Is it still? Well, that is certainly the core question of this week’s WEIRDOS. I would argue the answer is an emphatic yes. International markets blasting by the U.S. market is not California’s fault it’s a wider domestic issue. The world’s fifth largest economy in general would be crushing it on exports 30 years into its legal market had it been given the opportunity. Those who claim CA has already missed the mark are like grifter consultants trying to convince their clients abroad the storm is never coming but it is.

We promise. Timelines? We have less guarantees on those.  It’s not cultural appropriation, California is certainly willing to share game and the institutional knowledge of true commercial cultivation; nobody is stealing it. It’s more of a cultural permeation of the things that actually make money in regulated cannabis markets. People want these proven best practices, Californians learned a lot of lessons the hard way. Sure there are some who would like to see others suffer like they did but there are also plenty of people who are willing to share what they have learned.

  Shoutouts to Florida we all love OG Kush, but most of the commercially viable cannabis genetics of the modern era come from California. This isn’t any one part of the state, The hills of The Emerald Triangle gave us Zkittelz, Sacramento gave us Biscotti, much of the most famous Compound flavors came out of San Francisco, and J-Beey’s work in LA has flooded the world. While flooded is a loaded word in cannabis generally signifying a loss of value for something good, we can’t name a strain from other places that even remotely conquered a section of the market like Ice Cream Cake.

There were popular strains at the end of the 2000s obviously but they were never able to hit the scale of modern strains can be cultivated at.  As markets outside the U.S. have popped off, they have been excited to absorb California hitters into the mix. Sometimes in other states they still have a chip over the big dog out west. They’re going to do it their way. Hence, every state so far has legalized marijuana in a manner they see fit because they believe the commies out west messed up legalization.

Not the case abroad. From Bangkok to Barcelona, operators are thrilled to team up with California experts. In 2023 we saw more brands from the Golden State appear abroad than ever. Not everyone leaving California sucked and was a failure. Some people were just fed up with what’s happening here. Between the taxes, policy, and a bunch of other stuff, plenty of people had their reasons for leaving. Many are living what they consider a better quality of life after putting their skills to work in new markets where they could big dog it.

Some people also went to other markets to crush without leaving home behind. Alien Labs, Preferred Gardens and Fig Farms are a few great examples of what the best American multistate operators have to offer.  A bunch of people who weren’t good operators and did fail left the state and did well. They refined their charlatan tactics in California but eventually were figured out. Once there weren’t any suckers left at home to prey on they ventured out to places like New York and Oklahoma, both seemed to have gotten a disproportionate amount of cannabis folks California would like to get.

The real high-level scammers went international. On a couple of occasions, they convinced big Euro money to invest in bullshit and skipped off with the cash.  If California is not popping anymore, why do so many of the biggest international cannabis brands make their way here eventually? The Englishmen at Cali-X and The Ten Co. have done very well in the elite flower market on both sides of the pond. This month’s Piattella drop from Uncle’s Farm in collaboration with Kalya Extracts is another great example of someone massive beginning to step their toes in California.

They won’t be the last. As more and more brands pop off in these new markets, the question will become: can these new killers make it in California? Without a doubt, some of them will.  Read less