Award-winning journalist. Best-selling author. Terp Sherpa. 🌲☁️🌋 High Times | Leaf Magazine | '26 CA State Fair Judge | '26 Leaf Bowl Judge | etc.
Articles by David Downs
10 years of California cannabis legalization—Promises kept, dreams deferred
This Sunday marks 10 years since Californians legalized adult-use cannabis with Proposition 64. Look back on a decade of implementing legalization in the Golden State, and you will see a mix of promises kept and dreams deferred. We did not build a legal weed utopia. But it’s naive to think California would have gotten this one policy right the first time. It’s like making pancakes. We got first pancake problems. Since this is the web and your attention spans are chopped, let’s quickly run through it.
The secret to growing California’s best outdoor pot
Praise be to Croptober, stoners. Harvest season has returned to America’s cannabis heartland of Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity Counties—the fabled Emerald Triangle. Some of the world’s best buds finish up in the funky fields. And some of the most talented, award-winning farmers in the game tend them. But how exactly do these terp wizards do it? We visited three farms in California’s sungrown cannabis market, among the most influential weed markets in the world.
California Harvest Preview: A Complex ‘Croptober’ Meets Soft Prices
The forested, winding U.S. 101 in Mendocino County reeks of fresh, acrid skunk spray in the mornings and evenings right now. “Down at the road gate, it smells like a turd,” one farmhand at Greenshock Farms in Mendocino said jokingly. He’s standing on a verdant hillside with nary a yellow leaf on his parcel.
Clonetopia Reservation Fee $10
Secure your Clonetopia pre-order with this $10 non-refundable reservation fee. This is a non-refundable Clonetopia reservation fee separate from your clone costs. Purchase your pre-order in person at: 📍 7 Stars, Richmond CA 🗓️ Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 19-20, 12-5 p.m. Reservations are good until Sunday at 5 p.m. PST. 💰 $10 secures your clone pre-order. Full amount due on pickup. 📦 No shipping. Must be present to pay balance and receive your order. ❌ Non-refundable. No reschedules. No transfers.
California’s new cannabis packaging rules divide the industry
California loves to tout how it doesn’t ban books. In fact, it just banned an entire genre of graphic art. Cannabis consumers will see its legal weed brands become more generic in the coming months and years. On Aug. 31, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2249, a bill from Orange County, CA democrat and pot branding foe Jacqui Irwin. Billed as packaging standards, the new law extends to marketing and will cost millions of dollars in rebranding for many popular names in the space.
Terpnami Warning: 2027's genetics surge in the Bay Area December 5 and 6 π
The highest-level genetics conversation in the world returns to the Bay Area this December to help growers worldwide garden harder, better, faster, and stronger. Over 1,000 growers big and small from around the world interact with 30 of the world’s top breeders over two days December 5 and 6 in a private Bay Area venue for TERPNAMI. Guests can RSVP today to get ticketing and event details.
Clonetopia powered by CANNA - Fall 2026 - Pre-order form and catalog
Here’s how it works: Peruse the catalog Pre-order using the form below Pay and pick up your clones on September 19-20, 3219 Pierce St. Richmond, CA Party with the nurseries next door at Exit Now art gallery Here’s your order form for the curated cultivars dropping at Clonetopia, powered by CANNA September 19-20 in Richmond, CA. We’ll fill in more details as we get them.
Canna Country Selections – Pheno Flight Night – at The Green Door
Canna Country #26 is Forbidden Fruit and Cherimoya. Canna Country #27 is SFV OG × Blueberry Muffin. Canna Country Selections is the R&D arm of Canna Country—a small, multi-generational, family-run cannabis farm and breeding project located in Southern Humboldt County, California. Operated by cultivators Reggie and Teddy, the farm is famous for sun-grown, organic craft cannabis, rare terpene profiles, and winning Emerald Cup awards.
