Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of material from 11 contributing columnists, along with other commentary online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.
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My name is Clemon, but many people call me “Dr. Dabs.” Throughout my career, I have worked to demystify cannabis and pushed for research, education and policy that reflect the plant’s potential for both scientific discovery and societal benefit. As I begin writing a monthly opinion column about all things cannabis for the Minnesota Star Tribune, I want to start by sharing a little bit about my background and my unique path with cannabis.
My journey started in an unlikely place: my grandmother’s backyard garden in Bloomington. She was a devout Catholic known for her strong moral compass, love for the land and dedication to her faith. She not only taught me the values of hard work and patience, but also sparked my curiosity for plant life through cultivating everything from tomatoes to flowers.
It wasn’t long before this fascination with growing plants evolved into something much more specific — a deep love for cannabis. My grandmother enrolled me in confirmation classes at St. Bonaventure Catholic Church, where I was first exposed to weed by my classmates. Curious to know more, I began researching cannabis on sites like ICMag.com, and soon, I was ordering seeds from Europe through the Nirvana Seed Company and growing it in clandestine patches along Minnesota River bike trails. This early hands-on experimentation allowed me to witness firsthand the transformation of cannabis from seed to mature plant — an experience that was nothing short of magical for me. I watched a relatively unassuming plant grow into a large plant with shimmering resin-covered flowers whose unique odors could be smelled a fair distance away.
In college, I continued to experiment with growing cannabis while also studying behavioral neuroscience, including the interactions between substances and the human mind, at the University of St. Thomas. Courses on sensation and perception, as well as on alcohol, drugs and behavior, were instrumental in shaping my understanding of how cannabis influences our sensory experiences and behaviors.
After graduation, I initially was uncertain of my next step. But after working at the biology learning center at Normandale Community College where an instructor allowed me to use a scanning electron microscope to explore and document plant life, I realized the cannabis plant was my calling. So I went back to school, enrolling at the University of Minnesota where I earned a master’s degree in plant breeding and molecular genetics. I continued on to pursue a Ph.D. from the U in molecular genetics and genomics. I became the first student to study the science of cannabis at the U. I began conducting cannabis-related research with George Weiblen, a leading expert in the field at the U. Our collaboration was born out of mutual respect and a shared vision for cannabis as a model organism for scientific study.
Doing research for my doctorate in the mid-2010s — before hemp was legal in Minnesota — was often a challenge. The stigma surrounding the plant made research difficult. Everything had to be built from the ground up. We faced pushback in shared spaces for seed drying, seed cleaning and seed storage from the more established programs. It became so bad we just started going in after hours. Federal funding was also non-existent. So our lab faced hurdles not only securing small amounts of funding, but also navigating regulatory frameworks and dealing with societal misconceptions about the plant.
