility just for this purpose as I did not want any contamination to our original lines or regular male/female seeds in any way possible. Even though emails continually come in requesting female seeds, and our distributors claim to increase our revenue threefold, I believe you cannot rush perfection for greater profits just to perhaps develop a bad reputation down the line or to be on par with the competition.

I am a bonafide medical patient myself who uses cannabis as my primary medicine. Sometimes an occasional coffee to help alleviate a major headache as I consider that a drug, however any- thing else that doesn’t meet up towards setting the high- est of standards and coming from natural organic sources eventually gets purged from Delta-9 Labs. Perhaps you can call us the Bugatti/Bentley of seed companies!

Several attempts with alternative biological methods proved to be less feasible in several ways, which is the reason why every seed company today who offers female only seeds utilizes the STS method. Instead of compro- mising Delta-9 Labs organic facility that follows strict guidelines to be in anyway contaminated, I felt that I had no choice but to create an entirely new facility just for the production of female only seeds and this required time and resources. Even with a close step behind some of our top colleagues and still only offering regular seeds, we are obviously pleasing many out there as that has always been my intention as the founder and chief breeder for Delta-9 Labs. Based on that I decided to  stick  to  our roots and release only 3-5 varieties in feminized seeds only that would be unique and of epic quality and consis- tency. They are forthcoming and soon to be released at the TY Expo in May. The first three varieties to be released commercially are our awaited Strawberry Skunk that was well received and featured during the past Cannabis Cup. This variety is very special as it comes  from a cross of two landraces, one from Morocco and the other from Afghanistan. If there was ever luck in our cards this variety is indeed special. The two other vari- eties being released are the Kopasetic Kush and the Kaleidoscope  Kush,  which  will  certainly  have  some  of the highest THC/CBD ratios in the business, as we have been one of the first to acquire top Kush strains from California. They are both Kush hybrids that have been in the past 3 years female seed development project of Delta-9 Labs.

As the saying goes, buyers beware! If you are not confidant of a seed company then contact them and do your own homework.

It is a great feeling to have Delta-9 Labs main worldwide base in Amsterdam so that you can come and meet me personally and enjoy a smoke together. At Delta-9 Labs I stand behind and in front of every- thing that we do.

With the term “medical cannabis” used quite loosely and ambiguous in recent years I strive to maintain the transparency and professionalism in this unregulated industry.

I would prefer to use and coin the term “pharmaceutical grade cannabis” since the proper testing and distribution channels have already been established for goods being sold in pharmacy’s and perhaps many people can relate to that easier. Besides, I am confidant the quality control methods that we have in  place allows for continuity and standardization. Coming from both a risk management/commercial photography background and having 8 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry before moving to Amsterdam, the Netherlands 16 years ago has allowed Delta-9 Labs to see things from many angles.

The sharp focus and direction that Delta-9 Labs is heading and striving towards is to compete with the pharmaceutical giants and not our seed company colleagues. Together we can overgrow them all with natural pharmaceutical grade cannabis, starting with seeds from Delta-9 Labs.

Come and visit  us  online  at  www.delta9labs.com, live in Amsterdam, or perhaps at the upcoming Treating Yourself in Toronto!!

The Treating Yourself Expo is just around the cor- ner and once again I look forward to attending and seeing you all with our female only varieties in pro- duction to serve you.

I look forward to the next 4 issues and showing you the various timeline stages of the entire flowering female seed making process!!

Keep It Real! Ed