What the California State Fair Cannabis Award winners say about the weed world
If the future still happens here first in California, what do the California Cannabis Awards at the CA State Fair foretell for global weed culture? If you study all the medalists and trophy winners from the July 18 awards ceremony, some clear trends stand out: doing your own breeding work; tapping into natural, living soil outdoor farming techniques; and braving awkward government meetings. Here are some findings from Sacramento to take back to deploy in other cannabis communities worldwide.
2026 California State Fair cannabis awards winners—and where to buy them
We’ve democratized the dank, y’all. No longer is award-winning weed gatekept from California’s 4 million or so weed fans. You can get off your couch today and smoke with the gods of ganja. All it takes is a read through our shopping guide. On July 18 in Sacramento at the sprawling Cal Expo, the California State Fair Cannabis Awards honored the finest producers of the state’s most valuable crop with a pack of Golden Bears and a table full of medals during a sweaty, misty, jubilant ceremony.
Clonetopia Brings Out California’s Top Cannabis Clones
“Be yourself. Be different,” everyone always says these days. But there’s power in uniformity. Cannabis growers big and small from the Bay Area, California, and beyond load up on top-tier genetics as well as value buys September 19 and 20 at Clonetopia. It goes down at 7 Stars dispensary with the Exit Now art gallery in Richmond, CA. California remains the world’s cannabis genetics epicenter and Clonetopia helps streamline access to them. No more ‘knowing a guy’ or sketchy internet buys.
Get invites, first access, art, and news from David Downs Presents
Blog Get invites, first access, art, and news from David Downs Presents We want to send you event invites, first access to pre-orders, cool art, and fresh news from David Downs Presents SF Space Walk, SF Hash Week, Clonetopia, Terpnami, and more. We won’t spam you, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Cool? Cool.
Maven Genetics – Pheno Flight Night – at The Green Door
Dirty Laundry (Courtesy Maven Genetics) Find Maven Genetics’ Dirty Laundry near you. (Weedmaps, Leafly) Dirty Laundry Invite the homies. Show them this QR code. Venue The Green Door 843 Howard St San Francisco, CA 94103 United States + Google Map Tickets The numbers below include tickets for this event already in your cart. Clicking "Get Tickets" will allow you to edit any existing attendee information as well as change ticket quantities.
SF Hash Week preps world's finest extract fest
Media Contact: David Downs, Producer – SF Hash Week 📞 415-240-2742 ✉️ (Use photos and facts from our Media Kit) June 30, 2026 | SAN FRANCISCO—The world’s best cannabis strains in hash form, as well as the latest trending modalities, and devices draw over a thousand tokers to San Francisco July 7 through 13th. (RSVP to events here.) All media is invited to experience the new flavors, modalities, and products on Tuesday, July 7th in the evening from 5:30 to 8:30 PM. on SF Hash Week Day 1.
Aficionado Seeds: The Legacy of Sour Diesel
“Is that the real Sour Diesel?…I remember it differently…It’s gone extinct…” Many a weed head has had this exact conversation. But is the real Sour Diesel gone? Fifteen-year-old, multi-award-winning breeder Aficionado Seeds—now based in Michigan—responds with a resounding, “No, sir.” The three-person crew pumps out validated Sour Diesel crosses that aim at “the apex” of what the sativa hybrid can be. And their coveted releases come amid more confusion—and hype—about “the Sour” than ever.
Win Diesel
NewsBudz is your go-to app for daily cannabis news, covering everything from medical marijuana breakthroughs to recreational cannabis trends and legalization updates. Our platform aggregates content from over 30 top-tier cannabis news outlets to deliver a curated stream of the latest headlines, insights, and developments across the marijuana and hemp industries.
Is This Award-Winning Grow Style Too Scary to Scale?
California craft indoor cannabis grower Moon Valley Cannabis uses thick soil beds teeming with life to achieve award-winning top-shelf cannabis. It’s radically different from hydroponically grown, bottle-fed farming where plants are devoid of the bacteria, fungi, and other living organisms that roots coevolved with and derive nourishment from. But how practical is employing roly-polies, nematodes, and funky fermentations in modern cannabis’s industrial jungle?
