Cultura Cannabica: The Growing Cannabis Scene in Jalisco, Mexico

BY: JAMIE PARTIDA

“Hasta los tacos de birria se pueden infundir” “Even the birria

A prominent Cannabis industry in Mexico is currently at its peak ripeness, ready to flourish into some beautiful green buds and be enjoyed by both medical and recreational consumers alike. Mexico is already prominent when it comes to small business, commerce, cultivation, production, and distribution- among other sectors- so it’s only natural that cannabis be incorporated as another element to the business culture of Mexico.

You could say the germination and vegetation stages took several years, as marijuana has a long history of being stigmatized and largely prohibited, and has only recently been considered for legalization over the last few years. After Canada legalized marijuana in 2018, it didn’t take long for the rest of North America to start opening up the conversation around growing their own seeds of regulation to introduce a new vision for the medical and recreational marijuana industries throughout. While there are hundreds of new ideas and products out there to be enhanced, the only constant that remains the same is the marijuana plant itself (which happened to be introduced to the U.S. by way of Mexican immigrants in the early 1900s). Now Mexico is the next North American country in line to fully legalize cannabis (aka marijuana) for medicinal and adult use. That’s a major milestone for hundreds of farmers, business owners, and families alike who depend on this plant for its numerous applications.

Jalisco is notorious for some of the best dishes that come out of Mexico like Birria, Pozole and Tortas Ahogadas to name just a few, and is also known for introducing Tequila and Mezcal to the entire world, as farmers have been cultivating agave for hundreds of years in the rich soil and warmth of the western pacific state. However, the cannabis scene in Jalisco has been around for years also as farmers and home growers use the same expertise to produce high quality buds for medicinal and adult-use enjoyment alike. Fat Budstards (IG: @Fat_Budstards) is a seed shop in Guadalajara for growers to cultivate their own plants at home or outside, and they supply everything from tents, lights, nutrients, and more. The shop’s owner Jorge Partida has been on the scene for years, and has extensive experience in the Canadian Cannabis Industry that he brought back to Guadalajara’s cannabis culture. “Our experience began while working in the illicit market in Vancouver, B.C back in 2006, where we learned how to identify high quality strains and learned to grow with the best practices and protocols already established” he has spent several years now carefully cultivating clones and strains, cross breeding with some of the best flowers from all over the world to bring the art of growing cannabis at home in Mexico.

With the possibility of legalization on the horizon, business owners are getting prepared to shape the market with the various resources and specialties at their disposal to kick off legalization with a business boom. When he returned to Mexico in 2011, he discovered that business there was more about quantity vs. quality and the growing protocols were very poor, so he found an opportunity to bring the concept of cultivating cannabis indoors for enthusiasts and vendors. “Of course it was also a huge challenge for all growers due not only to the plant being illegal, but also having to risk our lives hiding from the Cartel,” Jorge explains that it hasn’t been as easy as to grow his business like it was up North. Thanks to the advances that have been made in the efforts towards legalization, he has been able to find ways to bring the value of his plants and seeds to his customers all throughout the country. Fatbudstards started 4 years ago in Guadalajara, where the need for quality genetics and education was starting to develop rapidly.

“Year over year we’ve cultivated a community with other growers where they can share their experiences as well as learn methods to improve the quality of their yields. Thanks to the advantage of social media it has become easier to reach people from all across the country, a Facebook group called “Autocultivo Mexico” is currently the oldest and one of the largest groups in Latin America where growers can learn from each other and share advice. Jorge also has been part of their group since the beginning and has learned techniques that are unique to other farmers across Mexico. With his full-time corporate job, he’s been able to travel around the world and collect different strains to provide them to his customers, then he began breeding his own genetics and has grown to sell out limited edition drops within hours. “Today we work with the best strains from all around the world and are able to offer the best products to our customers at an affordable Mexican price, while teaching others how to grow their own medicine at home and enjoy it.”