California's Ground-Breaking Legacy Cannabis Genetics Study Announces Free Public Webinars

“People and Their Plants, a Community-Driven Study” offers slate of informational webinars to engage stakeholders in state’s cannabis history

SANTA ROSA, CA, UNITED STATES, November 14, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Funded by a $2.7 million grant from the California Department of Cannabis Control, a first-of-its-kind community-based participatory research (CBPR) study of the history, communities, and botany of the state’s legacy cannabis genetics has announced the next step in its efforts, a free public webinar program set to run through Jan. 31, 2025.

“After working for more than 30 years with people and communities who were traumatized and marginalized due to the criminalization of cannabis, I find it heartening to be a part of this amazing multi-pronged effort to document and preserve their genetic and cultural history,” says attorney Hannah L. Nelson, who is Program Advisor to Origins Council.

“Importantly, this study will create a foundation that ensures value is firmly wrested back to the very people and communities who should be recognized for their heroic efforts, often at extreme risk to their freedom, to breed and sustain unique genetic plant material resulting in high-quality medicine for patients that needed and relied on it”.

The study is being collaboratively led by a multidisciplinary team of experts, including: Principal Investigator DR. DOMINIC CORVA, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Program Leader of the Cannabis Studies major at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt; Co-Principal Investigator GENINE COLEMAN, executive director of Origins Council; Co-Principal Investigator DR. TODD HOLMES, historian with the Oral History Center at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley; Co-Principal Investigator DR. ELEANOR KUNTZ, Co-founder of Canndor, the world’s first cannabis herbarium, and co-founder and CEO of LeafWorks, a genomics and plant science company; KHALIL FERGUSON, President and CEO of the United Core Alliance; and project advisor DR. MARJ PLUMB, CBPR expert.

Free and open to the public, the webinars are held via Zoom at 12pmPST. All webinars end with a public Q&A period. Advance registration is recommended and available at the Legacy Genetics website.

Webinar Schedule:

Thursday, Nov. 21. Research Track: Ethnography & Political Geography. Dr. Dominic Corva will discuss the scope and role of ethnographic interviews in the project.

Friday, Dec. 6. Research Methodology: Community Based Participatory Research. Discussion of CBPR and its use in the study, as well as the project’s culturally sensitive community outreach, education, and engagement plan. Presentation led by Dr. Plumb, Dr. Holmes, Genine Coleman and Khalil Ferguson.

Friday, Dec. 20. Research Track: Oral Histories. Dr. Holmes will talk about the 100 hours of oral history interviews to be conducted in the study and their use and role in the research.

Friday, Jan. 17. Research Track: Herbarium Science & Plant Genetics. Dr. Kuntz and partners at LeafWorks will discuss the role of cannabis genetics and herbarium science in the study.

Friday, Jan. 31 Research Track: Intellectual Property & Public Policy. Genine Coleman will talk about how the project will contribute to harnessing genetic resources and the potential intellectual property and policy implications.

“Agricultural efforts are at the heart of this study, but the impact of the state’s war on drugs extends far beyond the farm,” says United Core Alliance’s Khalil Ferguson. “UCA is participating in this project in order to document and substantiate the impact that BIPOC communities have endured for generations as a result of the state’s persecution. Hopefully, with the full force of academia and the assistance of the DCC, we can finally begin to heal from the challenges that have targeted our communities.”

About ‘Legacy Cannabis Genetics - People and Their Plants: A Community-Driven Study’

Established in 2023 by the California Department of Cannabis Control with the goal of documenting, protecting and preserving the Golden State’s unique cannabis legacy and genetics, the Legacy Cannabis Genetics Study brings academics, scientists and community based organizations together for two years of comprehensive investigation. Community-based participatory research is a partnership approach to research that equitably involves community members, organizational representatives, and academic researchers in all aspects of the research process. legacygenetics.org

Gretchen Giles
G2 Comms
gretchen@hellogretchen.com