Clonetopia powered by CANNA: NorCal Clone Release Festival
With fall releases from: Ronin/Highline (Toad Venom) 🐸 the debut of The Library nursery Purple City Genetics Hendrx Nursery James Loud Genetics and more More details are on the announcement blog post. –> PRE-ORDERS NOW OPEN. CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER. <– RSVP, and/or get a ticket. Pre-order your clones using the form. Bring valid 21+ I.D. to 7 stars, 3219 Pierce St. Richmond, CA on Sept. 19-20, 12-5 p.m. Pay, get your clones, and party next door at Exit Now gallery with the nurseries.
California preps for its best clone release weekend ever
BY DAVID DOWNS | May 6 | SAN FRANCISCO Good afternoon, Fire Followers, This is David Downs in San Francisco where we are organizing the first Clonetopia, which is really catching fire. It calls for another break in the weekly formatting. Welcome to David Downs’ Fire Follower: Your weekly must-read for the best seeds and clones in the game.
From blinkers to video games: California targets next-gen weed vapes
The race to add new features to the exploding vape sector has begun, triggering blowback in Sacramento this year. Incidents involving video game features on vapes and vapes that look like school supplies have lawmakers seeing red. A new bill would hit distributors with $50,000 fines for selling a vape with a video game on it. And the bill could affect the millions of Californians who increasingly prefer the devices to smoking cannabis flower.
From blinkers to video games: California targets next-gen weed vapes
NewsBudz is your go-to app for daily cannabis news, covering everything from medical marijuana breakthroughs to recreational cannabis trends and legalization updates. Our platform aggregates content from over 30 top-tier cannabis news outlets to deliver a curated stream of the latest headlines, insights, and developments across the marijuana and hemp industries.
"Characteristics of a Full Disclosure, Transaction-Based Index of Comme" by David H. Downs and Barrett A. Slade
transaction-based indices, commercial real estate, full-disclosure markets Downs, D. and B. Slade, 1999, Characteristics of a Full-Disclosure Transaction-Based Index of Commercial Real Estate, The Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management, 5:1, pp. 95 – 104. Downs, David H. and Slade, Barrett A., "Characteristics of a Full Disclosure, Transaction-Based Index of Commercial Real Estate" (1999). Faculty Publications. 8921.
The Biggest Things About Schedule III You Haven’t Thought Of
In this Cannabis Business Times interview, Vicente breaks down three immediate implications: ● potential Section 280E tax relief for medical cannabis operators ● a new DEA registration process for medical businesses, and ● an accelerated administrative hearing that could open the door to broader adult-use reform.
Influential Alien Genetics details new “rotational terp” tech
BIC Flickaway Weekender Bag (Courtesy BIC) By David Downs | SAN FRANCISCO - April 16 Good morning, Fire Followers, Last night I hosted Day 2 of SF Space Walk. Sense and Sunset Connect held court at Mission Cannabis Club. We saw visitors from as far away as Florida, via Ukiah. And Pennsylvania, via San Jose. And Chicago, and central Mexico. It was cool. Welcome to David Downs’ Fire Follower: Your weekly must-read for the best seeds and clones in the game.
Cannabis Breeding Enters Its Next Era
Want to start humankind’s first cannabis farms on the Moon and Mars? Dr. Matthew Indest wouldn’t be a bad guy to have on board. Indest has a Ph.D. in Plant, Environmental, and Soil Sciences from Louisiana State University (LSU). He was the national director of genetics and cultivation at the multistate operator Curaleaf, where his team developed hit cultivars like the Titan Express sativa. He’s currently working with rare, “true” PrecisionF1™ inbred hybrids at Refined Genetics.
