HLP Skunk #1 Case Study Report

Humboldt Legacy Project est 2020

What can one cannabis cultivar teach us about genetics, history, environment, culture, and responsibility?

The Humboldt Legacy Project Skunk #1 Case Study follows one preserved cultivar through historical research, community knowledge, scientific testing, cultivation across different environments, and consumer research.

The project began with a larger question:

How can cannabis genetics, knowledge, history, and value be documented and carried forward without separating them from the people and communities that preserved them?

The Skunk #1 case study is the first full research project developed through the Humboldt Legacy Project, an initiative of Humboldt Grace.

A Real-World Cannabis Case Study

The project began in 2020 after two preserved Skunk #1 selections were donated to Humboldt Grace.

Over the following years, participants contributed cultivation knowledge, historical documentation, laboratory testing, genetic research, consumer feedback, preservation work, and professional review. The project examined:

Preservation and Provenance

How the plant entered the project, how the selections were maintained, and what documentation could support their chain of custody.

Cannabis History

The development and movement of Skunk #1, the people connected to that history, and the importance of distinguishing documented information from unresolved claims.

DNA-Supported Lineage Research

What genetic testing could contribute to cultivar comparison and documentation—and what DNA could not establish on its own.

The Emerald Triangle Grow-Off

How the same Skunk #1 selection expressed across different farms, cultivation methods, and microclimates.

Cannabinoids, Terpenes, and Thiols

How laboratory results helped document differences in potency, aroma, chemistry, and plant expression.

Consumer Research

What consumers valued when given access to the plant, its story, and information about the project.

Ethics and Stewardship

How consent, credit, compensation, transparency, risk, and accountability affect the way cannabis genetics and community knowledge are researched and commercialized.

Why This Work Matters

Note: Farm locations shown on this map are estimated and do not reflect all project data points. © 2026  Lelehnia Dubois, Founder of Humboldt Grace, a Dreammaker Project of the Ink People 501c3. This map is copyrighted and may not be reproduced separately or in full without permission from Humboldt Grace.

Cannabis legalization created new markets, but it did not create the plant, the knowledge surrounding it, or the communities that preserved it.

Without better documentation and ethical standards, important genetics may be lost. Histories may be separated from the people who lived them. Cultivars may be renamed, claimed, or commercialized without meaningful attribution. Scientific findings may be presented with more certainty than the evidence supports.

The Skunk #1 case study does not claim to solve every question surrounding cannabis genetics or ownership.

 It demonstrates a process for asking better questions, building a stronger record, identifying limitations, and bringing scientific information into conversation with history, cultivation knowledge, consumer experience, and community responsibility.

Who this report is for?

The Skunk #1 Case Study Report was created for people working across the entire cannabis ecosystem, including, but not limited to:

  • Farmers and breeders seeking better systems for documenting genetics and stewardship. Loooking for data to supporting marketing.
  • Scientists and laboratories examining how one plant expresses in different environaments.
  • Brands and businesses working with genetics, origin stories, appalachians. and legacy claims.
  • Researchers and educators studying cannabis history, chemistry, genetics, policy, or culture.
  • Policymakers developing rules that affect genetic resources, traditional knowledge, rural communities, appalachians, commercial ownership, and how a plant reacts in different cultivations.
  • Consumers who want to better understand what exists behind a cultivar name.
  • Legacy communities seeking practical ways to document, protect, and receive recognition for the knowledge they carried forward.

HLP Skunk #1 Case Study Report

 

The HLP Skunk #1 Case Study is now being released.

Our offical purchasing link through the Ink People is still being completed, but you do not have to miss the launch or lose access to the introductory pricing.

Reserve your copy today, and we will send the secure purcashing link directly to you as soon as it becomes avaible. Everyone who joins the reservation list during the launch period will recive the launch price.

From Genetics to Ethics

The Skunk #1 case study is one part of a larger body of work.

The Humboldt Legacy Project began by examining how a single cultivar could be documented through preservation, history, cultivation, science, and community participation.

The Humboldt Grace Cannabis Ethics Survey expands the inquiry.

It asks people across cannabis culture, science, medicine, business, regulation, public safety, and community life to identify the values, harms, responsibilities, and ethical standards that should guide the future of cannabis.

Together, these projects explore three connected questions:

What are we carrying forward?

How do we know what it is?

What responsibilities come with using it?

About the Humboldt Legacy Project

Humboldt Grace works to empower rural communities affected by the drug war while honoring the people, plants, knowledge, and culture that helped shape cannabis history.

The Humboldt Legacy Project brings together community knowledge, historical research, scientific tools, cultivation experience, ethical inquiry, and public education.

Its purpose is not to place one form of evidence above all others.

Its purpose is to understand how different forms of knowledge can work together to create a more accurate, responsible, and useful record.

Community, and Advocacy Access

Waivers available for:

  • Legacy
  • Students
  • Cannabis Community
  • Advocacy
  • Media
  • Community-based projects
  • Tribal Members
  • Participants and projects facing financial barriers

Fee waivers and reduced-access pricing generally ranging from $0 to $25 for the report and does not include the public data package. 

Commercial and Institutional Licensing Options

Businesses, agencies, universities, research institutions, law firms, consulting organizations, and other professional users may require a commercial or institutional license.

The license may include permission for internal organizational use, team access, research reference, presentations, policy development, or professional training

Commercial or Institutional License:

Starting at $495

Licensing terms depend on the intended use and number of users.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the report genetically authenticate Skunk #1?

No. The project uses the term DNA-supported lineage research.

Genetic testing helped document characteristics and supported comparisons to the Weiblen 2012  study. However, DNA alone cannot establish the complete identity, creator, ownership, history, or cultural meaning of a cultivar.

Does the report reveal participating farm information?

The public materials are designed to protect confidential and personally identifying participant information. Farms are not connected to private data without permission.

Can I share the report after purchasing it?

Individual waivers are licensed for the purchaser’s personal use. The report may not be publicly posted, reproduced, resold, or distributed to an organization or group without written permission or an appropriate license.

Can the report be cited?

Yes. The report may be cited for research, journalism, education, or commentary using proper attribution. Citation does not include permission to reproduce substantial portions of the report, its graphics, or its data.

Can an organization purchase access for multiple people?

Yes. Commercial and institutional licenses are available for organizations that need team access, internal use, presentations, professional research, or training.

Where does the money go?

Revenue supports report production, project administration, public education, preservation work, and future research conducted through the Humboldt Legacy Project and Humboldt Grace.

Carry the Knowledge Forward

This project was made possible because farmers, researchers, laboratories, historians, advisors, community members, consumers, and preservation partners were willing to contribute what they knew.

 The report is not only about what was learned from one plant.

 It is about what becomes possible when people show up to build a record together.

Humboldt Legacy Project  

An initiative of Humboldt Grace

www.humboldtgrace.org  

@humboldtgrace  

Lele@humboldtgrace.org

Thank You For The Support!

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