Summary: David Downs, the California bureau chief for Leafly, which serves as a reference for information on cannabis as well as an online marketplace for consumers, explained the popularity of the strain in a telephone interview. That information from the front lines of cannabis commerce and culture is coupled with data from searches and reviews by Leafly users plus sales figures from the company marketplace partners.
LEAFLY CANNABIS STRAIN WINNER 2020!
Online cannabis resource Leafly revealed its cannabis Strain of the Year for 2020 last week, bestowing the honour on the popular variety of marijuana known as Runtz. The announcement marks Leaflys third annual selection of the best cannabis strain available to American consumers. David Downs, the California bureau chief for Leafly, which serves as a reference for information on cannabis as well as an online marketplace for consumers, explained the popularity of the strain in a telephone interview. Runtz is very emblematic of what's hot in cannabis in the U.S. in 2020 on the bleeding edge of strain development. Its coated in trichomes, he explains, referring to the tiny crystalline structures that produce THC and other chemical components of marijuana. It looks purple instead of green. It smells riotously fruity and syrupy and gassy. It is a wonder to behold, and then that visual information is backed up by the smell. Leafly has revealed its cannabis Strain of the Year for 2020.
Choosing The Best Strain Of Cannabis
So just how does Leafly decide which cultivar will take the honours as the best cannabis strain of the year? Downs says that the process involves a qualitative and quantitative mash-up of information from a host of cannabis journalists who report on marijuana strains from both a national and regional perspective. Were walking the beat. Were going into stores. Were purchasing cannabis. We are photographing it. Sometimes were sampling it, says Downs. Were acting as agents of the readers in the field and using our brains, the universes most powerful pattern-recognition machine, to try to suss out where things are going.
That information from the front lines of cannabis commerce and culture is coupled with data from searches and reviews by Leafly users plus sales figures from the companys marketplace partners. The corps of subject matter experts compiles a shortlist of potential honorees from the data and then pores over everything again to select the winner. Were reading every day. Were going into the stores, notes Downs. Were popping the hood on Leafly data, and we are blending all of that into a choice that cannot be replicated by anybody else.
The Origins Of Runtz
Although nailing down the family tree of cannabis strains can sometimes be a murky proposition, Leafly reports that Runtz is commonly believed to be the offspring of two other popular varieties, Zkittlez and Gelato, which was honoured as Leaflys Strain of the Year in 2018. Like Gelato, Runtz came from the crew associated with Cookies, the cannabis and lifestyle brand co-founded by the rapper Berner. That connection is key to the cultivars appeal and its selection as the best cannabis strain of 2020. The Runtz family tree.
While Runtz, with its inviting aroma, satisfying taste, and potent THC levels of 17% and up, is a strong strain in its own right, that's not enough to garner strain-of-the-year status. A heavy dose of marketing is also required, and featuring cannabis in the music and lifestyle of hip-hop is a proven strategy to ring up sales going back to the early days of such acts as Dr. Dre and Cypress Hill.
This was the 90s, the height of cannabis prohibition, and these international celebrities were saying I like this Schedule 1 substance that the federal government deems equivalent to heroin. It was a bridge too far for every other genre, for the most part, explains Downs. So, since the 90s, hip-hop and cannabis have been inseparable. And there's really no way to go to market in 2020 in cannabis without a nod to and a cognizance of hip-hop culture.
Living Up To The Hype: While the immense popularity of Runtz is part of the strains appeal for many, others see it as a drawback. Downs says that the main criticism of Runtz is that it is over-hyped, a judgment he believes falls short in todays culture.
When someone says something is hyped, you're saying to me that its been effectively marketed, and its managed to cut through the insane noise of modern life, Downs maintains. And I don't see something that is hyped as a negative. I see hype as table stakes in a world where there's eight billion people and everyone's their own publisher.
Runtz, the 2020 Leafly Strain of the Year.
When that kind of marketing succeeds, the return can be immensely lucrative. That gives the most popular cannabis strains lasting value that is only beginning to be recognized.
These strains are multibillion-dollar pieces of intellectual property now, with global reach and a longitudinal relevance that makes them important to hold over decades, Downs insists. Runtz is just the beginning of a new epoch in the development of cannabis genetics and the marketing of them.
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