The ‘drama weed’ effect: How Toad Venom became 2026’s hottest strain
A potent, flavorful, paralytic new weed variety is bucking the collapse in the price of pot. It’s the Toad Venom strain, and it’s taken off over the last four years, thanks to drama-fueled online industry hype over its origin, who gets the credit for it, and the slew of alleged counterfeits circulating in the global weed market.
Weed seeds will be worth $1.4 billion; Terphogz serves Truffle Pizza
Masami Teraoka opening Jan. 10 in SF (Masami Teraoka) BY DAVID DOWNS | Jan. 7 | SAN FRANCISCO Good evening, Fire Followers, The holiday break’s over, and it’s all gas in the weed game into 2026. My little fabric pot of decorative Cora Genetics Dr. Grinspoon S1s are flowering in the light well. San Francisco got over 12 inches of rain, but it’s blown through, and now it’s just cold and clear, so I take the verdant, green mini-bush outside during the day and bring them in at night.
Terpnami seed show 2026 – Day 1
Terpnami VIP box rendering. Details Time: 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm Cost: Free – $200.00 Event Category: Public Event Tags:2026, seeds, terpnami 200 Going Currently full Tickets The numbers below include tickets for this event already in your cart. Clicking "Get Tickets" will allow you to edit any existing attendee information as well as change ticket quantities. Admit one person age 21+. Good for Day 1 of Terpnami. Quantity Comes with priority access and goodie box from Terpnami, sponsors, and partners.
SF Hash Week 2026 – Day 6 – Fire King, Kiva at 7 Stars | Exit Now
« All Events SF Hash Week 2026 – Day 6 – Fire King, Kiva at 7 Stars | Exit Now July 12 @ 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Free RSVP for notifications This RSVP gets you notifications about SF Hash Week's Day 6 Drop Party. Purchase required to enter lounge. 57 Going
SF Hash Week 2026 – Day 5 – Taste of Humboldt at The Green Door
Saturday, July 11, from 1 p.m. to 4:20 p.m. SF Hash Week 2026 presents “Taste of Humboldt” at The Green Door, 843 Howard St. A three-hash flight of fresh-frozen cold-cured live rosin kept in cold custody. Featuring: —Huckleberry Hill Farms’ Whitethorn Rose —Mattole Valley Sungrown’s Paradise Rose —and Emerald Queen Farms’ Queen’s Chem All estate-grown. Washed and distributed by Royal Key, the three farms made the batch of hash for entry into the California State Fair Cannabis Awards this year.
SF Hash Week 2026 – Day 3 – Full-melt + Pressed Dry Sift Launch @ Solful on Irving St.
6-Star Full-Melt and Pressed Dry Sift debuts from Solful Washed and process by Harry Rose SF Hash Week 2026 – Day 3 SF Hash Week Day 3 moves to the Inner Richmond for a drop from Solful—the best outdoor weed store on Earth. RSVP to get reminded to come down for the SF Hash Week release. (Photo by Mike Rosati for David Downs Presents) Alpenglow’s Craig Johnson meets customers at Solful on Irving during SF Space Walk 2026.
'Get to the Bag' 2026
The 3rd annual ‘Get to the Bag’ 2026 Cannabis Graphic art show. A selection of several hundred pieces of cannabis ‘mylar’ art from a collection of over 1,500 pieces of packaging. Venue sponsor: Grove Bags with TerpLoc. With many special guests to be announced. Venue: Mirus Gallery; 3rd Floor, 540 Howard St. Runs: Friday, April 3 to Sunday, April 27. Opening night: Friday, April 3 5-8 p.m. Or by appointment. Call 415-240-2742. ‘Get to the Bag’ file photo.
SF Space Walk 2026 – Day 7 – Wood Wide 4X4Z @ BASA on Divisadero
The 4:20 After: Pizza and Street Fighter for $10 with SF Space Walk Hadouken! SF Space Walk is San Francisco’s 3rd annual week of weed. It’s 7 nights of the state’s best flower growers dropping new flowers in The City’s swankiest weed lounges; combined with art, music, food, and culture. We’ll email you details on how to pre-order, attend, pick up, and party with your favorite grower. What’s a “Drop Party”?: It’s like a record release party, but for a rockstar weed grower and hit flower.
