Cannabis Breeder Names Strains After Denver Nuggets Stars

With a wife, son and multiple cannabis businesses to operate, longtime Denver sports fan Jason MacLean has had to keep his priorities straight during the Nuggets playoff run.

"When the playoffs were about to start, I told her my priorities the next couple of months were going to be the Nuggets, and then her and my son," MacLean says with a wry smile. "I've been waiting a long time for this."

He's joking. We think.

If there's anything MacLean is serious about, though, it's growing good herb while also supporting his Denver Nuggets. The co-founder of Cherry, one of Colorado's most popular cannabis cultivations, MacLean has recently branched into strain breeding with his seed company, Coool Beans, to create varieties for home and commercial growers. And as the Denver team prepares for the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, he's naming two of his new magic Beans after his favorite Nuggets players.

"I'm a die-hard fan," says MacLean, who grew up playing basketball for Arvada West High School. "As I pulled down all these new strains, I thought, 'Why not join my two favorite passions?'"

The Joker, named after two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, is a hybrid of Gary Payton (another strain named after a basketball great) and Cherry favorite Bernie Hanna Butter, while Blue Arrow is a mix of Quicksand and Dank Dough that's named after Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray.

Dank Dough is one of Cherry's best-selling strains, according to MacLean, making it a "great starter for Blue Arrow." The idea for the Joker went deeper than a standard breeding project, however.

"Jokic being Serbian, I've always felt that connection with him. I'm Serbian, too, so it's been really cool to watch him become a great player," the Colorado native explains. "For the Joker strain, I started with Gary Payton, because he was also a great player, and then went with the Bernie Hana Butter, because Jokic's game is butter. Gary Payton is an amazing crosser for breeders, so I'm hoping to get some structure, color and gas and OG notes there, and then some creaminess from the Bernie Hana."

MacLean still has to check off a few production steps before Coool Beans begins selling the Joker and Blue Arrow seeds, but he's careful to note that he won't be using the actual name or likeness of either player, and doesn't want to go too far with pushing the Nuggets connection "other than maybe gain their attention."

MacLean has definitely followed basketball's current stance on cannabis, though; he points out that NBA players will reportedly be allowed to use products from the plant and potentially invest in cannabis companies through the NBA's upcoming collective bargaining agreement with players. MacLean and Cherry have experience working with celebrities, too. In 2020, the brand created Super Thug, a strain in collaboration with rapper (and now podcaster) N.O.R.E.

"Of course, I'm not going to put a pre-packed bag out there with Jokic's name on it or anything, but you do kind of wonder if they'll ever smoke these when you make them," MacLean adds. "Who wouldn't want to work with NBA players?"