SAN DIEGO, CA - October 19 2016: Strain prices are broken down by sativa, indica or hybrid drawn on a price board at Outliers, one of the only licensed medical marijuana shops in San Diego county California. California's 20-year-old medical marijuana program is the oldest i the country, but won't be regulated until at least 2017. On Election Day 2016, Californians have the chance to vote for regulated recreational-use marijuana, enacting two regulating cannabis programs simultaneously. (Photo by Vince Chandler / The Denver Post)

The connoisseur-grade cannabis market is real, and here’s how Californians are leading the charge

Call it the “Humboldt effect.”

California and notably its weed-friendly county of Humboldt in the Emerald Triangle are oft-regarded throughout the cannabis industry as epicenters of marijuana expertise.

Now in a landscape where more and more states have adopted marijuana legalization measures, California’s cannabis connoisseurs are well-positioned to take their knowledge national, says Ellen Holland, senior editor of Cannabis Now magazine.

“We’ve been in the game since 1996 with the medical (marijuana) program,” she says on The Cannabist Show. “I met (medical cannabis activist) Dennis Peron. Those people are still around, inspiring us every day. I do feel like there is a push in California for the ‘finest of the fine things.’ As we like our wines and our artisan foods, we also love incredible cannabis.”

Residents demand transparency in the cultivation-to-retail process as well as celebrate products such as solventless hash, she says.

While California has a strong history in cannabis and is firmly entrenched in marijuana culture, expertise can be found well outside of the state’s borders, says Jim Walsh, a California-based cannabis public relations consultant.

“It’s all over the place. As a country, if you’re striving to experience the best, I think California may lead but there’s certainly places and pockets around,” he says.

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