SF Space Walk 2026
SF Space Walk is San Francisco’s 3rd annual week of weed—just like SF Beer Week or Restaurant Week. It’s 7 nights of the state’s best flower growers dropping new flowers in The City’s swankiest weed lounges; combined with art, music, food, and culture. We’ll email you details on how to pre-order, attend, pick up, and party with your favorite grower. What’s a “Drop Party”?: It’s like a record release party, but for a rockstar weed grower and hit flower.
The Year in Weed: 2025's Biggest Moments Original
With over 55 million cannabis fans in America, 2025 was a year of big wins and stinging losses. From headway in the hash world and LA’s indoor farms to High Times’ resurgence and landmark findings in the scientific world, the ganja news came like a firehose in 2025, and here’s a distillation of the top items. Rescheduling screen grab, Courtesy of The White House.
The top 10 cannabis health studies of 2025
Fun fact: the federal government will not approve one dollar of funding for any cannabis research looking into the benefits of the plant. Bias is baked into the rules for the federal bureaucracy at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which gets the sign-off on such research dollars. Cannabis research has to run a gauntlet that no other drug does, with both its arms tied behind its back. And yet more of its benefits leaked out again this year.
Fresh drops from Archive Seed Bank, CHA Genetics, Huckleberry Hill
(Courtesy Humboldt Seed Co) BY DAVID DOWNS | Dec. 24 | SAN FRANCISCO Good morning, Fire Followers, My house is full of in-laws and the kids are absolutely geeked for Christmas tomorrow. A ‘Pineapple Express’ atmospheric river tried to pry off a piece of roofing panel last night, so I’ll be up there today, banging away like Clark Griswold in “Christmas Vacation.” Alas, the seed game never sleeps, so here’s your weekly shot of genetics advice. Happy Birthday, baby Jesus. And Merry Solstice, pagans.
Es Oficial, Trump Ordenó Reclasificar la Marihuana (Pero No la Legalización)
El cannabis se encuentra ahora en medio de un inusual cambio de rumbo federal. El presidente Trump firmó hoy una orden ejecutiva que ordena al gobierno federal trasladar la marihuana de la Lista I a la Lista III. Esta medida, que señala el reconocimiento formal del uso medicinal, aún requiere la implementación de la agencia para su plena vigencia legal. Quienes la apoyan la consideran una adaptación a la realidad médica, que ya debería haberse hecho esperar.
Trump Reschedules Marijuana. But, Wait… There's A Catch
Cannabis is now in the middle of a rare federal pivot. President Trump has signed an executive order directing the federal government to move marijuana toward reclassification under federal law. Some see the shift as long overdue recognition of medical reality. Others worry it could deepen federal control over a plant that remains illegal nationwide.
Qué Es el 'Static Sift' y Por Qué Es el Futuro Para los Amantes del Hash
¡Hazte a un lado, ice water hash! La tendencia de mediados de esta década son los extractos purificados con el poder de la electricidad. Así es: los conocedores del hachís han puesto de moda un tipo de kief purificado electrostáticamente. Proveniente de los concursos de hachís de España, el llamado static dry sift (cuya traducción literal sería “tamizado electrostático en seco”) promete un efecto que refleja la esencia de la planta, sin adulterar, sin siquiera usar agua como solvente.
Terpnami arrives in downtown San Francisco this weekend
Good afternoon, Fire Followers, Today we’re making magazines and beanies for the Terpnami seed show in San Francisco this weekend. The 6-star full-melt from Moon Valley arrives frozen at Moe Greens. The house smells like fresh Christmas tree, and we’ve broken out our puffies and turned on the heater for the first time in a year. It’s starting to feel and smell like the end of the year, and that includes a genetics high exchange in NorCal this weekend.
