When I first got into the mmj scene, growers were still "protecting" their strain by not sharing it around. Keeping their corner on the market.
But my husband I have been breeding, me for the last 10 years and him for the last 40, and giving away what we create to the mmj groups. They take them around the world. My Pit Bull grows in India, Thailand and Amsterdam. My Sugar Plum has gone to Japan and Jamaica.
We feel that mj is not about money, it is about saving lives. We put a lot of effort into creating powerful strains for people like me, with Stage 4 cancer or other terminal issues so that they don't have to spend every waking moment smoking.
I believe my Pit Bull is one of the strongest strains known to man. Ed Rosenthal used it to make his Ed Rosenthal's Superbud (or so I'm told). I actually had a grower get mad because he claimed that "Ed stole your strain and put his name on it!" I told him to relax: I give my strains away so that sick people have an opportunity to get them. I can't get them to Amsterdam, but Ed can. And from there they can go anywhere.
We seem to have started a trend: there are many breeders in Oregon, and they also tend to share their work around the mmj groups. There has been a phenomenal amount of development over the last 10 years here in Oregon.
It also helps that the groups give classes on growing & breeding.