COURTESY AMAZE CANNABIS
In the Hunt Box you get four strains of weed each with the same parents, but wildly different phenotypes.
Missouri’s marijuana market is on track to generate $1 billion in sales this year, making the state one of the top 10 cannabis markets in the U.S. just two months after recreational marijuana sales began. While this could be attributable to the fact that Missourians are a bunch of potheads, it’s also worth noting that Missouri has some damn good cultivators.
Standouts include Amaze Cannabis, which offers award-winning flower and rosin products. The man behind strains such as Florida Purple or Magic City Kush is Roger Henrichs, the director of cultivation and breeding at Amaze, based in Moberly, Missouri.
Henrich’s interest in breeding different marijuana phenotypes has led to one of the company’s most popular products yet, the Hunt Box. In the box, folks get four eighths of weed. All of the eighths have been bred from the same two parent strains, but the results for each of the new phenotypes are wildly different.
(Phenotype means the physical expression of a plant’s genetics, which are heavily influenced by the environment it grew in.)
“My motivation for breeding strains comes from an obsession with unlocking and exploring as much of the amazing cannabis plant as possible,” Henrichs says. “Breeding can lead to some really cool expressions and selections that didn’t necessarily exist before, or make current strains more suitable.”
The company is currently on its third Hunt box, which will drop on 4/20. In order to get one, you have to sign up for Amaze Cannabis’ email list. Once an email announces a Hunt Box can be ordered, don’t hesitate. The last Hunt Box sold out in 12 minutes because only 100 are available with each release. After the box is sold out, the strains are sold a la carte as available.
Customers in St. Louis can pick up Hunt Box at Root 66 and Bloom Medicinals dispensaries. The name Hunt Box derives from Henrichs’ desire to hunt for the perfect strain.
“Creating strains is a very long process but pretty simple,” Henrichs explains. “Creating great strains is a lot harder, which is where setting standards very high and being extremely scrutinous is important.” Henrichs is already scrutinous himself, but he takes into account customer feedback as well. Each Hunt Box jar has a QR code that customers can scan to leave a review of each eighth.
“The inspiration for Hunt Box came from the desire to involve patients and customers in the selection of strains to be grown on a commercial level,” Henrichs explains. “After participating in the High Times Cannabis Cup of 2020 in Illinois, I saw how helpful ‘judging kits’ were in truly picking people’s favorite products. Putting the choice into people’s hands makes a lot of sense and people really enjoy being part of the process.”
After the 4/20 Hunt Box, there will be four more throughout the rest of the year. Whether the product will continue after that is still up in the air. But Henrichs thinks the program so far has been a success.
“Teaming up with patients and customers is a lot of fun since we’re working together toward the same goal,” Henrichs says.
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