Static Sift Is What’s Next for Hash Heads — Here’s Why | High Times
Step aside, ice water hash, the pendulum is swinging toward extracts purified by the power of electricity in the mid-2020s. Hash connoisseurs and the mainstream that follows them have made a type of kief purified by static electricity all the rage. Clumps of hash heads, by Wolverinedabs. Photo by Marvin Lee – @surfacearea999 Coming out of the hash contests of Spain, so-called static dry sift promises a hit that’s the soul of the plant, unadulterated by even water as a solvent.
LA Family Farms’ Orange Drip takes Zalympix top honors; Barney’s Farm moves to Cali
I’m writing from Cafe Greco on Broadway Ave in North Beach on a stunning Tuesday afternoon. It’s crisp and clear and the cable cars are running. Old timers are arguing politics and tourists are bopping around. Coit Tower gleams like a beacon. … We trimmed up four huge jars of TK GMO over the weekend, and we have about 20 jars to go; LOL. As always, the first hit is free, then I’ll see you in the Pro version for $5 per issue.
Hiii Magazine | A Noble Hunt
A Noble Hunt Inside Humboldt Seed Company’s great 2025 cannabis phenotype hunt across Northern California. Written By: DAVID DOWNS Photography By: CHRIS ROMAINE I’m tucked under a huge straw sunhat in the shade of a 10-foot-tall hedgerow of weed, chugging cold bottles of water, and sweat soaks my face and back. Camouflaged rattlesnakes lurk in the shade. Mountain lions doze in these foothills. Thick storm clouds threaten lightning. The dry country can explode into wildfire with a strike.
Terpnami SF seed show 2025
Overview Grow the future with the 2nd annual Terpnami SF seed show. 30 top breeders. 1,000 growers big and small. 2 days. SOMA District SF.
SF Space Walk 2026 brand reservations are now open
Brand reservations are now open below for SF Space Walk 2026, the City’s third annual week of weed parties for 4/20. Just like SF Beer Week, or Restaurant Week. SF Space Walk is 7 top growers, releasing 7 hype flowers, at 7 swanky lounges over 7 nights for 4/20. Plus pre-parties, after-parties, receptions, art shows, and B2B events. San Francisco has SF Beer Week, and Restaurant Week, and now it has its 3rd annual weed week.
Moon Valley 6-star Full Melt Drop Party (Terpnami Pre-Party)
More supporting brand drops to be announced. What’s a drop party? It’s like a record release party, but for a top brand and a hype cannabis product. Fans meet the producer and light up together. Plus, music, art, food, drink and giveaways. Terpnami beanies and magazines will be for sale, or pre-order pickup. How does it work? RSVP below to receive the pre-order form. Pre-order what you want when we open up pre-ordering. Come to the event. Pay, pick up, and party with the producer. Related images:
Terpnami Beanie – 2025 Limited Edition (Pre-order) - SF Space Walk
Rock the official 2025 Terpnami beanie at this year’s seed show in San Francisco. This Port & Co. black cuff beanie features the iconic Terpnami logo embroidered in bold yellow and pink/purple threads (non-gradient), designed by Conor Buckley and printed by Merch Dept. 🧢 One size fits most ✨ 2-color embroidery (yellow top, pink/purple base) 🧵 Port & Co. standard black foldover beanie 🛒 Pre-order only for pickup at Terpnami SF Dec. 6–7 📦 No shipping. No on-site sales guaranteed.
Terpnami Seed Show - $5 Ticket - Good either day
Tickets are now $5. Good for either day. Hit the ‘+’ button in the ticket window below, select how many tickets you want, and then hit the ‘check out now’ button. Read more show details here.
Cookies 3XL: why the brand put 3 vapes in a vape | GreenState
Sorry—did you say there’s three vapes in my vape now? Yup, the American ethos of ‘more is more’ has unleashed, not one, not two, but three vapes in your vape. “What the heck are you talking about?” a normal person might say. Well, try to keep up.
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